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FinalCall.com News
National News
Acquiring education to build a Nation
By Donna Muhammad
Updated Mar 26, 2014 - 10:58:18 AM
DETROIT (FinalCall.com) - In a Saviours’ Day 2014 workshop geared towards youth and parents, participants were encouraged to acquire nation-building skills through vocational and traditional education.
Panelists provided information directing the education of children towards Nation of Islam ministries envisioned by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan ranging from agriculture to the arts and health and human services, and shared tips on the ins and outs of college admissions and the financial aid process.
“I represent the K-12 public school setting. I have been working in the killing fields for 17 years and my two children have gone through this system, so I know this is not where you want to put your children,” said panelist Sharien Muhammad, a school counselor with the Clayton County School System in Georgia.
“As a student of Muhammad University of Islam for nine years, I can speak on that as well,” said Mrs. Muhammad, who has authored two books, “Why I Wear My Headpiece” and the “Seeds of Greatness.”
She reminded the audience that mother is the first teacher and must train children about who they must strive to be so they will not be unhappy adults. “As you educate your children, look at these ministries and ask what do the children need to be within these ministries? This process starts with prayer, asking who are my children to be?”
“We must focus on Science, Math and History,” she added.
An attendee from Atlanta, Ga., Rasool Muhammad came to the workshop feeling the key is developing the ministries and building our own government. “We must have the proper tools and keys to build a business or it will fail and it is the same with education,” he said.
“This is about us achieving the training to work in the Nine Ministries. If we get sick, we want to go to a doctor that believes as we do, so we must qualify ourselves for the work before us,” said panelist Dr. Ricky Muhammad, vice president of admissions for San Bernadino Community College in California. “There is a difference between schooling and education. Most of us are schooled, but at the Latin root of the word education, it means to lead and train.”
A lot of people are put in the get-a-college-degree box, but are given little opportunity to be exposed to vocational careers, he said.
“If your car breaks down, you pay someone to fix it. If your plumbing is not working, you pay someone to fix it,” said Ricky Muhammad. “These vocational careers can’t be shipped off to other countries and they tend to be careers that you can do for self.”
His presentation also provided information to help parents and students navigate the college admissions process, debunking many myths regarding the process along the way.
Na’im Muhammad, coordinator of financial aid at Compton College in California, discussed various ways to finance college education, focusing on grants, scholarships, and work study jobs as primary aids. He also provided participants with a financial aid worksheet to familiarize them with the process.
