| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this Study is to investigate the contribution of the Ameru Elders in educating today‘s youth in the light of Jesus as the Liberating Teacher. The conviction is that properly investigated and adequately analyzed, the Ameru Elders have invaluable contribution in educating today‘s youth when seen from the point of view of Jesus as the Liberating Teacher. This gives significance to the Ameru Elders in developing and preserving the cultural values of the Ameru people among the youth in Central Imenti District of Meru County as a contribution towards youth‘s pedagogy. To achieve the above, two theories guided the Study. One is that propagated by L. Boff and C. Boff called mediation theory. The other is redaction criticism theory with exponents like E. Kasemann, H. Conzelmann and B. Bornkamm.
The theological reflections exposed in this Study looked at how education was passed on from the Elderly to the children and in this case orally among the Jewish culture as in the case of the Ameru. As such the specific objectives for the Study are to investigate the role of Elders in the Ameru world view; to explain the liberation approach in theologizing with a view to enhance better education of today‘s youth; to make use of the model of Jesus as the Liberating Teacher as an excellent one in educating today‘s youth; to explain the invaluable contribution of Ameru Elders towards proper education of the youth in Imenti Central in the light of Jesus the Liberating Teacher; and draw out emerging recommendations from the contribution of Elders that is useful in education of today‘s youth.
The Study was carried out in Imenti Central District of Meru County directed to the Ameru Elders, the DEOs, Secondary School Principals, Church youth leaders and the Ameru youth drawn from Secondary Schools in Imenti Central District. The Study aimed at contacting 150 respondents a sample was identified through non-probability purposeful sample. This Study used both primary and Secondary data collected by the use of questionnaires while Secondary source was through the Jomo Kenyatta University of Nairobi Library, Hekima College Library and P.N. Wachege‘s Little Eden Library among others.
The findings indicate that the present system of education is classifying the youth in age groups of ranges.This was the case in the Ameru worldview of peer group settings for the purpose of moral and social instruction. The Study also makes one appreciate the strength of knowledge passed on through oral tradition and not to dismiss it as primitive, naive and informal with the justification that the Ameru did not write down what they gathered in the course of teaching and learning. The Study, further established that in biblical perspective a lot of education took place outside the formerly established institutions. So the current education system should be encouraged to involve and seek to build the potential of the students that is displayed outside the classroom. The Study has established that for today‘s Teacher to succeed in bringing out a balanced youth in School, the Teachers themselves have to conduct teaching in a multi-disciplinary way like Jesus the Liberating Teacher; who could act as a classroom Teacher, a preacher, a
xix
doctor, a Lawyer and also impact wisdom to the youth. Ameru Elders did make a big attempt to teach in a multi disciplinary way.
Therefore parents should introduce their children to a religious culture in their lives when children are young. All the Secondary Schools should in their programs embrace serious religious culture in all their activities.Counseling programs in the boarding and day Secondary Schools should be strengthened with the involvement of parents, School administrators and Boards of Governors need to recommend and enlist parents who are resourceful persons to visit Schools and participate in counseling programs at class or group levels. This can be extended when all parents come and participate at individual levels with their youth (boys and girls). In these programs the role of the mother in the growth of the female youth and that of the father in the male youth needs to be emphasized. It is time those single mothers with boy youths in School identify male figures at the family level to visit and counsel the male youth and vice versa for male widowers with girl youths in School. | en_US |
