John Locke, in his “Essay concerning Human Understanding,” states that knowledge is founded from experience (Locke 2), an observation that is later reiterated and affirmed by Mary Shelley in Frankenstein, in which the monster learns merely from experience, lacking any innate ideas.

     According to Locke, humans have no innate understanding of their limitations or status, meaning that the key to a successful education is not through discipline, but through positive reinforcement.  This can be seen in the education of both Malcom X and the student body of To Sir With Love, where the judgement of their teachers decide their two fates.

A good education should be relevant and meaningful. Emile: or A Treatise on Education Selections by Rousseau shows great contrast Jose’s education in Black Shack Alley by Joseph Zobel. I plan to look at the outcome of both education method and illustrate the importance of a meaningful education.

Knowledge is obtained through sensations and reflections, specifically the accompaniment of various thoughts and various sensations with a perception of delight, as stated by John Locke’s paper, An Essay concerning Human Understanding (Book II), which is displayed through Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, where the monster learns through experiences and how to make decisions, such as murdering Victor’s loved ones, based on the perception of delight, with the absence of any preconceived ideas and innate principles.

Experience plays a vital role in how one learns. When one learns through experience rather than through standardized educational system, one gains more knowledge by doing rather than just reading. Based on Rousseau’s philosophy, one must reject the idea of schooling and have an alternative natural way of learning. Gaining knowledge can be obtained through many aspects. In The Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar, James Marcus Bach accentuates that schooling isn’t mandatory for one to be gain more knowledge, be educated, and that knowledge can come from other resources. Self-education allows one to learn on their own pace and use that knowledge for practical use. Even teaching one basic information about reality helps gain experience and knowledge. In the movie To Sir with Love,  the professor shunned away from school lessons and rather taught the students through his experience and knowledge that would help them better feel of reality.

James Marcus Bach’s ideology explains that school isn’t needed to educate a person. Bach emphasized the point that self-education allows a person to learn in their own comfort and put their knowledge to use in things that they like. Malcolm X’s persistence and dedication in educating himself while being in prison reflects Bach’s idea that self-education can go a long way.

According to Rousseau, education through experience is the proper way of learning. Rousseau chooses to reject societies idea of schooling and prefers a more natural way of learning. In Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein’s monster learns that in order to survive, it must teach itself how to communicate, and what is necessary for it to do and not to do.

Rousseau’s theory of education by man, nature and things is reflected in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein through the beast Frankenstein creates; the strongest influence of beast’s development is education by man because the beast is most affect by it, through his development of human emotions, like love and hate, which essentially drives the plot of the novel.

Institutionalized education, although the most widely accepted, is not the only method of education. In James Marcus Bach’s “A Buccanner Scholar” he expressed the importance of living a life of pursuit and passion and how it would lead to success. Bach’s philosophy shown true for human rights activist Malcolm X. Malcolm X stumbled upon his passion while incarcerated and it was solely through his own desire to learn that he became a political force to be reckoned with. Education is an undeniable part of the success, school however, is not.

In Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, he devises a plan to achieve moral perfection with 13 virtues through self examination. Although Franklin did not achieve moral perfection, he did become a happier and greater man. The idea of improving morally is evident in Tom Sawyer from Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Tom Sawyer becomes a better person and transitions from a child to a man because he had matured morally with Franklin’s virtues.