“Learning to read” excerpt
The excerpt “preparing to read” from the autobiography of Malcom x really changes perspective on the process of learning. Malcolm x stands out because he didn’t grow up with a traditional learning curriculum. For Malcolm, learned through letters and it gave him “a kind of education”. he always expressed how he felt on his concerns but never knew how to do the same on a piece of paper. he didn’t have a lot of education in school but rather in prisons. he looked up to people like Bimbi who had always had authority and took charge. however, he barely reads books unless he had motivation and skipped challenging words that were hard to read. to face this problem, he began his Homemade Education by writing words from the dictionary and made it a habit. he did this to improve his vocabulary and writing given the fact that he couldn’t write in a straight line. he found passion in his writing later on. with effort and using his resources for writing skills, it made him more better at knowing and remembering words. when he left prison, he never wanted to stop learning and reading. in fact, the prison that he was in was his way of being an encyclopedia because of the way he devoured literature. given the nuance of racial discrimination and many problems faced due to the color of his skin, he hid his ability to read from the guards in prison. he had written and disagreed on the white history that was written in schools and learned the truth about slavery. he also had attention on religion and his beliefs. as he grew into his reading journey, the best thing to take away is that not only did he learn from a different environment, but there is never gonna be an obstacle on getting a good education. also, there are many ways that others can learn and obtain knowledge that is effective and unique in their own way and wakes one up to be a more better, wiser, and educated person than they were before.