Each One Teach One
Encyclopedia
Each One Teach One is a known Africa
n Proverb
. The original author is unknown.
This phrase originated in the US during slavery
, when Africans
and African American
s were denied education
, including learning to read
. Many, if not most slaves were kept in a state of ignorance about anything beyond their immediate circumstances which were under control of owners, the law makers and the authorities. Denying education was one of the methods used to keep them docile and instill and maintain the belief that they were inferior and unworthy of a life beyond subservience, labor and harsh treatment. The right to an education and the possibility of learning were unachievable goals for many people, but slaves, free blacks
and white sympathizers understood its value. Some of these people, despite the possibility of physical punishment, and for people of color, the continued assault on their psychological well being, were brave enough to risk themselves in an effort to teach others. When a slave learned or was taught to read, it became their duty to teach someone else, spawning the phrase "Each one teach one." It became a saying that still resonates in the African American community, and underlies many community driven charitable, educational and volunteer programs.
In the first half of the 20th century, the phrase was applied to the work of a Christian missionary, Dr. Frank Laubach
, who utilized the concept to help address poverty and illiteracy in the Philippines
. Many sources cite Dr. Laubach as creating the saying, but many others believe that he simply utilized it in order to advance the cause of ending illiteracy in the world, a historic, valuable and honorable effort on his part.
In the 1996 novel
Push
of Sapphire
as well as the 2009 movie Precious the expression is used as the name of an alternative school
that the principal character is attending after being expelled from public school
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n Proverb
Proverb
A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...
. The original author is unknown.
This phrase originated in the US during slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, when Africans
African people
African people refers to natives, inhabitants, or citizen of Africa and to people of African descent.-Etymology:Many etymological hypotheses that have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":...
and African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s were denied education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, including learning to read
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
. Many, if not most slaves were kept in a state of ignorance about anything beyond their immediate circumstances which were under control of owners, the law makers and the authorities. Denying education was one of the methods used to keep them docile and instill and maintain the belief that they were inferior and unworthy of a life beyond subservience, labor and harsh treatment. The right to an education and the possibility of learning were unachievable goals for many people, but slaves, free blacks
Free Negro
A free Negro or free black is the term used prior to the abolition of slavery in the United States to describe African Americans who were not slaves. Almost all African Americans came to the United States as slaves, but from the earliest days of American slavery, slaveholders set men and women free...
and white sympathizers understood its value. Some of these people, despite the possibility of physical punishment, and for people of color, the continued assault on their psychological well being, were brave enough to risk themselves in an effort to teach others. When a slave learned or was taught to read, it became their duty to teach someone else, spawning the phrase "Each one teach one." It became a saying that still resonates in the African American community, and underlies many community driven charitable, educational and volunteer programs.
In the first half of the 20th century, the phrase was applied to the work of a Christian missionary, Dr. Frank Laubach
Frank Laubach
Frank Charles Laubach was an Evangelical Christian missionary and mystic known as "The Apostle to the Illiterates." In 1935, while working at a remote location in the Philippines, he developed the "Each One Teach One" literacy program. It has been used to teach about 60 million people to read in...
, who utilized the concept to help address poverty and illiteracy in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Many sources cite Dr. Laubach as creating the saying, but many others believe that he simply utilized it in order to advance the cause of ending illiteracy in the world, a historic, valuable and honorable effort on his part.
In the 1996 novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Push
Push (novel)
Push is the 1996 debut novel of American author Sapphire. Thirteen years after its release, it was made into an acclaimed film that won two Academy Awards and was produced by Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry.- Plot summary :...
of Sapphire
Sapphire (author)
Sapphire is an American author and performance poet.- Early life :Ramona Lofton was born in Fort Ord, California, one of four children of an Army couple who relocated within the United States and abroad. After a disagreement concerning where the family would settle, her parents separated, with...
as well as the 2009 movie Precious the expression is used as the name of an alternative school
Alternative school
Alternative school is the name used in some parts of the world to describe an institution which provides part of alternative education. It is an educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are nontraditional...
that the principal character is attending after being expelled from public school