Breaking Free from Society's Expectations and Achieving Opportunities to Impact the World around You

Convicted of robbery in 1946, Malcolm Little received a 10 year sentence in Charlestown prison, a sentence that would change the landscape of civil rights forever. Here he taught himself how to read and write, using materials provided by the prison’s library to aid in his education; consequently, he also learned about the racial injustices throughout history. After 7 years, Malcolm X was granted parole and released from prison and joined the Civil Rights Movement under the name Malcolm X. In a section of his autobiography Malcolm X argues the importance of critical thinking in educational and research purposes. Critical thinking allows the reader to gauge whether the information gained from a particular source can be accepted as fact, depending on how it fits into the information given by other sources. He uses his experiences, the texts that he used in his education, pathos arguments, and metaphor to further his point.

Education as a whole has been the key to the future and provides to the students with skill that they could not get anywhere. The new age has clearly shown us that education is a vital ingredient for a person’s future. Education has shown that one who studies further has a better lifestyle and will be highly respected, but what education cannot do is offer everyone the opportunity to succeed. Only a few students can take advantage of education; because if suddenly

The idea of a universal education system is criticized by many, because the idea of giving everyone a chance to prosper, has a detrimental effect on government resources; and the value placed on a post- secondary education, is somewhat diluted. This is wrong though, as people be judged on their academic skills, character and drive above their economic restrictions. The finances which a young person is born into, should not determine the life and career which they have. It has been shown that a college education increases a person’s earning power, but this education is contingent on money, which dictates your chance of achieving a recognized education. This is against the ‘education gospel’ which supports the idea that schooling should be for everyone, and that the more people who are educated, the less prejudices there will be in society. Education is universal, but post-secondary education, and one which leads people to positions of power and influence, is not. It is for the select few, of whom have the finances and opportunities to prosper that other, more underprivileged people do not, and that needs to change.

In Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read”, we learn the story of how Malcolm turned his how life around while serving a sentence he earned from a robbery in 1964, which lead him to spend seven years in jail. During this time, Malcolm discovered the power that reading and self educating himself brought to his consciousness. Who would have known that this man’s entire life would of changed and transformed him into one of the biggest political figures of our time. He himself probably never would've guessed that this would of been his fate while he was in prison serving time for a crime he committed before his enlightenment. A negative choice he made which ultimately altered the path he was destined to go down, Malcolm X is the prime example of how change is possible for anyone as long as you start within yourself.

According to Bynner and Joshi (1999) class differences have persisted since the late 1950’s. It can be seen that all studies carried out by various theorist came to the same conclusion that middle class pupils tend to do a lot better than working class in terms of educational achievement. Pupils from middle class backgrounds tend to pass more exams, stay on at school for longer and are five times more likely to go to university. This gap in achievement widens with age as right from nursery school to university, processes like labelling or the self fulfilling prophecy take

Expansion of education is closely related to idealistic views of democracy. In developing and wealthy nations, education is valued because it helps the individual mind to develop capabilities. In contrast, education has also been seen as a way to promote equality. Having access to public education, in theory, has the potential to reduce poverty and promote equality. If all are entitled to the same public education, not to mention they are required by law, why do school systems seem segregate their students? Researchers have searched for the answer and have theorized that economic background, tracking, and hidden curriculum are a few things that help contribute to the imaginary lines drawn between students in society.

Generally, every individual’s learning experience has its own inspiring and meaningful stories; a learning experience that has its own unique distinctions, interpretations, complications, sacrifices, has its endless possibilities, and most importantly, a learning experience that has its own effective action and optimistic option for execution. For example: In “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” Sherman Alexie highlights his enjoyment of reading and writing. He claims that as a kid, he reminds himself that he is a “smart Indian boy” even though it is not recognized on a reservation or even when non-Indian teachers believe that Indian children are stupid. Similarly, in “Learning to Read and Write,” Frederick Douglass demonstrates that slaves are entitled to have the same rights to learn about reading and writing as any other Americans. He testifies that his masters, including his fellow slaves believe that slavery and education were not compatible. Moreover, in “On Keeping a Notebook,” Joan Didion stereotypes herself by constantly questioning her own writing due to her lack of confidence as a writer. She conveys that eventually, she masters writing through examining her own writing on a piece of a notebook about herself and other people. Likewise, in “Learning to Read,” Malcolm X expresses that books are his “Alma Mater” because he becomes proficient in writing in a course of copying every single word in a dictionary. He clarifies that he develops his skills in

College is the next stepping stone to better or advance ones social standing in life, whether it is moving from a blue collar lifestyle to white collar, or to continue to further their career path. However, it comes with an “unavoidable result.” Alfred Lubrano discusses this “unavoidable result” in his text “The Shock of Education: How College Corrupts.” Lubrano discusses the topic of how furthering ones education opens more possibilities but at the same time distances those held most dearly. He explains that the more knowledge gained, the bigger the gap caused between friends and family due to differences in levels of knowledge. That distance is greatly increase if one comes from a poorer region where blue collar workers are the social

Learning has an important role in human being society. By learning a person can gain more knowledge and understanding in order to contribute to the development of society. Learning can be performed in various ways. Specifically, there are two completely different types of learning that produce strength and weakness based on general educational experience. Mark, a Franklin high school student, is described in “What High School Is” by Theodore Sizer. On the other hand, Malcolm X, who was convicted of robbery in 1946, came out of jail with the knowledge of Black history and

“Learning to Read” by Malcolm X is a narrative that focuses on him trying to learn how to read in prison and how gaining that ability open up new doors for him. While Malcolm X was in prison, he realized how frustrating it was being unable to read and write what he wanted to read or write which his constant frustration eventually triggers his ambition to try learning those skills. Learning to read in prison helped Malcolm X more than if he went to college because he can concentrate better in the isolation of prison than the many social distractions of college. With only books as his resource, Malcolm X went through a tedious journey of steadily practicing how to read, write, and understand every word he saw, eventually, he accomplished his ambition. Malcolm X focused more on reading and became obsessed with it; he reads almost every day and as much as

Reading “Chapter XVI: The life of the peasants” from Harper and Brother’s Life on a Mediaeval Barony lead me to contemplate the work life and attitude toward the education of the less glamorous lifestyle that medieval peasants lived, “Their help is so important that many peasants look on large families as assets of so much unpaid labor, rather than as liabilities… Education is almost unknown” (Davis). I contemplated what this attitude towards education could mean in modern society and how it relates to the lifestyles of urban families of a lower income. In “A Letter to My Nephew” by James Baldwin, Baldwin addresses the socioeconomic education status of the early 20th century to his nephew, “The limits to your ambition were thus expected to be settled. You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity [that]... You were not expected to aspire to excellence”(Baldwin). Baldwin is stating that students of a lower social standing are automatically assumed to not succeed in school due to limitations on resources. I found this to be a very applicable concept in the education system of urban schools because numerous students that attend urban schools are of a low social standing with limited opportunities for success. Students can only take full advantage of their education in respect to the circumstances that they are raised in. According to Torrey Marable, a recent graduate from Phelps High School, many students who attend urban schools have

In 1946 Malcolm Little was convicted of robbery and received a 10 year sentence in Charlestown prison. Here he taught himself how to read and write, using materials provided by the prison’s library to aid in his education; consequently, he also learned about the racial injustices throughout history. After 7 years, Malcolm X was granted parole and released from prison and joined the Civil Rights Movement under the name Malcolm X. In a section of his autobiography Malcolm X argues the importance of critical thinking in educational and research purposes. Critical thinking allows the reader to gauge whether the information gained from a particular source can be accepted as fact, depending on how it fits into the information given by other sources. He uses his experiences, the texts that he used in his education, pathos arguments, and metaphor to further his point.

These children are defrauded not just of an education, but also of the ability to be socially mobile. Researchers of the American Psychological Association found that education level directly correlates with socioeconomic status. A lack of education undermines any individual’s true capability, preventing them from surpassing their academic limitations. Potential important figures and world leaders may never come to be if not given the tools to become what they can become. The next generation’s Einsteins and Gandhis will not exemplify their prowesses if never given the rudiments

Bowles and Gintis felt it was important to write this article, because they believe that the politics of education are better understood in terms of the need for social control in an unequal and rapidly changing economic order. This point is illustrated on page 396 when the authors say, “The unequal

Education is an important structure in society that shapes the most important years of your life, and therefore many theorists have ideas about what is wrong with education, what is right, and what needs to change or develop. Education is confined a lot by social control and social reproduction. Social control is a concept that refers to how social systems control the way we feel, think, behave, and even how we should present ourselves. These can appear openly, shown as rules and laws, or they could be not openly acknowledged and just appear as the “common” thing to do. Social reproduction is the reproduction of inequalities throughout generation-to-generation, one way education does this is how it supplies “wealthy” schools more and “poor” schools less. Michael Apple and Maxine Greene both define Social reproductions and Social Control. Throughout this text, I will explain the theories of Greene and Apple, as well as comparing and contrasting them against one another while applying some of my own experiences of education.