A UNIQUE form of education is to be offered to school children with the aim of "reawakening the African consciousness" of Bermuda's youths.

Called the School for Additional Learning (SAL), it will open at the end of this month and will also feature instruction on African dance, crafts and plays.

According to organisers, its aim is to provide a source of vital education currently lacking in local schools, introducing kids to Bermudian and African history and thereby giving them a needed "sense of identity, purpose and direction".

Open to kids between the ages of five and 13, the programme will initially consist of a series of Saturday classes, each held in the auditorium of the Devonshire Recreation Club.

"There is a real need for it," said Peggy Burns, public relations officer for SAL. "A programme like this is long overdue. The education situation here really needs to be addressed.

"Everyone is talking about it but no one is doing anything. I'm very conscious about the plight of people of African descent here. Teachers are faced with a challenge ? what to do?

"So many people readily say that (the failings in the school system) have everything to do with discipline when really, teachers aren't speaking to the divine essence and nature of the child.

"Our aim is to reawaken the African consciousness of our young people through the study of 'our story' in order to give them a sense of identity, purpose and direction which will empower children of the African nation.

"Parents throw a lot of money towards college, educating their children abroad. What about empowering them with the importance of self-employment? What about black businesses? This is supposed to be an era of integration. When blacks were segregated we supported each other. That's non-existent today."

The executive director of SAL, Tianja Bean, agreed.

Now a teacher at Sandys Middle School, Ms Bean has 27 years' experience in the field. From her initial start as a missionary in Ethiopia, she took her skills to Israel and North Carolina. It was in the United States that the need for a curriculum like the one to be offered by SAL "became real" to her and when she returned to Bermuda to teach two-and-a-half years ago, her "eyes were really opened".

"When students understand who they are, everything else will become clear," she said. "There are a lot of issues in the education component.

"There are lots of pockets and educators are caught in the middle. We need clarity. We need a better understanding of what our position is so we can better educate them about themselves and what they have to offer."

To illustrate their point, Mrs. Burns pointed to the teachings of US educator Asa G. Hilliard. In his book, , he wrote that "true education occurs when there is that 'divine dance' between the teacher and the student. True education is caught in that instant that becomes a moment, that turns into a path of perfection. It is when the teacher 'touches the spirit' of the student and opens up the passion for knowledge and inspires the student to love learning."

Continued Dr. Hilliard: "There is something dreadfully wrong with an education / socialisation process that leaves us ignorant of our past, strangers to our people, apes of our oppressors, and creatures of habitual, shallow thought and trivial values.

"Therefore, there must be an independent African effort to guarantee that our children and our communities develop the perspectives, purposes, skills and the knowledge to function in ways that enhance our survival and development.

"The education of African people is an urgent necessity. It is a matter of life and death. We cannot abide another generation of children who have no identity and who are ignorant about Africa. Trusting our own cultural heritage, ancient and modern, we are in the best position to solve our own problems. Self-acceptance and self-determination is the only possibility for our development and enhancement."

To meet that end, Mrs. Burns said SAL's curriculum had been developed to build "a positive self-esteem", develop "group identity" and provide for "entrepreneurial activities that encourage collective work and responsibility".

"The children's education and curriculum are based on truth, balance, order, harmony and reciprocity so that each student will understand that self-determination is fundamental for participation in a culturally diverse society," she explained.

"What the children will learn is holistic. The students will be involved in cross-discipline learning, meeting core curriculum goals and guidelines, critical and creative thinking, self-concepts development, character development and moral education ? acknowledging the scientific fact that humanity began in Africa."