Virginia Woolf's A Homemade Education

“Fortunately, right outside my door was a corridor light that cast a glow into my room. The glow was enough to read by” (Malcolm X para.12). The author displays his dedication and perseverance despite the conditions that he was placed in. Education is not about siting in a classroom, it is about only getting “three or four hours of sleep a night” ; watching for “the night guard paced past every room” and still reading every night (Malcolm X para13). Malcolm X found a way around the rules and regulations of the prison system to enhance his

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.

Using the example of Judith, Shakespeare’s imaginary sister, Woolf depicts this character as how society discriminated against women. Judith, a woman, was just as talented as her brother, William Shakespeare, though had to write in secret. A man’s talent was highly recognized in

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

Malcom X's "A Homemade Education" tells a story of how he gained knowledge by himself and how it guided his thoughts and ideas. Reading also molded his political views. Although Malcom X is a very outspoken person about racism in America, and throughout the world, I find that he has a right to be angry, but goes a little overboard on blaming whites.

Since the past, black people had been oppressed and excluded from a formal education, leading them to find ways to educate themselves. While they open their minds to new worlds and perspectives, they encounter themselves with a disastrous world that discriminates them and unjustly takes their rights away from them. In these essays, “Learning How to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass and “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X, both authors tell their stories about how they found their way into the world of literacy even though they were banned to do it. Because they left ignorance back, they realize all the injustices that surround them. In my opinion, literacy is one of the most important tool humans possess to be aware of the issues of the world. Knowing about world problems makes people able to decide how to act towards situations and helps avoid being led by people that the only thing they want from others is power.

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.

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.

A synthetic analysis of two works from African American literature reveals that there is no greater accomplishment than learning to read and write. Literacy is what allows us to gain knowledge through learning. This topic is important because based on a study conducted by the U.S Department of Education and the National Institution of Literacy, 32 million adults in the U.S are still unable to read and write and African Americans are expected to make up nearly half of that amount. In both Fredrick Douglass’ “Learning to Read” and Malcolm X’s “A Homemade Education,” common themes regarding literacy and freedom are identified and both reflect why literacy is so important. The two texts prove how crucial the processes of learning to read

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

    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.

After reading an excerpt of “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, I felt that both men were conveying their alarm for equality for the African-American race. Malcolm and Martin had already experienced the atrocities that extreme racism brought on to their families. Martin projects a peacemaking, and more rational demeanor Malcolm showed a more radical, controversial, and an unwavering unwillingness position on compromise. The characteristic of standing up for what he or she believes in is one influence that these men have on my life.

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.