Savannah Dahlke
Mrs. Clayton
AP Language and Composition
3 Feb 2017
Goals of Education
To what extent do schools serve the goals of a true education? In order, to correctly identify the answer to this prompt, one must first define true education. ?James Baldwin describing true education said,the purpose of a true education is to help develop well-rounded individuals, consequently, integrating them as educated and intellectual members of society, individuals who are able to make their own decisions and worldly perceptions. Intelligence and character becoming the rudiments of success. Although the school system is said to be failing, it?s purpose transcends the common complaint, in its ability to touch all students, giving everyone an opportunity
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Ralph Emerson, a famous writer, explains, ?It is not for you to choose what he shall know, what he shall do. It is chosen and foreordained, and he only holds the key to his own secret.? The average student already has an idea of what to expect in a class without even setting a single foot in the classroom. Their motivations or the lack thereof become manifest in the starting minutes of class and the difference between the inspired and the carless are seen. It is seen who the students are that endlessly stare out the windows and openly daydream, those that simply refuse to participate, and the driven, who take the challenge headfirst. ?This separation can be seen from various perspectives, some stereotyping these vastly different students into subsections of the smart and disjointly unfocused, however there is one group of people that transcend the common judgement and look past the outside picture, people that look for the potential that everyone else is unwilling to see. These individuals are …show more content…
Francine prose, and author and critic says, " that the books I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, To Kill a Mockingbird, and other various classics have bad benefits, like poor writing skills and an incomprehension of material. Thus, not reaching the expectations of a true education. However, other evidence suggests the contrast to this statement. One of the many Freedom Writers wrote about the power of literature saying, " I know why the caged bird sings. For many people this might sound like a normal poem, but to me it's an analogy of my life. I sometimes feel as if Ian a bird without wings, and the door on my cage is not open. A bird doesn't sing because it's happy, it sings because it's not free. This individual found a relief, a savior, a connection to the words portrayed by Mary Angelou. It became a lifeline, a break from the overweening reality into a world of imagery and personal connection. This written work, as well as, other literary classics shaped this individual and his classmates into better
As students were forced into their growth of knowledge in elementary school and middle school by continuously being taught basics, in order to prepare them for high school and beyond, they get to gain their freedom and decide whether or not they want to meet their teachers’ marks in high school. Throughout the school year, there comes a time where students have to sign up for classes. By having this choice, students can decide on how they want to challenge themselves in the next school year. During my two and a half years of high school that I have conquered so far, I learned that in a classroom setting there are students who take advanced courses, enjoy the subjects that they chose to take, and try their best to get the best grades that they can receive, in order to prepare them for their future in adulthood. However, there are also students who do not try or realize the importance of the free education given to them because they do not have an interest in the subjects that teachers are teaching them or are just being forced by their students to attend school. Some teachers try their best to bring out the motivation in these students who do not yet see that education is power and freedom, but there are also teachers who ignore these helpless students that are blinded by the present things that affect them like popularity or living with the motto that “you only live once”, because these teachers do not have the inspiration in the
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiographical novel written by Maya Angelou, was published in the year 1969. The novel follows Maya as a young girl facing challenges such as racism and sexism following the civil rights movement. While reading the book, the reader is introduced to events in history such as the Great Depression and World War II.
Francine Prose is the author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read”. She is a credible source because as a writer, she has enough experience with the English language, so she can afford to be critical of what children are reading in schools nowadays.
Angelou was born in Missouri in 1928. She spent most of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, pre Civil Rights Movement with her grandmother and her older brother. Angelou is most known for writing the poem Caged Bird. In the first stanza about the caged bird, Angelou declares that the bird, “can seldom see through/ his bars of rage/ his wings are clipped and/ his feet are tied/ so he opens his throat to sing”(Caged Bird). Angelou uses the bird as a metaphor for oppressed African Americans during this time period; the bird is held back by a barrier, just like African Americans were held back by unjust laws, a corrupt legal system, and their white peers who saw them as inferior. Similar to the bird, Angelou felt held back by others, but she did not let the “bars of rage” hold her back from her potential so, like the bird, she “opened her throat to sing” and used her voice to protest for herself and those who could not advocate for themselves.
Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist, author, and poet. She wrote many books and poems that conveyed the vivid experiences in her life. Maya Angelou’s works are well known and she is an eminent writer. One poem in particular that is well known is “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” written in 1969. In this work she described racial inequality, and the lack of freedom African Americans experienced in the 1930’s and 40’s. Maya Angelou uses many Rhetorical strategies and literary devices to describe the lack of racial freedom in the world at this time.
The excerpt above is part of Ronald Reagan's campaign speeches in California on March 31, 1976. Reagan's speech is reflective of the problems that forcing groups of individuals together forcibly and unnaturally. Professor Zoë Burkholder candidly highlights in the journal article "From Forced Tolerance to Forced Busing: Wartime Intercultural Education and the Rise of Black Educational Activism in Boston," that integrated busing was unsuccessful because both white and black students were still working to understand the tolerance of each other.
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings was first published in 1969 during a time when autobiographies of women because heavily significant by their exclamation of the significance of women. As a result, Angelou's piece gathered attention from various types of women who could relate to Angelou's journey of sexuality, colour, and the coloured
Washington DC is the capital of the United States of America and the home of the president´s country, it has the majority of the political scene but contrary to other opinions, there are others scenes that we can appreciate, for example, culture, architecture, entertaining, and restaurants.
“The free bird thinks of another breeze….a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams…” The two literary works “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou and Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” can be seen as mockingbirds that have flown over fields of prejudice and repeat what they have seen for all to hear. Jem Finch, a young boy and lawyer’s son from “To Kill a Mockingbird” clearly symbolizes a mockingbird because of his youth and innocence, and because of his innocence he cannot fully understand the racism in the story. Jem also has many similarities to the caged and free birds in “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, whether it be Jem’s
But to fix the problems and to serve the students we must first have a vision of what good education is (Ravitvch). What is a good education? A good education isn’t just learning and comprehending, a good education should also teach us how to work well with others, to use our common sense, to expand our range of friends and how we think. Now, what are the goals of a true education? The goals of a true education are learning how to work for yourself by yourself, to grow and adapt as a whole person, to build up your character, and to have a desire to learn more. If our schools were to meet the goals of a true education, it would leave us with a thirst for knowledge that leaves you restless at night, that only education can fulfill.
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is a novel by Maya Angelou, where she writes about her childhood and her experiences while growing up. This non-fiction novel illustrates Maya Angelou’s childhood, being tossed around by her parents, and having to experience different cultures. Maya struggles particularly in finding friends, she is reserved, and will only open up to Bailey, her brother. Maya moves a couple of times to different places, which may contribute to her not having friends. The novel revolves around Maya Angelou, Bailey, and her grandmother, evolving through life from being a child to a teenager. This novel is set in the “South”, in America.
I studied at Wesli 1 year ago, so I think I really understand education of Wesli. In 100-600 level’s class, the teachers used to teach us a lot of vocabularies, but they never teach us where can we use it. For example, the teachers give a vocabulary test for each week. Before the test, I can remember all of the words. After the test, I forget all of them. I like to join this test, but I know that is not useful. In the article “What True Education School Do,” the author Sydney mentioned the wrong eduction is putting a lot of knowledge into the students’ mind, that like to make sausages. Therefore, I think some teachers are making sausages at Wesli. I hope they can change some teaching styles, and they can pay attention to low level’s classes.
Angelou’s poem “I Know Why the Cages Bird Sings” expresses the idea that freedom is a natural state and knowledge of this fact cannot be rid of by any amount of oppression, limitation or confinement from different opportunities. The poem contrasts a
Written by William Shakespeare and published in 1609, Sonnet XVIII is a poem that highlights the comparison between humans and the natural world, which, not only speaks to a beloved but also the society as the broader audience. The speaker presents a rhetorical question that is aimed at comparing the beloved to a summer day and makes an immediate assumption that the beloved is lovelier. As the poem progresses, the speaker attempts to highlight the significant differences between the two by trying to diminish nature over man but ends up concluding that the two have similarities whose fate can only get determined by time. The poem explicitly utilizes its themes, a setting that personifies nature, figurative language, and a compelling optimistic
Throughout the majority of my education, including college, I have felt like a passive member of the classroom. Teachers saw me as a clear slate that needed to be filled with information. I consumed countless facts, and memorized numerous processes, most of them not being my own. This approach to teaching has proven to be unsuccessful to the goals of education. Students are diverse, with their own learning styles and their own knowledge that they bring to the table, and these should be supported and expanded on in the classroom. The goal of education is to support learners and thinkers, and not to condition minds to all think the same ways.