To Sir, with Love and, Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling presents two very different types of education.  The former is a traditional one, and the latter is imaginary.

The education in the movie consists of life lessons and corporal punishment. On the other hand, Harry Potter studies magic as a wizard. Nevertheless, students from education can get the same thing out of it. For example, the students in To Sir, with Love don’t get along with Thakeray at first, but at the end they realize that he truly cares about them and want the best for them. Similarly, Harry Potter hates Sirius Black for killing and betraying his parents. Later he finds out that he is innocent, he respects him. Through this he learns to forgive.

Furthermore, students receive help from an advisor that their students behaviors in both education.  In the movie, Thackeray breaks up the fight between a student and a gym teacher. He teaches the student how to be an adult. In Harry Potter, professor Lupin aids Harry along the way avoiding troubles and teaching him new skills.

Although the two education seems very different, they may bring similar outcomes. Through the lense of Harry Potter, I see a person can also grow mentally in unreal situations like a magic school.

Kant defines enlightenment as “the human beings emergence from his self incurred minority”.  Meaning one does not have the ability to think on their own when they are young and mainly rely on someone else’s opinion.  However, one can not reach enlightenment until one is free.  Kant goes on to define freedom as, “[the ability] make public use of one’s reason in all matters”.  Freedom gives one the ability to think for themselves and make their own judgements.  Kant’s idea is seen in Frederick Douglass’s autobiography.  After being transferred to Baltimore, Douglass is given the opportunity to read and write.  This is where he then learns what his actual role in society is as a slave.  Douglass begins to question the white man’s power to enslave the black man and is determined to escape to obtain his own freedom.  Before he was able to gain an education Douglass did not know how to think for himself and was unaware of his position in society.   Which can relate to Kant’s points of enlightenment and freedom.  Douglass having gained the ability to read and write helped him become free and enlightened.  Douglass is no longer reliant on others to make his decisions and dependent on them for what is right or wrong.  Ultimately Kant’s theory is easily relatable to Douglass’s autobiography and life as a slave.

In the writing by Bach, Secrets of Bucaneer Scholar, his main point of view regarding education is that is more important than school itself.  He believes institutional learning is an inferior way of giving one an education and there are other outlets to gain an education.  This theory is seen in the text by Descartes who once attended one of the best schools in Europe.  After he finished his schooling and had graduated he started doubting that this form of education was beneficial to him.  Descartes had began coming across experiences in life that his education was not helping him with.  This had led him to find a new way to teach himself.  Descartes spent his time traveling and gaining knowledge through his experiences along the way.  This relates back to Bach’s theory that an institution is not the only way for one to gain knowledge.  This theory is also found in Lockes writing  An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.  In Locke’s writing he says that we have no innate principles in mind when we are born.  He believes that when born we have a clean empty mind and our knowledge is built through real life experiences.  Ultimately, with experience one can develop an education.

From the movie, To Sir, With Love by E.R. Braithwaite, Ricky Braithwaite  philosophy of education was to teach his students subjects that are of practical use to them. These subjects included love, sex, marriage and so on. Like Ricky Braithwaite, Professor Lupin, from the novel Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, adapted this philosophy of teaching. Unlike the traditional method of teaching, lectures and reading chapters from books, Professor Lupin instead tells his students, “Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today’s lesson will be a practical lesson” (130). He simply stated himself that reading from a book can only teach you so much and even the students believed that this was the best way they were ever taught, “That was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson we’ve ever had” (140). Making these lessons practical and interesting gives students more motivation to learn, “In no time at all, Defense Against the Dark Arts had become most people’s favorite class… His next few lessons were just as interesting as the first” (141).  Just like Braithwaite’s class enjoyed his class and style of teaching, letting the students ask any question they had about the topic they were discussing just reinforced their interest in the topic. Just as everyone enjoyed Professor Lupin’s class, they were sad to see him leave, “He certainly wasn’t the only one who was sorry to see Professor Lupin go. The whole of Harry’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class was miserable about his resignation”, showing how much the students enjoyed his class because of his style of teaching (429).

In A Lesson Before Dying, Grant gets the opportunity to go to college unlike the others in his family. Grant was able to attend college because of the hard efforts of his aunt. When he goes to college he finally is able to understand the extent of racism going on in his community. He wants to make a change.

He hears a speech from the Reverend who said that black people aren’t ignorant. They know what’s going on but they must lie and cheat themselves and their loved ones in order to survive. We see an example of this when Grant’s aunt tells him that she was fine and everything was okay when in reality, she was working like an animal and things were extremely tough. She had to take the role of a leader in that situation in order to have her nephew happily go to college. This type of lying isn’t necessarily bad. The situation they are in forces them to lie and in fact is more constructive than harmful. If they were to admit to themselves that they were living a life of hardship and pain, they may have all given up.

Grant is now a professor trying to pass down his knowledge to his students although he sees it as useless. Slavery has been going on way too long and he feels like he’s getting nowhere in his efforts to make a difference.

“I wish I could just run away from this place.”
Vivian shook her head. “You know you can’t.”
”Why not?”
[. . .] 
”You know the answer yourself, Grant. You love them more than you hate this place (Chapter 12: 88-92).”

We see his frustration and pessimism throughout the novel but by the end of the novel he makes a lot of progress with his students and with Jefferson as we see he cries when Jefferson gets killed. This novel may be trying to teach us that no matter ones personality don’t count them out as they may have much to offer. Grant didn’t count Jefferson out and I’m sure he doesn’t regret that decision.

Education has a very broad meaning but the common variable is that education ALWAYS gives one the potential to come out successful and make a difference in whatever they do.

Both of these man had an opportunity that was very rare, if not impossible, for those around them especially in the African-American community. Although, they come from two different centuries (19th and 20th century) there communities still share something very much in common.  The black community in the tie period of Grant Wiggins are no longer slaves by law but psychologically and economically they still depend and have to submit to the Whites to survive. Almost 100 years have past and their people have still not been able to break free.

Frederick Douglass writes: “The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest slavery, and my enslavers… As I writhed under the sting and torment of this knowledge, I almost envied my fellow slaves their stupid contentment. This knowledge opened my eyes to the horrible pit, and revealed the teeth of the frightful dragon that was ready to pounce upon me”

Frederick Douglass is so important to this passage and many we have read because it shows us how education and knowledge is so powerful in showing us the world in a new way! Grant finds this out first hand. Wiggins, a man from a community that has had to submit to the whites, is finally able to realize just how bad the situation is. He shares the same emotions as Douglass when he says he envies his fellow slaves for being content and accepting of the position they were in. Both these men are trying to challenge the norm for the advancement of their people. Frederick Douglass is determined to make this happen by moving north and joining the abolitionist movement and Grant does this by trying to teach his students that there is something more ahead than just working in the plantations.

This would not have been possible without first finding the knowledge they need to show them there true circumstances.

I believe that A Lesson Before Dying was a clear example of Kant’s ideology on enlightenment as well as emerson’s theory on man thinking. In the novel a plantation teacher (Grant) is persuaded to visit an innocent convicted felon (Jefferson) in prison. Reluctantly Grant agreed and from then on, his and Jeffersons lives were changed. During his trial, one of the jurors referred to Jefferson as a “hog” not only lacking respect for him as a man but overall dehumanizing him. With no education and lack of ability to decide his own fate , Jefferson doubted himself and wondered if he was even worthy of being called a man. Kant believed that enlightenment was freedom from a form of slavery and opened up opportunities. Grant provided Jefferson with knowledge; knowledge of literature and knowledge of the world. He bought him books and radios and other items that would help give him more perspective of the world. He enlightened him. Now free to think, Grant gave Jefferson the opportunity to form his own opinions, instead of those imposed on him from young. He was finally able to create his own identity with the ability to think more freely. Learning how to write gave Jefferson the ability to have a voice that could live long after he did. He exhibited what Emerson believed to be the qualities on man-thinking. He died a man.

Frederick Douglass obtained his ability to read under unconventional circumstances, enslaved and without freedom. Before being able to read,  he couldn’t really question the position he was in.  It was not until he started reading and educating himself that he started to think outside the box and for become “enlightened” according to the definition of Immanuel Kant; who defines enlightenment as “the emergence from the self-incurred minority.” Frederick Douglass writes: “The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest slavery, and my enslavers… As I writhed under the sting and torment of this knowledge, I almost envied my fellow slaves their stupid contentment. This knowledge opened my eyes to the horrible pit, and revealed the teeth of the frightful dragon that was ready to pounce upon me” (My Bondage and My Freedom  ch. XI).

Similarly, Malcolm X was under oppressive circumstances when  he started an education that would allow him to reach a similar enlightenment like that of Frederick Douglass. Similar to Douglass, Malcolm X started off with little reading and writing capabilities. However, they both also had the strong desire to learn. For Malcolm, reading was his escape from jail and it helped him pass the time. As he describes it “from then until I left prison, in every free moment I had, if I was not reading in the library, I was reading on my bunk” (3).  Reading allowed him to build his vocabulary and allow him access to books which would then help open his eyes to the atrocities of slavery. It allowed him to be able to finally reach a higher level of thinking and eventually become a leader in the African-American community. Both of these men, had humble beginnings when it comes to their education. With little resources like Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X was able to pursue an education which would then lead to a form of enlightenment which benefits and helps the “black man” (Malcolm X 6).