Connections in Education

James Baldwin discusses the paradox of education in his writing as a theory that as a person becomes more educated, they begin to question the society they live in. Baldwin claims that the purpose of education “is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not” (Baldwin, 2). Baldwin describes the many ways our society is structured to have people who simply follow rules and don’t ask questions so only certain privileged people will continue to prosper. He states that true education means someone is learning to question and form opinions on their own. This relates to my educational experience throughout most of my education so far. Until my sophomore year of high school I was taught using the same books that leave events out of U.S. history just to make it seem as if the people who “colonized” America were heroes and have done nothing wrong. I later read books that included primary sources from people of color about many of the events left out of our history such as the killing of so many Native Americans. I think that until I was able to gain this knowledge, I can relate to what Baldwin is saying about education because I feel like I have experienced this paradox.

In Jesmyn’s educational experience, she began her education in a school that didn’t push her or offer help to her when she needed it. When Jesmyn attended Mission High, her teachers pushed her in her learning. Because of this, Jesmyn became interested in her learning and became truly educated. She then wrote her paper and used her new knowledge to educate others in her community. Jesmyn’s teachers at Mission High pushed her to fulfill the kind of educaiton Balwin describes. He states that “ the obligation of anyone who thinks of himself as responsible is to examine society and try to change it and ot fight it- at no matter what risk” (Baldwin, 2).

I think Jesmyn’s responsiblity is to simply use her knowledge to educate others and create more individuals who question society. As an educated person, my goal is to educate others in order to create a more educated society. My teachers in high school inspired me to want to create change in the world and I believe that education is one of the best ways to do so.