- Sep 2022
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moodle.lynchburg.edu moodle.lynchburg.edusomeTitle38
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My journey was done, and behind me lay hill and dale, and Life and Death.
The lay hill represented life to the author while dale represented death.
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slow girl,
I wonder if the author meant this in a degrading way.
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The Burkes held a hundred acres, but they were still in debt.
I think that it is so sad that the Burkes family had so much land in their name but weren't able to utilize it enough to get them out of debt.
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Then I came to the Burkes’ gate and peeredthrough; the enclosure looked rough and untrimmed, and yet there were the same fences aroundthe old farm save to the left, where lay twenty-five other acres.
I can infer that the author was happy to see that nothing had changed at the Burkes' house because it made him feel at home.
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guffaws
definition: a loud and boisterous laugh synonym: belly laugh antonym: groan
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In its place stood Progress; and Progress, I understand, isnecessarily ugly.
I can infer that the author does not like seeing changes made to the places he's spent a lot of time at in the past. I think it makes him feel like the memories are being taken away as well.
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one half-witted girl.
I wonder why the author described one girl out of the whole community as being half witted.
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wan
definition: pale and giving the impression of illness or exhaustion synonym: colorless antonym: flushed
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Josie was dead
I wonder what caused Josie to pass away. Was it sickness?
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Josie grew thin and silent, yet worked the more.
I can infer that Josie kept working even when she was thin and sick because she wanted to continue helping provide for her family in addition to her goal of obtaining higher education one day.
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these were the years that passed after I left my little school.
I wonder what made the author leave the little school and small country town.
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The mass of those to whom slavery was a dim recollection of childhood found theworld a puzzling thing: it asked little of them, and they answered with little, and yet it ridiculedtheir offering
I wonder how many slaves continued working for white men after they were freed from slavery because that's what they had always been used to.
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a half-awakened common consciousness
This reminds me of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. He speaks quite often about consciousness.
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how“mean” some of the white folks were.
I wonder why the author put mean in quotation marks. Discrimination and racism was present during this time so it wouldn't be uncommon for them to be mean.
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Uncle Bird had a small, rough farm, all woods and hills, miles from the big road; but he was fullof tales
My uncles are also full of tales that they like to share with everyone they have the chance to.
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chromos
short for chromolithograph refers to color
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He was a great, loud, thin Black, ever working, and trying to buy the seventy-five acres ofhill and dale where he lived; but people said that he would surely fail, and the “white folks wouldget it all.”
I feel disappointed that people are doubting the mans abilities just because he is black.
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We read and spelled together, wrote a little, picked flowers, sang, and listened to stories of theworld beyond the hill.
The teacher not only taught the children to read, spell, and write but also allowed for them to be creative in other ways such as singing.
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their faces shading from a palecream to a deep brown,
I feel that society is making progress against discrimination if there were people of all color shades next to one another.
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There were the Burkes,—two brown and yellow lads, and a tiny haughty-eyed girl. FatReuben’s little chubby girl came, with golden face and old-gold hair, faithful and solemn. ‘Theniewas on hand early,—a jolly, ugly, good-hearted girl,
The author uses good descriptive words that allows for me to easily visualize each of the characters being described.
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haughty
definition: arrogantly superior and disdainful synonym: proud antonym: humble
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There was an entrance where adoor once was, and within, a massive rickety fireplace; great chinks between the logs served aswindows. Furniture was scarce. A pale blackboard crouched in the corner. My desk was made ofthree boards, reinforced at critical points, and my chair, borrowed from the landlady, had to bereturned every night. Seats for the children—these puzzled me much.
I can visualize a very scarce and not well taken care of classroom with room for very few students.
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I remember the day I rode horseback out to the commissioner’s housewith a pleasant young white fellow who wanted the white school.
I can infer by the wording of this statement that the author is likely a black man himself.
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willow
I named my Jeep Willow.
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Josie told me of it; shewas a thin, homely girl of twenty, with a dark-brown face and thick, hard hair.
I can infer based on the author's description that Josie is a young black girl.
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Sprinkled over hill and dale lay cabins and farmhouses, shut out from the world by the forestsand the rolling hills toward the east. There I found at last a little school
I can visualize a bright blue sunny sky with vast hills and farmhouses spread out then a tiny little school sitting alone.
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gaunt
definition: lean and haggard synonym: skeletal antonym: plump
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There came a day when all the teachers left the Institute and began the hunt for schools.
When the teachers left the Institute to hunt for schools were they officially qualified teachers?
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white teachers inthe morning, Negroes at night.
Just like Booker T. Washington and DuBois The Souls of Black Folk Part 1, discrimination against black people is present.
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I was a Fisk student then, and allFisk men thought that Tennessee—beyond the Veil—was theirs alone,
I can infer that the author lives in a small country town.
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sallied
definition: make a military sortie synonym: bailed antonym: arrived
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tawny.
definition: of an orange-brown or yellowish- brown color synonym: dark antonym: colorless
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skinflint
definition: a person who spends as little money as possible synonym: miser antonym: spender
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jovial,
definition: cheerful and friendly synonym: cheery antonym: gloomy
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humdrum
definition: lacking excitement or variety synonym: boring antonym: amusing
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berate
definition: scold or criticize synonym: rebuke antonym: praise
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“varmints”
definition: a troublesome wild animal synonym: hooligan antonym: pet
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vale
definition: a valley synonym: valley antonym: highland
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moodle.lynchburg.edu moodle.lynchburg.edu
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Our pathway must be up through the soil, up throughswamps, up through forests, up through the streams, therocks, through commerce, education, and religion.
Life and education will not always be easy but all the hard work will be worth it.
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hew
hew: chop or cut synonym: chop antonym: connect
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as a slave theNegro was worked, and that as a freeman he must learnto work.
All of society must learn to work in order to be a productive and successful member of society.
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but an education through agricultureand education, through natural symbols andpractical forms, which will educate as deeply, asbroadly and as truly as any other system which theworld has known. Such changes will bring far largerresults than the mere improvement of our Negroes.
The terms used here are much easier to understand the concept the author is discussing. An education through agriculture and education, uses natural symbols and practical forms to educate black students to a deeper level than the world has ever known.
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these things, upon their elementaryside are absolutely vital to the worth and success ofhundreds of thousands of these people of theNegro race, and yet our whole educational systemhas practically ignored them.
I wonder what the author means by this. The black race needs to know how agriculture works in order to have worth and success in the current world? The education system of the universities described above include agriculture therefore it is not being ignored.
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Ours is anagricultural population. The school must be broughtmore closely to the soil.
This is starting to sound like he wants the aspects of heavy agriculture work in slavery to be brought back. Does he just mean that there is a need for farmers in the area?
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side from the economicvalue of this work I cannot but believe, and myobservation con rms me in my belief, that as wecontinue to place Negro men and women of intelligence,religion, modesty, conscience and skill
I wonder how many lives were completely changed and positively impacted by these programs.
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ome years ago we noted thefact that there was beginning to be a demand in theSouth for men to operate dairies in a skillful, modernmanner. We opened a dairy department in connectionwith the school, where a number of young men couldhave instruction in the latest and most scienti c methodsof dairy work.
I think that it is amazing that the institution saw the need for workers with a certain skill so they began teaching it in order to provide more skilled individuals for the job in surrounding communities.
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drudgery.
drudgery: hard menial or dull work synonym:labor antonym: entertainment
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It seems to me that too often mere book educationleaves the Negro young man or woman in a weakposition.
Stringfellow Barr would not agree with this statement. He believed that the liberal education system was the best way to become a successful and well rounded person.
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Ireceived a great many verbal messages and letters fromparents informing me that they wanted their childrentaught books, but not how to work.
I can infer that parents wanted their students to learn more textbook academic education so that they could continue to further their academic knowledge rather than the more hands on learning they experienced.
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Not only do the students receive instruction in thesetrades, but they do actual work, by means of which morethan half of them pay some part or all of their expenseswhile remaining at the school.
I feel that this was a great way to allow the students to continue learning while also starting to get real world experiences at the same time.
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hefourteen hundred and over young men and women whoattended the school during the last school year receivedinstruction — in addition to academic and religioustraining — in thirty–three trades and industries
I wonder if there were women instructors for the classes dedicated to women's gender roles such as dressmaking or if males taught all the classes?
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We began teaching wheelwrighting and blacksmithing ina small way to the men, and laundry work, cooking andsewing and housekeeping to the young women.
These are all jobs necessary for a successful society, but I do not think it should have been split by gender. Both genders could have benefited from the classes offered.
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The Hampton Institute hascontinued along the lines laid down by its great founder,and now each year an increasing number of similarschools are being established in the South, for the peopleof both races.
I can infer that after the Hampton Institute was founded it became more acceptable in a sense to have schools where higher education was offered for both races.
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I would set no limits to the attainments of the Negro inarts, in letters or statesmanship,
Limits should not be placed on people because of their race.
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Frederick Douglass:“Every blow of the sledge hammer wielded by a sable armis a powerful blow in support of our cause.
I can visualize a strong arm banging a sledgehammer into a wall to show that hard work can truly make a difference.
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Out of it in the future will grow practicaleducation, professional education, positions of publicresponsibility. Out of it will grow moral and religiousstrength. Out of it will grow wealth from which alone cancome leisure and the opportunity for the enjoyment ofliterature and the ne arts.
In the future there will be practical education, professional education, positions of public responsibility, moral and religious strength, literature and fine arts. This is a combination of all of the parts of education highlighted in the previous articles/stories we have read and annotated thus far in class.
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Our knowledge mustbe harnessed to the things of real life
I do not think our knowledge should just be limited to the things of real life. I think that you should learn, ask questions and think outside of the box.
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It is discouraging to nd agirl who can tell you the geographical location of anycountry on the globe and who does not know where toplace the dishes upon a common dinner table. It isdiscouraging to nd a woman who knows much abouttheoretical chemistry, and who cannot properly wash andiron a shirt.
Again, it should not be discouraging for women to break outside of the stereotypical gender roles box.
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How often have Ibeen discouraged as I have gone through the South, andinto the homes of the people of my race, and have foundwomen who could converse intelligently upon abstrusesubjects, and yet could not tell how to improve thecondition of the poorly cooked and still more poorlyserved bread and meat
I do not think that discouraged is the right word choice. It should not be found as discouraging that women have skills outside of the typical gender roles such as cooking and cleaning.
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wasamazed to nd that it was almost impossible to nd inthe whole country an educated colored man who couldteach the making of clothing.
I can infer that it was so hard to find an educated colored man who could teach the making of clothing because making clothes was left up to the women. Tailoring and making clothes was part of the women's gender roles in the society.
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’liberaleducation,
Stringfellow Barr is highly in favor of a liberal education with "the classics" being taught.
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Many a mother andsister have worked and slaved, living upon scantyfood, in order to give a son and brother a ’liberaleducation,’
I feel annoyed that there are gender inequalities present. I think that both men and women should have the opportunity to an education.
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scanty
scanty: small or insufficient in amounts. synonym: meager antonym: plentiful
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“Our schools teach everybody a little of almosteverything, but, in my opinion, they teach very fewchildren just what they ought to know in order tomake their way successfully in life.
This is still accurate for schools today. For example, in middle school we had 8 classes a day for 45 minutes each for one semester. Even though we had class everyday it was far too little of time to actually learn a full subject. The teacher had to just give us a little bit of information on each topic we were supposed to cover.
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Think, though,how frequently it is the case that from the rst day that apupil begins to go to school his books teach him muchabout the cities of the world and city life, and almostnothing about the country. How natural it is, then, thatwhen he has the ordering of his life he wants to live it inthe city.
This reminds me of Stringfellow Barr's "Liberal Education: A Common Adventure", students need to be taught a wide array of topics in order to get the most out of their education.
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As a generation began to pass,those who had been trained as mechanics in slaverybegan to disappear by death, and gradually it began to berealized that there were few to take their places.
I wonder why there were few people to replace those in the workplace that had passed away. Were they trained on just one skill instead of multiple leaving them with just one job focus?
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Negro men and womenwere educated in literature, in mathematics and in thesciences,
I infer that there were far more educated black men and women than most history books and novels let on.
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In all these works theNegro did most of the heavy work.
I wonder why the white men did not help during this process. Slavery had ended but the black men were still the ones doing all of the hard labor work.
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To a large degree, though,this business contact with the Southern white man, andthe industrial training on the plantations, left the Negro atthe close of the war in possession of nearly all thecommon and skilled labor in the South.
I can infer that at the time of slave freedom the slaves were far more skilled in working than the white slaveowners which put them at an advantage for many industrial jobs.
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This training was crude, and was given for sel shpurposes.
The training of slaves was degrading in many ways. They were overworked, mistreated, and taken advantage of for the slave owners benefit.
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young colored men andwomen were constantly being trained not only as farmersbut as carpenters, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, brickmasons, engineers, cooks, laundresses, sewing womenand housekeepers
I wonder if my previous inference was right or if the slaveowners did in fact train their slaves for certain jobs.
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In a certain wayevery slave plantation in the South was an industrialschool.
I can infer that slaves had to teach themselves the skills that they used while working for the white men. The slave owners did not teach them the skills used but instead expected them to figure them out on their own.
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Nor is it any wonder that this was so, for never before inthe history of the world had just such a problem beenpresented as that of the two races at the coming offreedom in this country.
My previous wonder annotation was answered. Nobody knew what to do because it was new for both the blacks and whites to be free individuals in the United States.
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If, in too many cases, the Negro race begandevelopment at the wrong end, it was largely becauseneither white nor black properly understood the case.
I wonder why in the forty years since slaves were freed nobody was able to understand or figure out how to properly begin development? Was it because the white race was used to being free while other races were not?
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It has been necessary for the Negro to learn thedi erence between being worked and working–to learnthat being worked meant degradation, while workingmeans civilization; that all forms of labor are honorable,and all forms of idleness disgraceful.
There is a big difference between being worked in an oppressive society versus working and learning for self benefit. Being forced to work in an oppressive society is disgraceful and degrading. Working to learn and make money on the other hand is a part of civilization.
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One of the most fundamental and far-reaching deedsthat has been accomplished during the last quarter of acentury has been that by which the Negro has beenhelped to nd himself and to learn the secrets ofcivilization–to learn that there are a few simple, cardinalprinciples upon which a race must start its upwardcourse, unless it would fail, and its last estate be worsethan its rst.
This reminds me of Paulo Friere's main idea in The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Being a part of an oppressed society makes it hard to be able to express yourself and be successfully outside of the realms of the oppressed system.
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