Learning to Read by Malcolm X

Even though it was not an assignment, I was flipping through the pages of our book, and I noticed this essay by Malcolm X. Curiosity took over and slowly, I found myself enjoying it; I found it inspiring. I don't need to imagine the frustration of not being able to express myself because it is just a reality in my life. I struggle with English every single day of my life; if it wasn't because I like it so much, I would have given up a long time ago. In essays like this one, "Learning to Read" by Malcolm X, I find inspiration. However, I have also found out that inspiration alone is just not enough; it also needs to be accompanied with effort and dedication to whatever it is that one is trying to achieve. Nevertheless, inspiration is a good prelude to begin ones journey.

Some people condemn Malcolm X for his means to bring equality to the African-American community. History has proven Malcolm X a necessary man, at a crucial time, for an extremely needed people. His ways might have been rough but, one needs to understand that he was just a product of his environment. I find it interesting how he taught himself while in jail. Reading, coping, and studying dictionaries is an example of tremendous dedication. I wish I had this kind of focus. In this essay (pg.231-14) there is a statement which really caught my attention and it is as follows: "… if you started with a black man, a white man could be produced; but, starting with a white man you never could produced a black man—because the white chromosome is recessive. And since no one disputes that there was but one Original Man, the conclusion is clear." This is crazy! Really interesting isn't it?

I took Biology not too long ago and I don't know what to think of this! Can anybody help? Anybody!

Response to Essay by Tannen

I found the essay, "The Roots of Debate in Education and the Hope of Dialogue" by Tannen, interesting. According to Tannen, "one reason so many teachers use the debate format to promote student involvement is that it is relatively easy to set up and the rewards are quick and obvious." However, the author claims that this "agonistic" approach to the pursuit of knowledge is disadvantageous for females; not because females are less smart than males but, because by nature females are less willing to debate. Besides that, when one is searching for the truth, an argument is not the answer because it does not take one closer or farther away from the truth; it only helps defend one's own point of view whether right or wrong. The author favors the approach that the Chinese and the Indians had about this dilemma. According to Robert T. Oliver, "the preferred mode of rhetoric was exposition rather than argument. The aim was to 'enlighten an inquirer,' not to 'overwhelm an opponent.'" In Asia, "rhetoric was devoted not to devising logical arguments but to explicating widely accepted propositions."

I agree with the author in that the adversary in the educational system between males and female is unnecessary; it does not create better students instead it isolates some. So what is the benefit of this practice?

The story on page 227 is a great example of agonistic attitude gone terribly wrong. As critical thinkers, we should always question authority; however, there are "proper channels" which we must observe to keep the order. The student in this story could have approached the teacher after class and talked to him about the mistake he thought the teacher made. I am sure the teacher would have appreciated it more if this student would have been prudent about it. I guess the urgency to prove his teacher wrong in front of the class was stronger that the respect the student had for his teacher.

"The standard way of writing an academic paper is to position your work in opposition to someone else's, which you prove wrong. This creates a need to make others wrong, which is quite a different matter from reading something with an open mind and discovering that you disagree with it." I could not agree with this statement any more. I have learned that keeping an open mind whenever one is about to read something is the best way even if one is about to read something from a controversial figure. If one allows biases of any kind to invade the mind, unconsciously one has already rejected whatever one is about to read. So, why read it?

 

    

Response to “I Just Wanna Be Average”

In the essay, "I Just Wanna Be Average" by Mike Rose, I find it incredible the amount of determination the author had as a child. Most people in the same type of conditions would have quit school in their early years. There was so much abuse from his teachers. Most of his former teachers would end up in prison or shot by a parent in our time. To make matters worse, the author not only had to endure verbal abuse but physical abuse as well. From the beginning of this essay, I was able to recognize a strong appeal to emotions in the manner the essay was written. As I read about his former teachers I was trying to decide who the worst one was. His English teacher, Mr. Mitropetros, was not even qualified to be a teacher, actually, none of them were qualified to be teachers. Brother Dill, who supervised his homeroom was "a troubled and unstable man who also taught freshman English." His physical education teacher was "a stubby ex-lineman who had played old-time pro ball in the Midwest" was also terrible. However, the title of the worst teacher goes to, the Spanish teacher Mr. Montez.

"The teachers had no idea of how to engage the imaginations of us kids who were scuttling along at the bottom of the pond." To me, this is strong statement. An unskilled teacher can unknowingly hurt a kid for the rest of his life and derail him from getting an education. I find it amazing how a word in a phrase can all of the sudden change the life of a boy. "I just wanna be average." These words, spoken by the author's friend, were the ones that changed his life forever. His struggle has not been to be average; he has been trying to be the best he can.

What I find really cool about this essay is that even though the author lived in a really tough situation, he never gave up trying to learn. He managed to hang on until his savior came to his rescue. "Jack MacFarland couldn't have come into my life at a better time." Unskilled teachers almost lost the boy to the labyrinth of life; but an excellent teacher saved him from a hard life that was waiting for him, had he not received an education. This essay is definitely a roller coaster of emotions. I really enjoyed it.

Response to “Against School”

In the essay "Against School" by Taylor Gatto, I find it sad that after 30 years of teaching this former teacher is so disappointed with the school system that he thinks that there is conspiracy against the people. "The Prussian Conspiracy" is where only the elite were allowed to pursue a higher education. Perhaps, it is not a conspiracy. Maybe, it is just how things ought to be. Just like natural selection in the animal kingdom (according to Darwin). Maybe, the process of "diagnostic and directive function" is not too bad after all. Besides that, school is not for everybody; some people are happy not going to school.

However, equal opportunity for everybody that wants to go to school should be available. I wonder what "revolution" James Bryant Conant was talking about (pg 156). Does anybody know? I found the six basic functions of the modern school system interesting. (1) The adjustive or adaptive, (2) The integrating function, (3) The diagnostic and directive function, (4) The differentiating function, (5) The selective function, (6) The propaedeutic function. These six points explain the conspiracy that Gatto talks about in his essay. I have to give the author some credit because after one reads on, one feels as if there is a conspiracy going on. Maybe there is and I am just living in denial. Besides that, what can one do about it? "Prussian system was useful in creating not only a harmless electorate and a servile labor force but also a virtual herd of mindless consumers." This quote describes so many people from nowadays that it sounds as if Gatto really has a point here. So, is our educational system a huge conspiracy? " We don't need Karl Marx's conception of a grand warfare between the classes to see that it is in the interest of complex management, economic or political, to dumb people down, to demoralize, them, to divine them from one another, and to discard them if they don't conform." This sure sound like a conspiracy, doesn't it?

The quote on page 158 that begins "Theorist from Plato to Rousseau to our own Dr. Inglis knew that…" is an excellent example of the appealing to authority fallacy. I was nervous when I first began to read this essay but when I finally finished it, I felt much better because Gatto not only came up with the theory conspiracy but he also advises us how to avoid becoming victims of it. His advice to avoid becoming a victim is as follows: "Now for the good news. Once you understand the logic behind modern schooling, its tricks and traps are fairly easy to avoid. School trains children to be employees and consumers; teach your own to be leaders and adventures. School trains children to obey reflexively; teach your own to think critically and independently. Well-schooled kids have a low threshold for boredom; help your own to develop an inner life so that they will never be bored. Urge them to take on the serious material, the grown-up material, in history, literature, philosophy, music, art, economics, theology--- all the stuff school teachers know well enough to avoid." Therefore, to avoid becoming victims of the conspiracy, we have to be educated.

Grammar Post

Transitions between Ideas

" The most convincing ideas in the world, expressed in the most beautiful sentences, will move no one unless those ideas are properly connected. Unless readers can move easily from one thought to another, they will surely find something else to read or turn on the television...."

I was just navigating the web and came across these attention grabbing sentences, which I thought were pretty nice. This web site is full of all kinds of information for all types of grammar issues that one might have.

Idiot Nation by Michael Moore

The best way to approach this essay, like any other essay, is with a complete open mind. I found out that it helps to get rid of our biases before engaging in a new reading adventure. After having read "Idiot Nation," I realized that I had discovered the Rush Limbaugh of the extreme left. Even though we all know that these two men have opposite ideologies, I can see they have something in common; they both feed on controversies and are loyal to their biases. As to answer his question, "Do you feel like you live in a nation of idiots?" Without a doubt, my answer is NO! Because personally I know so many intelligent people (like all of my classmates and my professor); and I know of so many brilliant Americans as well. Such as Franklin Chang Diaz, John Forbes Jr., and Bill Gates, just to mention a few. However, Mr. Moore makes some points that are hard to disagree with. For example, he mentions that our educational system is in urgent need of overhaul; this argument is backed by some studies, which have been done independently by various groups. Thus, Mr. Moore leaves the reader no option but to agree with him. At least this is how I felt. Do any of my classmates feel different about this point? However, he has done what he does best; he has exaggerated the facts, or has only focused on the negative. Why? Some of you may ask. Because, this way it creates controversy, which Mr. Moore uses to feed his propaganda machine. Nevertheless, after reading his essay, it is clear to me that Mr. Moore has a soft spot for some teachers of this nation. Finally, I found something positive in this essay full of so much negativism. But as I read on, I was not sure if teachers really want this kind of kindness. I mean, he is for getting the teachers some more money for the work they do, which is thoughtful of him. I am sure teachers all over this nation could use an extra income. However, at the same time, he advises students to make teachers lives a living hell. So, is he advocating getting teachers a better pay, or is he trying to make teachers feel like they have to tolerate nonsense because they are making enough money?