There were many parallels between the excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the other passages we’ve read through out the semester. Malcolm X’s journey to education began upon his increasing fascination with the Nation Of Islam and its founder Elijah Muhammad . While incarcerated, X began to read dictionaries and self educate. He found enlightenment through books, and his newfound knowledge on the brutality of Americas history sparked his career as a an activist. If Malcolm X was to give a speech on education and its importance, I believe it would be similar to that of Bach’s in A Buccaneers Scholar; aggressive and persuasive. They both found their passions outside of formal education and had no interest in educational institutions. Malcolm states that “[he] certainly wasn’t seeking any degree, the way college confers a status symbol upon its symbols”. They both achieved their goals through their thirst for knowledge …and (having knowledge of Malcolm X’s “by any means necessary” civil rights movement) they both seem dogmatic.
Difference in education
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Happiness and freedom is key to an enjoyable childhood
This is my peer response to Gabrielle’s post.
I agree with Gabrielle when she states nature and experience were Rousseau’s main focus. He kept Emile away from the traditional school system, so he could fully develop his skills and imagination freely. Giving Emile freedom, he gained the “wisdom of a child” while being “free and happy” (Rousseau, 14), as Gabrielle states.
However, in the novel Black Shack Alley, Jose’s experience from formal schooling was very different from Emile. Jose’s teachers had the utmost authority; anything a student did that undermined their authority or even if they made a mistake, the teachers had the ability to beat them. Jose even describes the principal, Mr. Stephen Roc, hitting children with his bare hands, “… the entire proceedings unfolding not without his clouting him a few times on the back of his neck or ears” (Zobel, 104). This is obviously very restricting, making the children afraid of making a mistake or even speaking their mind, their learning driven by fear, “…waiting to receive the fatal blow on my head, on my back, even wising it would land as quickly as possible” (Zobel, 94). Because of this very strict way of learning, Jose implies how unhappy everyone was, even wishing his instruction mistress, Mam’zelle Fanny, were dead, “As for me, she made me wish night and day that she were dead and I had sworn a long time to burn her alive when I grew up” (Zobel, 92).
According to Rousseau, a child should be able to “live the life of a child” (Rousseau, 14), but that is not the case with Jose. Gabrielle makes a very good point when she proves that Jose was limited in what he could do because of the arrangement between Mme Leonce and M’man Tine. Jose even states himself, “I had never been prevented from playing. As a result, the time I spent each day at Mme Leonce’s dark kitchen and yard was for me a horrible experience” (69). What child would want to spend their free time doing chores for another person, a person they did not even live with!
As Gabrielle states, Rousseau’s idea of education, especially for young children, includes freedom and happiness, but Jose rarely had both. Although he was free at school, he could not fully utilize it because of other people who used their over him to do what they thought was best. Jose was rarely happy due to his empathy for his classmate’s misfortunes or even his own troubles which he had to deal with. These influences do impact a child’s motivation to learn, which is evident when Jose goes on to study at lycee towards the end of the excerpt.
No where without education and motivation
This is my peer response post to Ariane’s post.
I completely agree with Ariane’s thoughts of how Frederick Douglass’ theory on education from the narratives of his life are reflected in Malcolm X’s autobiography. Education, no matter how it is acquired, is very valuable and useful when trying to understand certain situations; in Douglass’ case it was understand and escape from slavery, while for Malcolm X, it was to articulate his thoughts in a correct, more formal manner, basically what he wanted to share with his role model, and later mentor, Mr. Elijah Muhammad, “I became increasingly frustrated at not being able to express what I wanted to convey in letters that I wrote, especially those to Mr. Elijah Muhammad” (1). Malcolm X, being a drop out, did not really receive formal education, and taught himself to widen his vocabulary while he was serving time in the Norfolk Prison Colony. He starts off by copying every word from the dictionary and then reading to himself what he wrote to slowly teach himself these words, “… I copied into my tablet everything printed on that first page, down to the punctuation marks” (2). As Ariane states, in order to gain respect for his thoughts, he must first learn how articulate what he means, which he does through his studies in prison.
Another issue I want to touch upon is their self-motivation to learn. Douglass found ways to learn to read and write, and being a slave it clearly was not an easy feat to accomplish. Down at Durgin and Bailey’s ship-yard, using the left over timber to write on, and telling other boys he could write as well as they do, which would then start a competition between the boys to top what the other one knew was how he got his education, “In this way I got a good many lessons in writing, which it is quite possible I should never have gotten in any other way” (21). Meanwhile, Malcolm X’s motivation to learn stemmed from wanted to articulate his thoughts, but starting off reading books he did not understand almost left him defeated, but his own motivation to better his vocabulary prevailed, “… I would have quit even these motions, unless I had received the motivation that I did” (2). Without this motivation, these influential people would not have had a great impact on American history, becoming icons for their era.
Self-Actualization through Time Efficiency
In the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, “industry” was listed as one of the thirteen essential virtues Benjamin Franklin organized to arrive at moral perfection. He emphasized that this virtue was to “[l]ose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; [and to] cut off all unnecessary actions” (Franklin 9). Through this lens of Benjamin Franklin’s, it is evident that Malcolm X mastered this virtue of “industry”.
At first when Malcolm picked up a book to read in the Norfolk Prison colony, motivation was required to induce himself to forge “book-reading motions” (Malcolm X). Continuing such an act wasn’t going to help Malcolm resolve his dilemma of skipping words he didn’t recognize and understand, causing him to have “little idea of what the book” was about (Malcolm X). As a result, Malcolm shifted his focus to first building his vocabulary by reading the dictionary. This instance demonstrates Malcolm’s efficient use of his time while he was in prison.
Soon after, Malcolm began copying the dictionary and was eventually successful in his self-education as his “word-base broadened” (Malcolm X). Now able to read and actually understand the content, Malcolm had the opportunity to view the world at an alternate perspective through the books he read. He took advantage of his newly acquired capability and read “until three or four every morning” during his time in prison (Malcolm X). As Malcolm stated himself, “You will never catch me with a free fifteen minutes in which I’m not studying…” emphasizing his mastery in Benjamin Franklin’s “industry” virtue as he makes the most out of his time to strive for a worthy and worthwhile goal: to help the black man (Malcolm X).
Spread the Knowledge!
I’ve come to understand that knowledge should not be kept to one’s self and the “teacher” should encourage their students to keep learning. It would have been selfish if Malcolm X learned the “white man’s” language and used it to his advantage to get to the top. Instead, he used his self education to open the eyes of many black men and women. Of course, Malcolm X didn’t just decide to start reading, better his writing and expand his knowledge on the history of African Americans. He was influenced by Bimbi, an older prison mate. He observed how Bimbi spoke and got his point across without having to use inappropriate language. ” Bimbi had always taken charge of any conversations he was in, and I had tried to emulate him. But every book I picked up had few sentences which didn’t contain anywhere from one to nearly all of the words that might as well have been in Chinese. When I just skipped those words, of course, I really ended up with little idea of what the book said. So I had come to the Norfolk Prison Colony still going through only book-reading motions. Pretty soon, I would have quit even these motions, unless I had received the motivation that I did.” (4)Malcolm was inspired by Bimbi, so he tried reading but on occasions felt like quitting because he just didn’t seem to understand what he didn’t know. Bimbi showed support to his wanting of knowledge but he never tried to control Malcolm’s own way of learning. X figured out that by copying the dictionary he was able to memorize and learn many words. Once Malcolm X had expanded his way of thinking he knew how to put it to use. He kept himself disciplined in reading books at all times. This is a world that he entered and did not want to step out of. “You will never catch me with a free fifteen minutes in which I’m not studying something I feel might be able to help the black man.” (22) He realized that the skill he attained could be used to do good for his people. Do you think Bimbi knew what Malcolm X was going to become? No, he didn’t but he still ignited a fire in someone who became one the most articulate and powerful leaders of America. Everyone should share their own knowledge because you never know who will be inspired and motivated to take things to the next level.
“Deafness, Dumbness, and Blindness”
Frederick Douglass’ narratives of his life imply a theory that education, whether it be obtained by formal or unconventional means, paves the way for an individual’s success. Douglass’ own education, despite going through very alternative ways to attain it, gave him the knowledge and courage that he needed to have to understand that an escape from slavery would be his best bet at success. Chapter 7 of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass especially focuses on Douglass’ learning of the true meaning of slavery from books and his resolve to escape from it.
This theory is definitely reflected in Malcolm X’s autobiography. At first a man with very low literacy skills, Malcolm X soon becomes frustrated at not being able to communicate through writing. He soon starts to “acquire some kind of a homemade education” (Malcolm X 1) and read, studies, and practices writing words from the dictionary he obtains from the Norfolk Prison Colony. Malcolm X even says, “Many who today hear me somewhere in person, or on television, or those who read something I’ve said, will think I went to school far beyond the eighth grade” (1). In reality, his literacy is self taught, knowing that in order to express himself in a way that will garner him respect, he would need to educate himself as much as possible.
Even though it takes place in a different century, Malcolm X’s reading of slavery and its “atrocities” has a very similar reaction to Douglass’ readings of it (Malcolm X 3). It opened both men’s eyes to the horrors of white exploitation of blacks and in Malcolm X’s case, other races as well. But Douglass’ readings caused him to wish to have continued to be ignorant instead of suffering with the knowledge of black mistreatment. Malcolm X, on the other hand, although he became more sensitive to the “deafness, dumbness, and blindness that was afflicting the black race in America,” he did not allow himself to be overcome with the negativity and suffer in silence (3). This is probably due to the difference in the two men’s circumstances: Douglass thought he was going to be a slave for life while Malcolm X knew that prison was going to be temporary for him and that he could make a change once released. This change is something he resolved to do and he accomplished it and also nationwide attention, making his mission to expose black mistreatment a success. This success was only possible through the unconventional means of education that he provided for himself.
A Long and Lasting Journey
It is quite a journey what Malcolm X has been through. He has transformed from a street hustler to one of the most prominent figures and speaker for black separatisms in the seven years that he has spent in prison. I believe it is safe to say that his time served in prisons is one of the most beneficial things that could have happened to him. While we know the starting point and his final destination, I would like to focus a little on his thought process and the steps he took to reach his destination.
Malcolm X was very committed to learning. He did not stop at an obstacle, but instead overcame and conquered it. At first he was unable to understand books, “But every book I picked up had … words that might as well have been in Chinese” (Malcolm 3). Not know many words, Malcolm first began to familiarize himself with a dictionary where he copied it. Here he expanded his vocabulary. While it was tough, he finished copying the dictionary and that opened the door to reading for Malcolm. As he begun to read, it opened a world of thought and creativity, this was knowledge. To obtain this knowledge he had to keep reading and that became an addiction for him. To satisfy this craving, he snuck reading time in and cut back on sleep in order to read more. Because of his risks and actions he became education which led to his success later.
While many individuals may have the tools to succeed, like the other inmates who also have access the library. Learning and education needs motivation and a huge driving force. Malcolm could have given up when he first thought that words were gibberish, but he strived to learn and improve and because of that he was able to learn. Whether it is a homemade education, traditional education, reading, or practice your own willingness to learn to improve is a huge deciding factor on your ability to learn. You could be given the best teachers, books and resources, but if you have no interest you will not learn. On the contrary, you could have nothing but with hard work and perseverance, you can make a difference in your education.
Isolation and Freedom
Rousseau believed that “the object of our study is man and his environment (Rousseau, 2).” Meaning that we learn by experiencing the world for ourselves, for “true education consists less in precept than in practice (2).” He also believed that in order to follow this theory, one must be free and isolated from the world. When you are separated from the world or others, you become free in the sense that you are able to learn anything that you set your mind to, without the influence of others.
At first, Malcolm X wasn’t the most intelligent person, for he didn’t know how to speak or write correctly. However, while in jail, he was able to create “a homemade education (Malcolm X, 1)” which is something that comes from within oneself. After getting a hold of a dictionary, he would teach himself “over and over (Malcolm X, 2)” so that he could learn how to read and write. Part of his success had to do with being alone; he “preferred reading in the total isolation of [his] own room (Malcolm X, 3)” because this allowed him to take more books out of the library. Malcolm was eager to learn; even at night he would try to read by leaning towards the little light outside of his cell just to read, giving him little sleep every night. It was in jail, where he felt “truly free in [his] life (Malcolm X, 2).” Here he was able to learn and teach himself things that he probably wouldn’t have thought about otherwise. Malcolm realized that it was “in prison that reading had changed forever the course of [his] life (Malcolm X, 3),” and even helped him to become one of the most powerful leaders of black America.
Later in his years, he was asked where he had attended school and he simply replied “books.” Through the eyes of Rousseau, we see how being isolated and free plays a big role in one’s education. It pushes one to achieve something greater, without interference. Malcolm X was able to make use of his situation being in jail and pursued self-education. It was though jail and isolation that led him to freedom and becoming one of the most influential people in history.