Your Voice Needs To be Heard

What?

When Baldwin says a “paradox of education” he means that people are blind as to how they are taught. One may be taught something; however that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is true. Baldwin believes the purpose of education is informing, so we do not repeat the past and we can learn from it. Baldwin thinks that education should allow people to think for themselves rather than let someone tell one what to think. For instance, stereotypes associate people with specific things, assuming but not actually knowing. In his 7 pages Baldwin expresses his points by saying “the stares and the sighs black people deal with everyday.” By predicitng you are limiting yourself to the potential of something. In my daily life I see this all the time, but personally I do not necessarily receive stares as much because I am lighter.

So what?

Jesmyn had a problem with getting to school on time and didn’t live the best neighborhood. Throughout middle school she was regularly late and didn’t receive the best grades. “By her senior year at Mission in 2012 things were looking up.” Unlike her middle school years, in high school Jesmyn has a teacher who will challenge her and she needs that in order to succeed. It is important for Jesmyn to write her paper on Trayvon Martin’s case because she shows her class that just because a black person walking around, does not mean that they are a bad person. Jesmyn says “When I’m in the world, I am always a suspect. When I walk into a store, salespeople always run up to me and ask me if they can help me. Then they follow me as I walk up and down the aisles, but they don’t follow other, light-skinned customers.” (236)

Now what?

I think Jesmyn views her responsibility as an educated person as very important to educate the people around her who know her. As an educated person, I also feel the need to start conversations that may not be what everyone wants to hear. By discussing issues, we make light of the situation knowing that it exist. This semester I hope to experience different people that have had a different up bringing than myself, and learning how to work with different groups of people.