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The Ink Road Analysis

Decent Essays

While watching The Ink Road there was a lot of new information that I was taking in, about the history and culture of West Africa that I had no knowledge of whatsoever. I was enlightened of all the new characteristics of West Africa that I had not heard about. There seems to be a substantial difference between West Africa and America, between culture, history, and education. West African values are undoubtedly charismatic, and it bewilders me how little have fallen in their footsteps.
For instance, education and literacy was and still is a major aspect of the history and culture of West Africa. In the past, as a tool, students and scholars mixed boiled water and powdered rice to make ink, and they would write on wooden tablets called lohas. In fact, the ink they used was also put to good use for medicine. It is said, that the ink West Africans used, taught humans what they know now. To the West Africans, learning was regarded as spiritual and physical, which introduces me to my second unknown fact. This shows me how truly valued education was in their society. The key to learning was to teach young and to continue to teach when …show more content…

West Africans taught their own material, and it was indigenous and unique. At every school is was important to seek knowledge from the craters of the grave. Learning, having spirituality with God, and having an unbreakable connection with your mother was and is still being taught in West African schools today. Instead of a regular school setting, school sessions are seen as a sense of community. Classmates are your brothers and sisters, teachers are your uncles and aunts, and respect is a vile quality during sessions. Schools in the United States are so much different than those in West Africa. American schools hardly have a sense of community in classes, and material being taught is not spiritual or physical; the difference speaks volumes to

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