During my 34 years teaching vocational education (shop), I taught my students a new word every week. It turned some D- students to B+ and changed their attitude from negative to positive. “Yes, I Can”. Our parents and students need to add at least one new word to their vocabulary every week for the 52 weeks in 2022. I will post one or two every Sunday on my Facebook page (James Hankins). The word for today is METAMORPHOSIS. It means to change. EXAMPLE: change from a lazy D- student to a B+, no vaccine to fully vaccinated, no mask to mask, non -voter to voting in every election, shy to playa, Popey’s fried chicken sandwich, large fries and sweet tea to Wendy’s baked chicken sandwich, toss salad and diet coke.
We need to use this “Black History Month” wisely by learning where we were, where we are now and where do we go from here? Far too many grandparents and parents failed, for whatever reasons, to teach their children our black history. The best history lesson and plans for tomorrow can be found in Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Letter from a Birmingham jail”. I suggest every black man, lady and child read it; and as they say in the AME-Zion church “and govern yourself accordingly”. If we want to see a great metamorphosis in 2022 encourage your non-black friends to read the letter too. The book of Ecclesiastes points out “to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the Heaven”. Are you and every child at least 17 years-old in your home registered?
James Hankins—Retired Vocational Education (shop) teacher—President of the New Hanover County NAACP—raconteur—writer and author—
