Monday, September 20, 2010

Learning to read/acquiring "education"

We had a very rich discussion on Friday of Malcolm X's self-education during his time in prison. We juxtaposed the freedom he experienced through his reading "travels" with the proscribed and restrictive educational situation many experience in formal schooling. In prison, he was "free," free to acquire an education. What do you make of this? What enabled him, pushed him, on this path, when so many with so much traditional freedom do not have the motivation or inclination to pursue their own "education"?

18 comments:

  1. Many people go through formal education only because they have to. They do not appreciate or understand what it is like to not know how to read and write. This gives them the ability to take it for granted and bemoan the fact that they have to go to school. However, there are many intelligent people in the world who do not receive strong and meaningful education. However, even they need something to drive them.

    -Passion- is the source of any success. Those who are driven by something they believe in have the motivation to try to obtain their goal. In Malcom X's case, he knew that the best way to help his cause was to educate himself and find out more about the oppression of his race. However, if he had not gone to prison, he might never have had the time and opportunity to instruct himself in such a thorough way. His passion enabled him to push for an educated life that some people never enjoy in the same way because of their lack of enthusiasm.

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  2. Malcolm X described how educated prisoners were respected by their peers, and encouraged by the guards. He was also not forced to educate himself--it was his own choice. This is in stark contrast to the school system, where peers hate school, teachers are often ambivalent, and students are forced to learn. Frankly, I'm surprised prison doesn't produce far more education than it does. Malcolm's jail seemed to be an excellent place to learn.

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  3. Malcolm X's previous experiences, such as sleeping on the streets and doing whatever it took to survive, and thrive, provided him with the requisite foundation for self-education. He had always done what was necessary to survive in whatever situation he was in. When he was on the streets, he learned how to steal and how to stay alive. When he was suddenly transplanted to the prison environment, the challenges changed. Once in prison, he quickly learned that one's intellectual ability was also valued and useful. Wishing to become dominant once more, he applied his competitive strengths to gain what he needed to come out on top.

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  4. Malcolm X was one who wished to learn more about the world which he inhabited, and had not been shoved into the public education establishment, which would have stripped this attitude from him. With his lack of prior education, he still possesed a desire to learn, and the time given to him while he was in prison afforded him this option. Additionally, he sought not only to learn, but to truly better himself. The primary force behind the shift from "don't care" to "must know" appears to be the understanding that he needs different skills to be heard and understood in the world.

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  5. Although it takes a certain type of motivated person for this to work on, Malcolm X's choice to start reading and to consider himself free in prison is actually quite logical. In prison, Malcolm X was no longer physically free so he had to search for mental freedom. In doing this, he found a far more powerful freedom than his physical freedom had been. Consequently,he could logically consider himself free while in prison. Besides that, before then he never had time to learn. In prison, he had more time than he knew what to do and he was free to learn.

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  6. Although he made the best out of a bad situation, he could have been doing so under different intentions. He could have been doing it just because he was bored or wanted to know how to beat the system the next time.

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  7. As Malcom X said in the reading, he was inspired by jealousy of another inmate's education. He was not pushed through a school system that forced him to learn things he wasn't interested in, he was pushed by the intrinsic desire to be equal to somebody he respected. There were probably a great many things that Malcom X did not know that most Americans would call common knowledge, but he became an expert in his field.

    As for those of us who are literally free, we lack motivation to self-educate because our education was so uninspiring. The generalization of this feeling to all learning has prevented us from continuing to learn after formal education.

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  8. I think that Malcom X was really just free from the influence society has on the values of pupils. There's a noticable tendency for kids who attend public school to be concerned with the social aspects of public school, it definitely imposes on the ability of the students to focus solely on academics. I mean, really, how much of a social life can inmates have in prison?

    So that being said, distractions aside, the more crucial counterpart component of Malcom X's self-education is, in the words of fellow blogger Meggie, "intrinsic desire". If anything, Malcom X's own personal desire for knowledge is perhaps the most influential aspect of his self-education. I say this because his situation was almost designed like a psychology experiment: Let's put the subject in a controlled environment, add some stimuli and see what happens. No?

    So, left to his own devices, Malcom X educated himself, driven by nothing more than the desire for knowledge. Can this be said for all inmates? Probably not... not everyone is a Pavlovian puppy dog. However, there are numerous instances in which inmates devote their time to other productive things, such as working out, working jobs, etc.

    I think it's pretty straightforward in Malcom X's writing that he was a self-educated advocate for equality because he had this drive, passion, desire for learning about things that could help the black community in some way. To be honest, I thought it came across as a little self-righteous and boastful. Even still, although he implies that his education was a product of his philanthropic internal desire (because he is just so awesome that he is the only influential figure to accredit his education to... drumroll please... HIMSELF! I digress...) he does still shed light on the influence of intrinsic desire. I think THAT contribution it is something we should have put more focus on in the reading because it is much more relevant than what we perceived as Malcom X's commentary on the institution of education, which is where most of our attention went to (seeing as we were discussing different aspects of an education system at the time).

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  9. It is somewhat ironic that Malcolm X learned to read and was "freed" in prison. I feel that Malcolm X was able to motivate himself to learn simply because he chose to do so. People may have problems with getting an education because they do not get to choose to be educated. It is forced upon them so they may see it more like a chore and less like a liberating experience. Maybe if people felt less like getting an education was work, they would accept it as readily as Malcolm X.

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  10. Malcolm X was able to learn so productively because he was very self motivated. He didn't need any external motivation to spur his self education in prison. His time in prison may have actually helped to change his mindset, showing him that he must believe in his own ability to accomplish a goal. Many people go through their entire life without ever being able to self motivate themselves. Not because they dont want to, but because they dont have to to be successful. People with "traditional freedom" are less likely to find this motivation, for the simple fact that they can live a somewhat successful and fulfilling life without ever acquiring this skill. When presented a situation similar to Malcolm X's, people may learn to believe in themselves more than they do living a traditional life.

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  11. What I think motivated Malcom X is what many have already said. With many of his other types of freedom gone, he had to try and find another form of freedom, which he found with education. Without many of the other traditional freedoms, he finally had the motivation that he needed to start educating himself. While out of prison, he had the freedom to do many other things that may have seemed more important to him than education. Also in prison, he had plenty of time to educate himself. With many of the other distractions in life taken away, Malcom X could then focus on his education.

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  12. I believe it is because, since he was in jail, it was one of the freedoms he possessed completely. Also he had tons of free time to use to read. Those of us who have more freedom want to do other things usually, because we do have that freedom to do them. It also depends on the individual, of course. Some people are much more driven to self-succeed than others. But I believe that is the reason that Malcom X learned much more than most in the free world.

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  13. Not to be a cynic but I imagine it's possible one of the large contributors to Malcolm X's self-education is the fact that there simply isn't much to do in prison. If he was even slightly predispositioned into an affinity for education it makes sense for him to have spent time reading books rather than doing whatever else the prison would have had to offer. This doesn't even take into account that by educating himself he was able to become a human rights activist though if he had wanted to do that in the first place it makes even more sense for him to have chosen reading in prison over any other activity.

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  14. Malcolm X was forced into a position to find his own freedom. All other freedom was taken from him, afterall he was in prison, and so he found refuge in reading and self-education. I think it could be safe to say that people have an inner ability to learn and aquire knowledge. When students, like those in America, are being fed so much of it on a near 24-7 schedule then it is hard to absorb all of it and it becomes very easy to take their free education for granted. Malcolm Valued all of his education and discovered that reading opened his mind to an infinite store of knowledge. Fueled by personal passions and ideologies, Malcom worked to give himself an education.

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  15. I believe the reason for Malcom X’s desire to learn was because he had a rare personality. Most people do not have an inclination to chase after facts; to simply want to know things. Malcom X, however, did possess that desire. That desire was his self-motivating nudge from within, the force that pushes those curious few farther and farther down the journey of knowledge. Many people here at Tech can probably relate to Malcom X in this way since we all had to work very hard, and have a fair amount of self motivation, in order to make it here.

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  16. Malcolm X had the the free time to become intellectually free while he was in prison. He pursued knowledge while in prison because he realized that his ideas would not be taken seriously if he could not read or write. No one would respect him on an intellectual level if he did not have basic intellectual skills. This thirst for respect and for his opinions to be heard throughout America is what drove him to become self-educated. Many people today do not have the will or desire to become educated. Those of us with "freedom" do not see a need to become above average or pursue the path of intelligence. Malcolm X had a goal in mind which he would do anything to achieve.

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  17. I always thought Malcolm X claimed to be free in prison because he could study what he wanted to study. He was able to learn the unbiased truth about his race and its history. Prison gave him an uncensored education, because he was able to get away from the usual "white" textbooks and history lessons. I also agree with It's Me, people are not usually motivated to teach themselves. It seems like there is usually some extrinsic award that motivates learning. Malcolm X was an exception. He learned because he wanted to know more. He did it for purely intrinsic reasons, and that is very rare.

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  18. Malcom X's education was something that he longed for and as he aquired the information needed, ie an unbias, free education provided by the prison, he was able to pursue an emotion that drove every fiber of his body (it makes more sense in my head). Malcom X was able find the substance that drove his imagination and follow that feeling in prison, helping him overcome the obstacles that he faced and would face in his future. I believe that we all need to find that one thing that drives our spirit and creates a passion like no other in order to accomplish our goals and dreams.

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