Camden High School

My educational philosophical beliefs are reflective of two great African-American scholars, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Dubois. Booker T. Washington’s educational philosophy advocated a self-help concept for African Americans. He believed that by acquiring an Industrial Education, African Americans would be able to improve their life style. Washington’s views on education were representative of the fact that he was not an intellectual but a man of action. He wanted African Americans to respect and value the need for industrial education programs, both from the advantage of the American and the African experience.

 

Du Bois believed that an industrial education was not a true graduation from the grasp of slavery, which was a direct contradiction to Washington’s teachings. Du Bois believed in a college education. He also believed that one should read to learn, and to think in order to form a new “social mind” that would have the ability to question an oppressive system.

 

In my position as a business and career technical educator and future administrative leader, I believe that it is my responsibility to prepare my students for an academic choice. Both of the great scholars mentioned above had this same desire. They also shared the same vision and objectives and I feel that my educational goals and objectives mirror Mr. Washington and Mr. Du Bois: To provide marketable skills for urban students that could offer income resources for themselves and their families.