Since ancient times, humankind has always sought knowledge and wisdom. However, the path to get them has never been a simple one, due to through time, people with power and money have tried to keep humanity in the “darkness;” therefore, is up the people to find their way to the “light.” Having that in mind, Toni Cade Bambara in his short story “The Lesson,” and David Foster Wallace in the essay “Commencement Speech, Kenyon College,” develop the topic of the importance of education. “The lesson” is about a black lady, from probably the 1920’s or 1930’s, who managed to go to college; and now is trying to inspire a group of black kids to do the same. Whereas, Wallace’s essay is an adaptation from the commencement speech to the graduates from Kenyon …show more content…
In Bambara’s “The Lesson,” it is introduced “Miss Moore,” it is said that “she was black as hell, [ex]cept for her feet, which were fish-white and spooky” (Bambara, 96). More important, “She’d been to college and said it was only right that she should take responsibility for the young ones’ education, [even though] she not even related by marriage or blood” (Bambara, 96). As a result, she takes the task of trying to motivate a group of African-American kids, from a poor neighborhood, to think by themselves, and educate them. However, the kids seem fairly unpleased, which can be seen when Sylvia, the story narrator, says: “She [Miss Moore] was always planning these boring-ass things for us to do . . .” (Bambara, 96). On the other hand, in Wallace’s “Commencement Speech, Kenyon College” is also about education; however, it is aimed to college graduates, people who have an education already. Furthermore, Wallace tries to teach that education is not all about what people learn from textbooks in a classroom. In fact, he tries to teach that education is also learning how to deal with the frustrating “day-to-day.” Therefore, even though both stories are about education, how they approach the topic is different one
Wallace concludes his speech by claiming the real value of education is not knowledge, but being aware of what is real. Wallace’s main claim about a liberal arts education, that it exists to teach students how to think, is incorrect; however, he is correct to say that the same experience can mean two different things to two different people, and that learning how to think is being aware of how to exercise control over how you
Gary Blackwood uses his short story, “Noah Count and the Arkansas Ark” to teach the different varieties of education and why we should value them. The narrator goes through a hard time trying to embrace his family and how their grammar is different from the rest of the community. Blackwood includes many ways that shows the readers why we should value everyone’s education, and also how the main character feelings change about it. There are many times when his thought process is changed.
In Gary Blackwood’s story, “Noah Count and the Arkansas Ark”, he demonstrates the value of education by showing how the son’s point of view regarding his family’s lack of education changes over the course of the story. In the beginning of the story, the son feels smarter than the rest of his family, because he has had more education than them. In the middle, the son starts to feel embarrassed by his family because of the way that others talk about them. In the end, the son starts to feel more appreciative towards his family because they were right all along.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Ignorance Vs. Reason in the War on Education Kareem Abdul-Jabber writes an article explaining the attack on education and the serious problems in the classroom involving teachers and students. Abdul-Jabbar describes how students only hold on to one perspective; students should explore different perspectives on topics, and question education’s opinions on practical matters. Republicans, Democrats, and non-partisan discuss this controversy over education.
‘A Talk to Teachers’ by James Baldwin published on December 21, 1963 in New York was a message to teachers on how they are allowing the injustices of African-Americans to continue through the educational system. Baldwin ultimately wants the prejudice to end through the educational system. His tone tends to change but wants to evoke a sense of urgency to make teachers fix up the educational systems’ views on African-Americans and the false history that is being taught about them. Baldwin ultimately builds his credibility by using his own personal experience from going through the same educational system the present children go through today Baldwin starts off by listing injustices within the treatment of African-Americans ranging from when slavery
“Grant’s daily interactions with his students result in feelings of displacement and disillusionment. Grant compares his students to some of the older uneducated townsfolk and finds that his hours in the classroom make a little difference.” (Lockhart 83). Even though Grant is unhappy with where he is at in his life he still realizes that he still is making a change in his students they are becoming more intelligent than some of the older people in their
George Saunders’ commencement address was given at the Syracuse University in the state of New York in May of 2013. The address took place at the graduation ceremony and its purpose was to guide the young adults who were graduating into the journey which is life. Saunders states "one useful thing you can do with an old person [...] is ask "what do you regret?"" . Saunders is an older man and because of that, throughout the course of his life he has experienced a lot of great memorable moments in his life as well as a great deal regrets.
With the invitation to education most students wouldn’t achieve as high of a standard they are capable of. I believe this is a major part in education. Most teachers know the educational abilities of every student, but when they see that an individual isn’t reaching that mark they push them to do better for the benefit of the student. In both of these stories the teachers believed that the student could do better, and they tried their best to show the student what their capabilities are. One of the hardest parts in education for the students is to get the invitation from their teachers.
David Foster Wallace is an American writer. He spoke at the Kenyon Commencement Address in 2005, where he gave a speech to the graduating class of the year. David tells the graduates of Kenyon College what the true meaning of a liberal arts degree is, and how they should go about finding it. David Foster Wallace’s appeals to credibility, emotion and logical reasoning in his speech – “This Is Water” – to strengthen the idea that the meaning of education is learning how and what to think, independently.
Ungar’s essay, Charles Murray discusses why a liberal arts degree is unnecessary in his essay, “Are Too Many People Going to College?”. Murray believes that the basics of a liberal education are indeed important, but that students should be provided the basics of liberal arts in elementary and middle school (Murray 223). In this essay, Murray cites E.D. Hirsch Jr.’s book Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know.” Hirsch Jr. and Murray believe that there is a “body of core knowledge” that all students should have, and that “this core knowledge is an important part of the glue that holds the culture together” but that this core knowledge should be taught in grades K-8 (Murray 224). Murray discusses how young children are much better at memorizing facts than adults are, to support his position that kids should be memorizing this core knowledge at a younger age (Murray 224).
In David Foster Wallace’s “ Kenyon Commencement Speech,” he discusses the importance of liberal arts education in “teaching you how to think” (Wallace, 199). He mentions how education is beyond the knowledge we learn, but about simple awareness will impact the choices we make for better or worse. The real value of education cannot be found in a career (you may or may not be fired from), but it can be found in the way you view things through a different perspective and by considering how other factors can contribute to everyday life. This new approach in thinking will allow us to appreciate our lives and overcome our inner “default setting” towards the world (Wallace, 199). I agree with Wallace’s argument because the purpose of higher education should not be about having career-specific skills and obtaining a degree, but about intellectual and personal growth will help us survive in the real world.
The symbols present in “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, depict the economic and social injustices faced by specific members of society, specifically the children in the story. The characters in the story are being mentored by Miss Moore, a woman from their block who has taken up the role of taking them out on weekly outings. The story touches on the situation of the children that are stuck in living in almost poverty. “The Lesson” focuses on the socioeconomic disparities between the different racial groups and how. Bambara uses several techniques such as irony, othering, and second person point of view to make the story meaningful and demonstrate the characteristics of the characters.
As Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Donovan Livingston, a graduate at Harvard Graduate School of Education, has similar views on education. His passionate and inspiring speech called “Lift Off” was given at HGSE’s Commencement Ceremony on May 25, 2016. The speech discusses the importance of education as well as the obstacles and injustices students, especially those of color, have experienced throughout history in getting an education. Livingston’s graduating classmates who are becoming teachers, as well as teachers and educators in general, are the audience of his speech.
While school may teach lessons, they are certainly not valuable life lessons. Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird repeatedly shows the ineffectiveness of the education system in a child’s morals. To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in the Great Depression era in Alabama, where education was not the best. Teachers would only seek to teach their classes average, everyday lessons rather than valuable life teachings.
There has been a multitude of famous individuals that have changed the course of human history over the years. With their work being the source of inspiration of many to simply having a likeable, repeatable demeanor, there is no doubt that to be regarded in that special collective of individuals. One of the most famous civil rights leader that advocated for 13 years, Martin Luther King Jr., discertation called, “The Purpose of Education,” that brings awareness to the importance of education and its overall relevance in tepid year of 1947. Dr. King brings clarity to his opinion in the beginning of his paragraph stating, “It seems to me that education has a two-fold function to perform in the life of man and in society: the one is utility and