African-Canadian transition program "long overdue"

[Logikal Ethix]

Biig things for Halifax! I actually had the oppertunity to build with Mr. Bishop out in Hali while I was conducting some research about Africville and Black Nova Scotia



Dr. Henry Bishop, curator of the Black Cultural Centre,
speaks during the opening of the African Canadian Transition Program
at the Akerley Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College on Tuesday.
(Tim Krochak / Staff)



African-Canadian transition program "long overdue"

NSCC curriculum helps adults upgrade skills, get high school diplomas

By ROBYN YOUNG

The walls in room A258 at the Akerley Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College are painted different colours.

These walls at the Dartmouth community college hold the first class of the African Canadian Transition Program, which had its official inauguration ceremony on Tuesday.

Henry Bishop, curator of the Black Cultural Centre in Dartmouth, explained the significance of each colour.

"The blue, for example, means spirituality; it also means enlightenment, to learn something greater than thyself and to always remember where you come from," said Mr. Bishop.

He went on to describe that green is a symbol of growth, yellow a symbol of warmth of humanity and purple a symbol of creativity, royalty and strength of heritage.

As host of the ceremony, Mr. Bishop told the packed room about the importance of the transition program.

"It's a positive change and it's long overdue."

The program began in September as a result of the Black Learners Advisory Committee report, released 12 years ago. In the report, the committee made 46 recommendations to the Education Department that would help empower African-Canadian learners.

These recommendations included changing the curriculum to reflect more African-Nova Scotian history and culture, helping African-Nova Scotian adults upgrade their skills and hiring more black teachers and administrators.

The college delivers the transition program in collaboration with the African Canadian Services Division of the Education Department and helps African-Canadian students complete the Nova Scotia high school diploma for adults.

Jill Provoe, the program co-ordinator, said the key to the program is its Afrocentric curriculum.

The math teacher, for example, teaches the students about pre-slavery mathematicians "to incorporate how black people have influenced some of the learning of those materials," she said.

Although the teachers must follow Nova Scotia curriculum, they enhance it by making it more culturally relevant for their students, she added.

Dale Morton, a 25-year-old student in the program and co-host of the inauguration, said he enrolled because of his two children.

"In order for them to have a positive role model, I have to feel like I.m doing something positive, so I came back to school."

He said the highlight of the program is the guest speakers who visit the class.

"Dr. Bishop comes in at least once a week and it's always great to hear him play his drums. . . . There have been a lot of really influential people that stop through to talk to us and give us their insights and their guidance."

Mr. Morton was supposed to have graduated from high school in the year 2000 but will finish his outstanding credits this year and is slated to receive his diploma in May.

He has applied for the human services courses at the college and would like to concentrate on child and youth services in his second year.

To help celebrate the event, the audience in room A258 was treated to a performance of Everything by Halifax singer-songwriter Shane Colley.

The song is on his recently released CD.

Reed (iZrEAL) Jones, a graduate of the college, also performed a piece he had written about the importance of education.

http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/external/bbi/index24.html
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