The Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters is a global institution founded in Niagara Falls, NY that promotes educational programs, creative arts, cultural initiatives, audiovisual projects and commerce that supports Knowledge of Self and the positive growth and development of youth and families. This space features bi-monthly articles that highlight the social commentary, current events, and creative insights of its Founder, Saladin Allah [S. Quanaah]. #AtlantisBuild #FivePercenter
Actor Orlando Jones, Mr. Anansi is American Gods, recently endorsed the Atlantis School Renovation Project and encouraged people worldwide to support this initiative.
Orlando
Jones (born April 10, 1968) is an American actor and stand-up comedian.
He is known for being one of the
original cast members of the sketch comedy series MADtv, for his role as
the 7 Up spokesman from 1999 to 2002, and for his powerful role as the
African God Anansi and Script Writing on Starz's American Gods.
TheAtlantis School For Gifted Youngstersis
a private institution established in Niagara Falls, NY. Its Mission is
to teach and train youth in the growth, development and control of their
powers through important projects, programs and initiatives. We
are currently undergoing a renovation project for a recently acquired
property that will allow us to centralize our projects, programs and
initiatives for at-risk communities. You can support our project at this link: Atlantis School Renovation Project
Hey everyone and THANK YOU for checking out and willfully SUPPORTING and SHARING our Atlantis School Renovation Project!
TheAtlantis School For Gifted Youngsters is a private institution established in Niagara Falls, NY. Its Mission is to teach and train youth in the growth, development and control of their powers through important projects, programs and initiatives such as:
Despite students of color representing more than half the student population in this country, black men represent less than 2% of that teacher workforce. As a black man and as an educator, my voice and presence within the lives of black children and all children is critical to combating family dysfunction, community deterioration and creating an inclusive workforce that ensures that all of our nation’s students receive a quality culturally enriched education. This is my not simply my profession, it is my passion and purpose! I established the Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters as a community-based institution that provides projects, programs and initiatives that promote cultural competence, anti-bias education, social emotional development, optimum health and social justice. By exposing youth to these ideas through DAP [Developmentally Appropriate Practices] at an early age the objective is to set them upon a learning trajectory to become ambassadors of a brighter future and a more equitable society.
We are currently undergoing a renovation project for a recently acquired property that will allow us to centralize our projects, programs and initiatives for at-risk communities. We are seeking donations to help with roof repairs, kitchen and bathroom renovations, learning space modifications and program resources to meet NYS OCFS [New York State Office of Children and Family Services] Standards for our Early Childhood Certificate Program. Once renovations are complete the Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters will operate an Early Childhood Development Program and Preadolescent After School Program.
Lakota Nation Seeks Support of Five Percent Nation
Lakota Activist/Spokesperson Chase Iron Eyes Releases Sioux Tribe Official Statement
Harlem, New York: May 20, 2020, the Oglala Sioux Tribe released an Official
Public Statement via Activist/Public Relations Spokesperson Chase Iron Eyes seeking
support from Five Percent Nation members to share in their struggle amid the Covid-19
pandemic.
Most recently, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s (R) has refused
to issue mandatory
stay-at-home orders for South Dakota which has put our Indigenous family
members at risk via Covid-19. During an April White House task force briefing, Dr. Anthony
Fauci shared that in some major cities where we see the epicenter of
coronavirus cases black Americans are dying at much higher rates compared to other Americans. While
it has been said that both marginalized communities are at a higher risk
due to pre-existing conditions, America’s historical geopolitics and socioeconomic
factors which contribute(d) to these conditions such as institutional racism, environmental
injustice and chronic scarcities of resources are rarely mentioned.
For over five decades, from Wounded
Knee to the Standing Rock #NoDAPL protest camps, Lakota leaders have championed cultural
freedom and indigenous justice. Over fifty years ago when Allah (The Father)
founded the Five Percent Nation [Gods and Earths], we began teaching self-knowledge as the basis
of a unique God-centered culture that is free from religious indoctrination and
social injustice.
It is within that conscience of cultural continuity and unity
as an original people as highlighted within our 120 lessons that we stand in support
of the Oglala Sioux and all “7 bands” of the Lakota Nation. Our shared commitment
to amplify our unified voice and work collaboratively will enable us expand our
efforts to achieve national consciousness, community control and peace.
"As civilized and righteous people, we understand the Lakota People’s right to preserve their Native rights, sovereignty, health, and the Earth. In 2020, these rights should be respected." -Starmel Allah, Author of The Righteous Way
With the national economy coming to a grinding halt and educational institutions shutting down to help flatten the corona virus curve, many of us parents and guardians now find ourselves in a unique homeschooling situation that we, and many of our school districts, were not prepared for. Fortunately for us there are those who were prepared and seized this moment as a DIY distance learning opportunity. Today I would like to share some of those ideas in hopes that we can make the best out of the time educating our children at home.
1. Don't worry, be resourceful. Find out what your child's grade level learning targets are. Prior to the school year Teachers create lesson plans to cover the entire year and these plans are not like a freestyle rap. They take preparation and are based upon the student's grade level learning targets and NYS competency standards. So if your child is in the 6th grade, during any month of the school year 6th graders across the New York State are learning the same ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies curriculum with minor variations. If you want to know for sure what your child's learning targets are reach out to their Teacher and find out. I am sure they would be more than happy to give you that information! Why am I sharing this? Because the initial reaction of many parents and guardians teaching their children at home has been, "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO TEACH THEM?!" If your child was given take home packets and/or access to an online learning platform, those learning packets and online assignments are based upon their Teacher's lesson plan. And their lesson plan is based upon the student's grade level learning targets and NYS competency standards. As a parent and guardian our job is to help provide added resources around our child's learning targets and competency standards. In other words, if your child has a Social Studies assignment about Ancient Egypt, there are many resources online, especially on YouTube, that you can share with them. If it is Math, no problem. You may not know the weird math your child is learning but someone does and there are resources online to support them. There are resources literally at our fingertips. Take advantage of them by connecting with your child's Teacher, School, using social media networks, searching the internet and contacting the School District if necessary.
2. Physical Education is everyday. According to various studies regarding lifespans, the present generation is the first generation that are expected to not outlive their parents and guardians. A combination of sedentary lifestyles, obesity, poor diets and other issues are the causative factors. Nowadays elementary school children are lucky to get more than two days of forty minutes of physical activity each week. Also, lessons about diet, eating the right foods and the importance of optimum health are few and far between. Especially with the social climate around COVID-19, this is an excellent opportunity to reinforce the importance of health and wellness. Encourage some form of physical activity for your child EVERYDAY. It doesn't matter if it is in backyard, front yard or on the side of the house -of course while maintaining physical distancing from others. If there is no place outside, use the basement, attic, living room or bedroom. Create some space so they can get their heart to race. Physical activity does not need to be standard exercises either. If you have a Wii game system, use one of those games that promotes physical activity. Use the TikTok for some fun physical activity. Find some fun activities on YouTube. Also, join them! In regards to diet and eating the right foods, this is also a great opportunity to include healthy snacks in your daily routine and easy to prepare healthy meals that promote optimum health. Health is wealth.
3. Don't forget the life skills. Use this time to incorporate basic life skills in your daily routine. Teaching a child how to separate, wash and dry clothes, garden, how to use certain computer programs, clean the bathroom and numerous other tasks that they will need later in life is priceless. These tasks are usually not even taught in school and this is a unique opportunity to school them. Plus you can make these tasks fun. I mean, I am not sure how to make cleaning a bathroom fun but I'm sure you can figure something out. Incentives always work.
4. Your home is the classroom. Distance learning does not mean to replicate our child's classroom at home. You are now the Teacher, again. I say "again" because you were the first Teacher to begin with. So make your child's learning environment yours. When I taught preschool, during breakfast time my class would listen to a mix of A Tribe Called Quest, Jill Scott, Alice Coltrane, Frankie Knuckles and others. On the walls I had images of black artists at their eye level. After our daily exercises we would meditate for five minutes to slow our heart rate before transitioning into our calendar lesson. It was our classroom. I am not sharing this to tell you to rearrange your home. I am sharing this to emphasize the fact that you determine the structure, time period and resources to support your child's learning environment. If the first thing in the morning you want your child to do is read for fifteen minutes, cool. If you want them to watch a ten minute national geographic video while they eat breakfast, do it. If they usually have math after lunch in school and you want them to knock it out in the morning, that is all good. Do what works for them, and you, and don't be afraid to make adjustments. Also, if you have children in different grade levels, delegate, delegate, delegate. The older children are your TA [Teacher's Assistant].
In closing, I will that these ideas are not only helpful in making distance learning run smoother but also minimize the stress that many of you are feeling from being thrown in this unpredictable position. You have more skills, tools and resources than you may know or even give yourself credit for. I have worked with youth from preschool to college age, in various capacities, for over two decades. One of the most valuable assets that I or any Teacher could have is a relationship with a student. It is only through that relationship can learning be facilitated. For 8 hours every day throughout a school year we strive to build this asset which you naturally have as a parent or guardian. So don't stress, you got this, and when you want support that is what we are here for.
Courtney Sullivan is a follower of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, homeopathy study group leader and student. She is also a Do For Self health coach who encourages people to learn how to use herbs, essential oils and homeopathy to take charge of their life! In this Five Percenter Table Talks interview Courtney discusses her journey as a Caucasian woman ally with oppressed people, her challenges finding and aligning with other Caucasians, her experience farming and passion for homeopathy and how her journey of self-knowledge began when she was exposed to and welcomed to be among some Five Percenters. You can connect with Courtney via Instagram: HERE
With the growth of social media and
expansion of the Internet many of us are slowly losing our ability to
effectively communicate and form meaningful connections with others. Technology
is reshaping our brain architecture and how we explore and attend the real
world.
Many websites today list the average reading time at the top of articles to inform people how much time they can't expect to invest on that site before even reading the article. Prior to development of social media Journalists took more pride in being right and there was a certain degree of integrity that came along with that profession. Nowadays it is about being the first to break a story, regardless if the details are right, in order to monetize web traffic to a website. Even the cycle of news stories have changed. Fifteen years ago National News was a mainstream talking point for at least a week. Nowadays National News has about a 48 hour life unless other information is shared in connection to that information. This is why stories are now shared in segments and you rarely get all of the details when a story breaks. This is not because of lack of information, it is often done in parts to lengthen the life of a story. Sometimes the wrong information is deliberately shared in order to retract it 24-48 hours later, which insures web traffic for another two days. Keep in mind that I am speaking from personal experience, as a writer and as a subject who was catapulted into the spotlight in 2014 when I was cited by as a subject matter expert by the international and national press on Jay-Z's Five Percenter Jewelry.
Average films today are shorter in runtime, use shorter shots and have more motion and action. That, including the increase in web series on streaming sites and increase commercial time speaks to the changing attention span of audiences. In the early nineties standard Rap songs were comprised of 3
verses and 4 minutes and some seconds long. Now you get maybe two verses for a couple of minutes, as a standard. Dope
albums that dropped in the Spring got bumped the entire Summer and into the
Autumn. In fact, when we personally declared an album as "Album of the Year" that
is because we literally listened to it all year. Nowadays an album may get
attention for maybe a week before people begin looking around for the next new
release. This is why many Artists today compulsively push out music like it is
coming off of a conveyor belt and tour to the point of putting their health at risk; they're trying to keep up with the attention
span of their fickle audience. If not, they run the risk of being labeled
irrelevant and the next unwilling contestant on the popular game show Cancel
Culture. These are just some examples of the changing technological landscape, which has been critical to how we engage one another.
All social media formats use a scroll screen model. This enables users to easily scroll through pages without the cumbersome task of reading anything. If reading was not considered cumbersome, social media Apps would not limit the character count to convey a thought. Consider the following character count limits and ideal character count:
Instagram = 2,200 characters max (144 ideal)
Twitter = 280 characters max (71-100, 85 ideal)
Facebook = 63,206 (40-80, 60 ideal)
LinkedIn = 700 (50-100, 75 ideal)
While some people have learned and are learning to use these limited/ideal character counts to refine concise truncated thought, many others have found themselves becoming less and less equipped to communicate, online and offline. This technological shift coincides with what we are also seeing across the country with the closing and defunding of libraries, the historically low ELA competency levels in primary school students and the moving away from handwriting in exchange for typing. This is vitally important to understand because it affects the social emotional literacy trajectory of our for children and their ability to effectively communicate. In my article 1-36: What is English Lesson No. C1? I discussed why early talking matters and how children in impoverished communities on average hear 30 million fewer words than their privileged counterparts. With the introduction of the Internet and Social Media that is not integrated into our children's daily lives with Apps and Programs to help facilitate social emotional development and literacy, it only widens the disparity between children in impoverished communities from those in privileged communities. I know children in various grade levels who consistently tell me that they just played on a phone, an iPad or laptop when they're asked who when asked, "What did you do this weekend?" In seeing this shift happening over the years I have consistently explored and wrote on this subject. My goal has been and continues to be finding effective ways to use this technology without undermining our ability to function within the real world. This is especially important to me as a Five Percenter who publicly represents our culture. As a Five Percent there are still many of our traditions that are not transferable in this digital domain. For example, in the digital world "all being born to" has been shortened to "abbt" in SMS language or textspeak just like "laugh my ass off" is "LMAO" and "get the f*ck outta here with that bullsh*t" is GTFOHWTB. Abbt does not appropriately convey the concept of drawing things up to their highest nor does textspeak enable us to explain that. Again, while character count limits can be used to develop concise thoughts, I have never been in a cipher where someone used Twitter's 85 ideal character count to build on Today's Mathematics or Today's Degree. The problem is there are folks today who have gotten exposed to KOS [Knowledge of Self] via the Internet and social media who believe that they are actually building with limited characters, comments and SMS language. Even with the LIVE function, social media Apps are not designed to support our traditional form of cultural engagement. As I've consistently mentioned over the years, I utilize these articles, my literature, videos, animation and online classes as routing devices to realtime. Regardless of technology's ability to help facilitate engagement, the best way to build with someone about our culture is to walk with them. The irony is it is "virtually" impossible to learn an entire culture without being actually immersed in it. Ironically, this has become an integral part of American culture and if you were to ask children today what they want to be when they grow up many will say, "A YouTuber!" Their aspirations are not to be a person with a measurable skill set that can contribute to this world, they aspire to be a talking head. It is a digital form of "Turn on, tune in, drop out." There is no way to be a part of this society without interfacing with its technology. So we must explore effective ways to utilize it without it using us. Friday March 6th was National Unplugging Day which is something we need to do more often. This enables us to be more present and better focused on what is happening in realtime. Fasting, Meditation and Mindfulness are also a few techniques that help strengthen our attention span AND minimize attention seeking behavior. Our ability to effectively communicate, and form meaningful connections with others, is ultimately on us. Peace, Saladin
