Reading 101 Textbook: None. Selected writings found online will constitute the textbook. Instructor: Mba Mbulu
Class #5
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Review |
In previous classes we have discussed some important hints. Included are:
(1) Assume a comfortable position, but get out of it every eight to ten minutes.
(2) Practice blinking while you read.
(3) If a sentence "loses" you, reread that sentence until you have pinpointed the source of that confusion.
(4) Don't worry about what others might think when you read.
(5) Think about what you read.
(6) Keep a good dictionary within reach.
Subject Matter
In Class #1, two main reasons were given that explain the essence of reading. They were: (1) to develop one's ability to understand and communicate effectively and (2) to learn how to think analytically. The following extract will test a reader in that particular regard. Read it carefully, and think about it before you read the explanation that follows. This essay, as is most of Mbulu's essays, is written in Black Talk. People should read in the language they talk in, and the rules and regulations, the rights and wrongs of the dialect, should be strictly determined by their realities.Take note of the terms that are capitalized. (For further information on capitalizations, refer to Ten Lessons: An Introduction to Black History, p. iii.)
Class #5 Reading Extract [Top]
(From Black Smart, page 99)
Time is the factor which separates the revolutionaries from the reactionaries. Time reveals who is serious about Nationhood and who is not. Time exposes those of Us who are "for real" about Our Blackness and segregates those who rant and rave and use Blackness as a platform aimed at relieving their individual frustrations and anxieties. Time, Brothers and Sisters, Time. Time will tell.
Vision is necessary if We are to stand the test of time. Vision enables Us to peek into the future, to see where We are going, and to prepare for the obstacles which are going to temporarily hold Us back. If We can't see these things (obstacles and victories) beforehand, We will become disenchanted and use any setback as proof of the hopelessness of Our efforts, therefore excusing Ourselves from any further involvement.
You cant see into the future with your eyes, Brothers and Sisters. You have to use your mind. But your mind must first be developed. Anyone can see from one day to the next, or from one week to the next; but this short vision won't prepare you to deal with a struggle that spans generations. To do this you have to understand, to the core, what has happened and what is happening.
Explanation of Class #5 Extract
This essay is about perseverance; that is, sticking with what you believe in until you accomplish what you set out to accomplish. Many individuals start working toward an objective for the wrong reason. These individuals are the reactionaries. Other individuals will seek the same objectives as the reactionaries, but for the right reasons. These individuals are revolutionaries. Time and vision are two factors that will separate the reactionaries from the revolutionaries and cause the reactionaries to give up. The revolutionaries, on the other hand, will stay the course.
If this is the only understanding you got from Extract #5, then you have done well. If you got several understandings from the extract, but this was not one of them, then reread the extract.
Some other points are worth recognizing. For instance, Extract #5 starts off talking about time. Time is seconds, minutes, hours and days, etc., and many readers will understand that. But it is also necessary to understand that time is circumstances, processes and events. Whenever an individuals has a decision to make s/he should be aware of the fact that circumstances, processes and events are not going to remain frozen in place while s/he figures out what s/he is going to do. The longer an individual dilly dallies, the more difficult the circumstances, processes and events that oppose him/her will be to overcome.
Vision, on the other hand, enables one to process information within a consistently logical frame of reference. Vision not only recognizes what can be done, but how things actually develop. Downs, as well as ups, are natural parts of all processes, and a person with vision understands that.
"You cant see into the future with your eyes, Brothers and Sisters. You have to use your mind. But your mind must first be developed." Developed how? It doesn't say. It doesn't mention school or degrees or anything of the like because there are too many ways that a mind can be properly developed. Don't allow others to trick you into limiting the range of legitimate ways of getting that done.
Reread the extract!
Questions? Email aset@asetbooks.com and list your course title as the subject.
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