The influence of Education
Education is a quality that everybody needs to obtain but, not many people receive the level of education that is necessary. In “We Real Cool” many readers may question the grammar throughout the poem, but in truth, it may be showing the lack of education the children had during that time. “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks could be reflecting how the lack of education can greatly affect people’s lives. The poem could also reflect which school system is given more disadvantages than the other based on the phrase “We left school”. By examining the speaker in “We Real Cool”, many readers may consider the children we readers going down the wrong path, it is, in truth, showing the lack of education can lead too.
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Most educated people may have assumed the title would make more sense if it was titled we are real cool. In an interview with Gwendolyn Brooks, the children in the poem were supposedly school drops out who was still trying to identify themselves which explains the grammar that was being used in the poem. The children were playing a pool game during the time they was supposed to be attending school (9). The title may have been trying to send a message across on how African Americans school system was at a disadvantage. According to Debra Prince, “Being African American in the United States has been described as a major disadvantage for an individual. If students create the social environment of schools from the advantages or disadvantages they bring to educational institutions, it would seem to follow that minority concentration schools exercise a negative influence on students, beyond the influence of any student’s own race (536). Many readers may have considered the children in the poem were African American based on the grammar in the poem. Most African American are less educated based off their school system. The African American culture shows that their educational levels are lower because they are separated (III et al. …show more content…
Education can determine the level of skill that a child will have when they are older, it can affect the employment rates and the level they will graduate at in their future (24). In “We Real Cool”, the grammar reflects the lack of education that occurred during that time. The lack of education may have caused the children to go down the wrong path, such as the phrase “We Left school” and “We Die soon”. The children in the poem were hanging out in the poolroom when they were supposed to be in school learning which could cause negative action. If the children were in school being educated, maybe they wouldn’t possibly risk their lives according to the phrase “We Die Soon” (Brooks 720). The elements in these phrases could influence that because they left school, which stopped their education could of cause them to shorten their life. “The well-being and training of young children has a tremendous effect on their future academic success and as a result also affects the community where they live” (Prince 24). The children’s environment plays a big role in their future because if the parents care about their education, it gives that child more advantages because someone cares about their education. If the child lives in an environment where education isn’t one of the main priorities of the households, it can result to teen death rates, child death rates, teen dropout rates, and teens who are not
In the poem “We Real Cool,” I think the speaker and the poet are not the same; the speaker of the poem is the group of young men. I believe they are not the same because the poet wanted to share her better intentions of what she can see across the society at her
Brooks continues the poem saying, “We / Left school”. Making the hopelessness of this scenario even more obvious. Brooks not only arranges the wording in this poem to show a desperate need, but she speaks of one as well. The fact that these seven young men have no education shows exactly how unpromising their futures are or are going to be if they continue down a path trying to impress each other
A high school education sets the pace for the rest of an individual's life, whether or not they attend college, receive the perfect job, or are able to function in the fast pace of society. The material taught in high school nowadays is not preparing students for life, or college, but rather feeding and exhausting their minds with tedious information they will forget in a matter of weeks. These “scholars” who are supposed to be the next generation of geniuses are not being taught the knowledge needed to be as successful as possible in our always developing and unforgiving world. In Kim Brooks essay, “Death to High School English” she explains her thoughts and personal experiences with college students who were improperly taught the fundamentals
“We Real Cool," by Gwendolyn Brooks is a fervent short poem that tells a story of teenage rebellion. This poem is a formal verse ballad which uses simple sentences that create a steady meter giving the poem a catchy jazz like quality. Although the poem is short, it packs a powerful message about youth. Gwendolyn Brooks centered her works predominately around the African American consciousness. During the 1960’s when the poem was written, many teens especially young African-American men felt misunderstood and like the world was set up for them to fail. On the surface, it appears this poem is a mere description of young adults that are misjudged. The deeper message of this poem addresses the dangers of peer pressure, and its detrimental effects to self-identity because of the disconnect between society and youth of that time.
"We Real Cool" is a short, yet powerful poem by Gwendolyn Brooks that sends a life learning message to its reader. The message Brooks is trying to send is that dropping out of school and roaming the streets is in fact not "cool" but in actuality a dead end street.
For my Argumentative Essay “Modern Day Re-Segregation in Today’s Schools”, I will be addressing Professor Kelly Bradford and my fellow students of Ivy Tech online English Composition 111-54H. As I chose Martin Luther King’s “Letter from A Birmingham Jail” as my core reading topic, I have gained an interest in not only the fight for civil rights that Mr. King lead in the 1950’s but have gotten interested in how there is still a large gap in equality in education due to the current situation of not only educational segregation but social and economic segregation. Through my research I have discovered that not only segregation in the schools is on the rise, but that socioeconomic segregation exists and is fueling the decrease in academic success by impoverished students. Through my writing I want to demonstrate that the socioeconomic isolation and segregation not only affects those that are directly bound by it, but that it affects every American in some form or other. I am submitting my writing as a formal academic manuscript.
Development is a key tool that assists Graff to successfully persuade his intended audience of high school and college educators. “Everyone knows some young person who is impressively ‘street smart’ but does poorly in school…high schools and colleges might be at fault…We associate the educated life…too narrowly and exclusively…I offer my own adolescent experience…” (237). Graff develops the text effectively by using a flowing structure of paragraphs and ideas, he develops the text by introducing the topic of street smarts, as well as street smart kids generally for a few paragraphs, then he introduces his own personal anecdote, and reflection. Graff’s use of development makes it effortless for the audience to read, as there is no cutting back and forth
“We real cool” penned by Gwendolyn Brooks is an excellent creation that describes the nature of youths in their young life. The poem is written in a very simple manner, which gives us a clear picture of the youth’s considering themselves as a real cool and involving in a fun as well as risky activities. The poem is the perfect example of what can be accomplished in a very short space with a simple everyday language using only few well-placed words. The simplicity of the language gives us the feeling that it is a real time creation of an author when she was having fun with friends, drinking gin, staying out late at night, enjoying jazz and so on. Also the simplicity of language points the fun, excitement, and carefree moments with no burden
The poem 'We Real Cool' by Gwendolyn Brooks is a stream of the thoughts of poor inner city African-Americans who have adopted a hoodlum lifestyle. Though many can have different interpretations of this poem, it is fair to look at the life and career or the works and influences of Gwendolyn Brooks.
At Tom’s school, Chicago Grammar School, the Negro children were often separated from the white children, the only exception being in smaller classes where there were only five to ten students. Tom could never understand why the two types of children were separated. When he talked to them during recess he realised that they were just normal people. They may not have had the exquisite items that Tom had but they were people - people who could afford to send their children to the prestigious school of Chicago Grammar.
The rhetorical strategies that format Don’t Stay in School are distinct and efficient in that Brown’s personal apprehensions are accurately revealed in virtue of the lyrical influence. For instance, Don’t Stay in School opens with Brown enumerating which indispensable life lessons were disregarded in schools’ curriculums. Specifically, he presents cases in which topics possessing little to no correspondence to average life were instead educated. During the whole of his track, Brown attempts to vocalize how utterly impractical it is that required subjects are taught over basic abilities that may manage to free masses of students from impending adversity. Therefore, Brown establishes his argument concerning the school system by way of indicating
In the article “Graduation” by Maya Angelou, Marguerite Johnson tells of the time she graduated from Lafayette County Training School in Stamps, Arkansas of the year 1940. She notes the excitement of the classes that were moving up as well as her graduating class. The juniors’ exerted new authority over lower grades while the seniors attended the last few days of school with little motivation. Marguerite Johnson exclaims how her predominantly black high school was different than the white schools as it was not nicely manicured and well maintained and that only a small percentage of students would actually attend college. Most
The Wonders of Rhetorical Figures In “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks, “Waiting for Icarus” by Muriel Rukeyser, and “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, rhetorical figures are used to emphasize main points in the poems. Each of these poems use a rhetorical figure to help the readers recognize main points the authors are trying to get across. The authors use rhetorical figures to bring out important points in each poem. Some rhetorical figures are used in “We Real Cool”, “Waiting for Icarus”, and “Harlem”.
“We Real Cool” is a poem that was written by poet Gwendolyn Brooks in the year of 1959. This poem states that the black young people in the United States went through to make a clear definition of themselves and tried to seek their values in the late fifties and early sixties, young kids knowing they are different from the society, so they started their abandonment from a young age, they give up school because they know they cannot be accept as other white kids, they were caught in things as rape, murder and robbery because that's the only thing the now to express their anger. They do everything that seems fun to them then die young because they have no hope left for them. These African American young ones are living in
For many people, school will play a significant role in their lives. From early childhood to adolescence, school is an institution where young people are taught technical skills like reading and math, as well as a place where they learn about morals and develop an understanding of the world around them. The ultimate goal of school is to prepare students to effectively navigate society as an adult. In order to achieve this, somes schools enforce strict rules and disciplinary actions, while others emphasize creativity and free thinking. For canonical science fiction writer George Orwell, his school experience was extremely rigorous and stern. In the essay “Such, Such Were the Joys” (1952), Orwell delves into his experience as a poor boy at an elite British preparatory school called St. Cyprian 's. Between the ages of eight and thirteen, he was subjected to poor living conditions, verbal abuse, and physical abuse from teachers, all in the name of making him into a rich, smart, and successful adult. However, the essay often questions the reliability of those methods. By using pathos and irony to appeal to his audience, Orwell argues that the school system is inherently absurd because it fails to prepare children for the intricacies of life after formal education.