How I Discovered Words By Malcolm X Summary

Malcom X entered prison with an eighth grade education. His motivation towards enlightenment came from a fellow inmate “Bimbi first made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge. Bimbi had always taken charge of any conversation he was in, and I had tried to emulate him”(Malcom X.52). Along the way Malcom X got a hold of a dictionary which he thoroughly studied and eventually copied the whole book word by word! As his word-base broadened “I could for the first time pick up a book and read and now begin to understand what the book was saying” (Malcom X.53). From then and until he left prison, every free moment he had, if he was not reading in the library, he was reading in his bunk. Even

In the essay Learning to Read, Malcolm X details the process in which he learned to read and the tremendous effects it had on his perspective of the race issues in America. During his stay in prison, Malcolm X was given the opportunity to spend timeless hours learning as much as he could about reading and the English language. Furthermore, Malcolm X was fortunate enough to stay at a prison that had an extensive library. As a result, Malcolm X was able to discover and learn more about his own culture. Malcolm X learned that the African American culture is unfortunately cast in the shadows of the white population and neglected in textbooks as well as history. Not only does he believe the white population suppresses African Americans, but he believes

Being that the school system I encountered prior to college barely educates you on black history, I can only imagine how the education system was in Malcolm’s time. At this time in his life when he was Malcolm Little, he had little to no education about his history which is most likely the reason he carried himself the way that he did in the very beginning of his life. One who does not know where they come from nor value their history typically tends to fall into a stereotypical existence; the only way to break this cycle is the awakening of the mind. Something has to occur to drastically changes a man or woman’s life, whether it's in a positive or negative form.

In his autobiography, he writes about his time in prison and his frustration in not being able to communicate properly to Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm X started copying words from the dictionary and everything on the page down to the punctuation and began reading books on history, philosophy, and religion. He writes, “I copied into my tablet everything printed on that first page, down to the punctuation marks. . . As my word-base broadened, I could for the first time pick up a book and read and now begin to understand what the book was saying.”

The Autobiography of Malcolm X, written by Malcolm X himself and Alex Haley, concentrates on Malcolm X’s unapologetic and autodidactism. Although his approach to education was unorthodox, once Malcolm X started to read he could not stop. His thirst for education became unquenchable. During his time in prison he managed to self-educate about the religion of Islam and identify his true self. Living in America where black kids are discouraged and laughed at for trying to pursue a professional career, Malcolm X dropped out of high school because the education system failed him. His teacher told him that a person of his kind was not suitable for a sophisticated sifficticated role as a lawyer, instead a good carpenter was more reasonable. What that

In Malcom X’s “Literacy Behind Bars”, Malcom shares his journey of self-educating himself while behind bars in the Charlestown Prison. Malcom attempted to read books, but never succeeded because he struggled to understand the meaning of the words on the page in front of him. He claims that prison allowed him to study more than he would have if he had attended college. Although Malcom struggled on an intellectual level, he serves as a prime example of an individual with self-belief and self-determination which lead to great success. Personally, I can relate to Malcom X in the sense that my personal experiences with education have allowed me not only to believe in myself but also have a mindset that allows me to come to certain realizations not only about myself but also about the world around me.

While smart men, both Douglass and Malcolm X did not have opportunities to become educated when they were younger. As they became educated, however, they showed similarities in their eagerness. Douglass stayed persistent, despite his mistress ending her lessons to him. He stated, “Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell.” On the other hand, while Malcolm was not in danger by educating himself, he was still very eager to learn. Perhaps it occurred because of his boredom, but regardless, Malcolm picked up book after book, reading through them one after another. In every free moment, “if [he] was not reading in the library, [he] was reading on [his] bunk.” His effort to copy the dictionary just solidifies how invested he was in learning to read, write, and speak. Therefore, Malcolm X and Frederick Douglass both have a very sincere commitment to education.

Today, education enables us to enlarge our knowledge and open doors for opportunities to the path of having a good future. In the five readings, each written by a different author, there was a lesson learned and something to take away from each one. Reading through the passages by Mann, Moore, Malcolm X, Gatto, Rose, and Anyon, each author contributed his or her point of view on general public education. This topic can be very argumentative depending on the quality of education people receive. Education today is the single most important mean for individuals to achieve their personal goals in the workforce.

    School teachings are full of artificial context to brainwash students into thinking that school is the only place you can learn. Education can be taught by exploring your passion and interests even if it’s not seen as academically correct. In the article, “Hidden Intellectualism,” by Gerald Graff, he suggests that students should be able to “exploit students’ nonacademic interests, but to get them to see those interests through academic eyes.”(Gerald Graff, page 400). In contrast, Malcolm X in “A Homemade Education,” wants to spread awareness about black history through actual academic readings. Both Graff and Malcolm believe that passion plays a role in learning, however,  for Graff it's the teacher's job to use the students interests first, whereas Malcolm wants students to find their passion and be self educated just like himself.

Although both Richard Rodriguez and Malcolm X’s lives were profoundly impacted by becoming educated, how they acquired their education and the consequences of becoming educated were different for each author. The path that Richard Rodriguez took in his quest

In the excerpt “Learning to Read” from his 1965 Autobiography, Malcolm X argues that he had more opportunity to learn about the world and specifically black history in prison than he would have received in a formal education setting. He describes the process in which he essentially taught himself how to read and write, and how it lead to an awakening of his desire to learn everything he could through voracious reading. X illustrates to the reader the painful histories that he read about and the powerful knowledge which he gained to show that one needs little more than access to a book collection and the motivation to learn in order to become educated. This reading resonated with me as a learner whose love for independent learning often takes a backseat to the demands of academia and provides a key concept which I plan to instill in my students as a future teacher.

Through his readings and new found religion, the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X finds self-pride. He starts to become proud of who he is and where he came from. He realizes that before, all he was trying to do was act like someone he wasn’t and all it had gotten him was seven years in prison. The letters he got from Elijah Muhammad and his family encouraged all of this. He strives to admit his guilt, and “implore the forgiveness of God” (170). He would often “be startled to catch [himself] thinking in a remote way of [his] earlier self as another person” and marvel at how much he had changed (170). All the reading he did “awoke … some long dormant craving to be mentally alive” (179). His trip to prison opened up new doors for him because he gained knowledge that made him rethink his niche in life.

Malcolm X is an extremely critical figure that contributed in shaping American social life. He was a famous man who articulated the struggle, anger, and beliefs of African Americans. He was a radical man who fought for change despite the situation. His struggle for equality for the black nation landed him in prison. While in prison, Malcolm was able to study, and earned a college degree. However, most importantly while in prison, Malcolm X was introduced to the Islam faith by one of the prisoners. He received teachings from the Muslim faith, which made him realize that, his people were being oppressed and abused by the whites. While out of prison, he went to visit honorable Elijah Muhammad and later on went around preaching Elijah

In the essay titled “A Homemade Education” by Malcolm X indicated how the author developed interest in reading essays, and also how he got familiarized with words by making use of English dictionary. Anyway, since this discussion will be base on personal thoughts on how the author might feel about formal post-secondary education in this new generation, I will start of by saying what influenced the author to think about education. Malcolm says “In the street, I had been the most articulate hustler out there---I had commanded attention when I said something. But now, trying to write simple English, I not only wasn’t articulate, I wasn’t even functional” (p.2). That line is mind blowing, which will take a deep thinker person to thought of, especially when they are in the street making

Learning how to read is one of the most common processes in the world. For me, learning how to read is the most useful ability that I have learned throughout my entire life. For others, most people learn how to read though different languages in different ways. For Malcolm X, he found reading to be appealing and devoted so much time to it. Malcolm X recounts his personal history of learning to read and how he finds reading to be the most important skill and influence everything in his life. He retells his history of reading several books and dictionaries and how th process slowly affected his life. He elaborates how reading increases a performance and efficiency to heighten their potential. In “Learning to Read, “ by Malcolm X, he