reflection 5

A young boy performing fellatio on an older boy. A group of children being eaten by the Forest Thing. Girls and boys participating in matuumo dances. All of these symbolize the diversity of culture yet it also displays the rites and passages prior to one becoming an adult; a proper adult who have learned the rituals and beliefs of their culture; these proper adults who are sworn to secrecy by the leaders and elders in their community. Education, be it formal or informal, focuses on pupils being taught by people who have mastered the subject matter in which they teach. Rites of passage play a role in both teaching and learning primarily because it teaches responsibility to the people who take part in the ceremonies. It also teaches these individuals that what they are undergoing is only to make them a ‘better’ person. If all the youth in world regarded education in such a manner as some cultures regards rites of passages, the academic success rate of the youth would be sky high. The people who now hold high positions in the villages are now the ones who lead initiation ceremonies and rites of passages beliefs and rituals which were learned from their ancestors. These initiations provide the adults who have completed them with wisdom and understanding, in most cases, and have also provided these individuals with discipline to go into the adult world. This reminds me of the saying to “put away your childish ways and become anew.” Being able to teach and learn a formal education is not something that is a general requirement of life. Often more than not, children in some countries do not have the privilege to attend school so they must learn what they are taught from their parents and their community. I believe that if everyone had to succumb to the rites and passages in cultures, maybe not as rigorous as the afore mentioned, they would develop an appreciation for the formal education that they have the privilege of getting. At least, of course, that is what my mother has always told me because she was raised in a country where school isn’t free (Jamaica) and she reminds me every chance that she has. I remember days when I would pray that her lecture would go by as quick as possible. One can only hope. All in all, teaching and learning are incorporated in rites of passage and initiation ceremonies such that the individuals who go through them gain an knowledge that they would soon be masters of and teach to future generations.
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