Question

What point is Washington making about slavery in the first paragraph? In a certain way, every slave plantation in the South was an industrial school. On these plantations young colored men and women were constantly being trained not only as farmers but as carpenters, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, brick masons, engineers, cooks, laundresses, sewing women and housekeepers….

By the side of industrial training should always go mental and moral training, but the pushing of mere abstract knowledge into the head means little. We want more than the mere performance of mental gymnastics. Our knowledge must be harnessed to the things of real life….

Answer 1

In the first paragraph, Washington is making the point that slave plantations in the South provided a form of practical education and industrial training for enslaved individuals. He suggests that, despite the brutal reality of slavery, these plantations served as training grounds where young Black men and women acquired various skills that were valuable in different trades, such as farming, carpentry, and cooking. However, he emphasizes that this form of training should be complemented by mental and moral education. Washington critiques the idea of merely imparting abstract knowledge without connection to real-life applications, advocating for a holistic approach to education that integrates practical skills with ethical and intellectual development.