Through the lens post

Education is Strength

Rousseau said that, “We are born weak, we need strength; helpless, we need aid; foolish, we need reason. All that we lack at birth, all that we need when we come to man’s estate, is the gift of education” (Rousseau 1). He claims that education provides us with strength, hence without it, we are weak.

Malcolm X had very low literacy skills before he went to prison. To everyone else, he was just another oppressed black man in a white-ruled society. He was unable to write strong, articulate letters, ”  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. In the street, I had been the most articulate hustler out there. I had commanded attention when I said something. But now, trying to write simple English, I not only wasn’t articulate, I wasn’t even functional. How would I sound writing in slang, the way 1 would say it” (X 1). Basically, he was unable to convey his ideas.

This fueled his desire to learn. After studying the entire dictionary while in prison, he gained the ability to read and write, as well as the ability to articulate his thoughts. After becoming an educated man, he was then able to speak out against the oppression black-Americans were facing in society, and gain the support of many people nationwide. The way I see it, Malcolm X was always a strong man, but without any education, he could not put any of that strength to good use, until he became self-educated.

 

Announcements

Annotated X: Due in Class on Wednesday, NOV 4.

Your reading for Wednesday is very short, but I expect you to annotate your text. You will annotate the text either by printing it out and using a pencil, pen, and/or highlighter OR you will use an electronic version with a program that allows you to annotate pdfs.  If your program/app doesn’t let you annotate the pdf (aka. make comments and notes on the side) then you must print out the reading and annotate by hand.

Your annotation should include the following three things: 

  1. In 4-5 sentences or in a clear bullet point format,  you should historically contextualize the reading.  You can make these notes on the back of your print outs or in a note at the beginning of your document if you are reading online.   You should spend 5-15 minutes looking up information online that will help you contextualize this reading.   You are welcomed to get carried away and spend more time getting background, but a little bit of time still goes a long way.  Wikipedia will be enormously helpful in this process.  Some good search terms that will help you contextualize this reading include but are not limited to:
    1. Malcolm X
    2. The Autobiography of Malcolm X
    3. The Panthers
    4. The Prison Industrial Complex and Black Men
    5. The 60s and race
    6. Black Nationalism
  2. Annotate the reading. You should underline or highlight at least two passages of the reading.  Then in the margins you should comment on that passage.  For one passage: you should comment on how that part of the text relates to a specific part of one of our previous readings.   It’s not enough to say “this part is like x”; you must also say why it is like or why it reminds you of x.   For the other passage: you underline, you should comment on how it speaks to something else in the world, in your studies, your imagination, or history.  Again it’s not enough to say “This part is like Y.” You must also tell me why it is like Y or Y it challenges Y or what about this part and Y makes you think they should be put in conversation together.
  3. Circle and define any word or term or reference for which you don’t know the meaning.
Peer Response Post

BEATINGS OF ENLIGHTENMENT OR PUNISHMENT

This is in response to J Chou.

I love your use of textual evidence and analysis here to convey your point. I realized the same thing while i was reading as well that this is how Rousseau’s idea of education is different. I would just like to add one point.
Jose says in the novel how he watched the teacher “beating him with a bamboo cane on his legs, or a ruler in the palm of his hand (Zobel, 65).” We might’ve assumed that this beating only occurs if one misbehaves or if one does not excel in school but we see this isn’t the case. In this novel a good teacher is a “teacher who ‘explained’ well and beat severely (Zobel, 103).” Here, no one has the freedom to enjoy childhood. He would do chores for “a couple of cents (Zobel, 75)”, which differs from Rousseau’s standpoint of childhood. Unlike in the novel, Rousseau believes that one should “treat [their] scholar according to his age (Rousseau, 8).” A child should be guided and rebuked but not beaten since as a kid they cannot endure that. This applies especially to infants where Rousseau states that they do not remember most things so rebuking them is a waste of time.
Also, at the very end you said “ Not only does it not work, but it works against the teachers and discourages the students to learn. Overall, it is a lose-lose situation and no one benefits.” Although I agree that beating may discourage students from learning, I don’t think its a lose-lose where no one benefits. Many parents beat their kids as a form of discipline and although it may sound harsh, the child refrains from making that mistake again in fear of getting hit. Therefore the students intentions may be off but he/she will be sure to pay attention.
Close Reading Post

Power Prevents Freedom

1 Comment

Nature and experience were Rousseau’s main focus. He was interested in “freedom, not power (Rousseau, 5),” which is why he kept Emile away from a traditional school system and allowed him to roam free. In schools, children must abide by the rules of the school, but with freedom they are able to grow without anyone influencing them. He realized that “cruel education… burdens a child with all sorts of restrictions (Rousseau, 4)” and can lead to them feeling “miserable.” By giving Emile freedom, Emile was able to gain “wisdom of a child” while being “free and happy (Rousseau, 14),” which is the important part of his theory.

In the novel, Black Shack Alley we see how Jose’s experience of gaining an education is quite different from Emile. In school, the teacher was given the power to hit and beat children when they weren’t following rules. Jose remembers being pained every time “the mistress beat [Raphael] (Zobel, 65),” who was his good friend. He saw the teacher “beating him with a bamboo cane on his legs, or a ruler in the palm of his hand (Zobel, 65).” Another instance where a beating is mentioned is when “[Mam’zelle Fanny] appeared with a whip in hand (Zobel 93).”Jose and his fellow classmates had to remember things from the previous lesson, however if they got anything wrong, they would get a whip. Later, when Jose moves up to another class level, he believes that things will get better. However, he hears that his new “master” was a “teacher who ‘explained’ well and beat severely (Zobel, 103).” These teachers were given the “power” to harm students, which is one cruelty that Rousseau was strongly against. Rousseau believed that this harms a child’s education by making them miserable and resent school, instead of making them eager to learn.

One should “treat [their] scholar according to his age (Rousseau, 8),” according to Rousseau. If a child is young they should be able to “live the life of a child (Rousseau, 14)” and play as much as one can. However, Jose isn’t given this same freedom. Jose enjoyed being outside with friends and even “cut short as much as possible the time [he] took for [his] lunch so [he] could play with Raphael (Zobel, 64).” However, this soon ends because of Mme Leonce. She “prevented him from playing” and made him “spend each day in [her] dark kitchen and yard (Zobel, 69)” washing dishes and doing other chores. This often made him late to class, losing out on a full education. No child deserves to work this hard. Their lives should consist of learning and playing. After dropping a vase accidentally, Jose runs away and doesn’t tell his grandmother that he no longer spends his lunch at Mme Leonce’s place. Instead, he would roam around and sometimes people would hire him to do chores in exchange for “a couple of cents (Zobel, 75).” He also would come across “guava tree laden with fruits” which satisfied his hunger. Jose suffered because he didn’t have food or a place to stay for lunch, which led to him working and searching for his own food. He had to carry worries that no one should ever have to face. When you carry this much on your shoulders, it often affects your education.

Rousseau’s idea of an education for younger children consisted of freedom and happiness. However, Jose didn’t have either of these going to school. He had teachers that could beat and whip children whenever. He also had to work and do chores that prevented him from being happy. Jose had no freedom, due to the power that the people had over him. Having these types of influences on a young child affects their willingness to go to school and often discourages them to continue on.

Peer Response Post

Anything’s possible with Education

This is a response to Jingling’s post which can be found here

In the novel Black Shack Shelly, the author incorporates a lot of family significance and strong relationships within families. Jingling recalled Jose’s family having a “significant impact” on his life. I agree with her because throughout the story, Jose’s grandmother, M’man Tine played a huge role in his life. She took care of him all of his childhood and gave him “motherly love” as Jingling recalls. She used the quote “don’t get your clothes all torn, don’t rip off your buttons to play marbles with, don’t run too fast….” (Zobel, 80)  I thought this fit well into the description of Jose’s grandmother. M’man Tine doesn’t only serve as a guardian and care taker of Jose, but also and inspiration and role model. She gives Jose proper guidance an advice to live a better life than she ever did.

Jingling adds an important line by saying that M’man Tine ” believes education is the only way to overcome poverty.” This gives the idea of education from M’man Tine’s prospective. She implants the idea in Jose head that education can lead to a better life. Jingling uses the lines  “knowledge to knowing the alphabet and writes some words, Zobel would have the chance to become a factory worker instead of working in the plantation (91). ” She advises to Jose that in order to stay away from being a plantation worker, he must become education. I agree with Jingling when she says that the job you work determines your social ladder in the society. Jose’s foundation growing up allowed him to become educated later in his life. Jingling uses describes how he was able to use education to change his fate. I agree with it because education changes how a person thinks, behaves, and lives. In this case, Jose was able to get good grades and change his future.

The quote Jingling uses to conclude her response is phenomenal. “the opportunity[education] to give my parent’s profession [farmer] never again presented itself” (136). This line portrays the urge for Jose to not live a life as a plantation worker ever again.

 

Peer Response Post

Cruelty in Education Discourages Learning

This post is a response to Jenny Chou’s post.

The distinction Jenny made between one of Rousseau’s theories and Jose’s experience with schooling and education in Joseph Zobel’s novel Black Shack Alley was very clear. She made a clear statement conveying how Rousseau felt about education being received in a cruel way, “cruel education… burdens a child with all sorts of restrictions and begins by making him miserable…” (Rousseau 4).

The connection made between this statement by Rousseau and the experiences Jose and his classmates had in the novel was very good. Jose and his classmates were beaten in school for not knowing answers. “scold or punish [Raphael]…with a bamboo cane on his legs, or a ruler in the palm of his hand” (Zobel 65). She stated that often times, the teachers would look for an excuse or reason to beat the kids, or at least that is how it seemed to the kids in the novel.

Obviously, if a child is anticipating physical pain when going to school in return for some education, the child would not think it is worth it. The student will be very discouraged to go to school because he won’t be able to look past the physical pain. Children have a very fragile state of mind, and any bad experiences may cause repercussions that last throughout their whole life. Therefore, constant beatings at school would make children hate learning, which would indeed negatively impact them as they get older. Therefore, this method of educational discipline would defeat the whole purpose of schooling.

Project Check In #4, Through the lens post

Black Shack Alley

Jose’s description of his experience with school and education contradicts Rousseau’s ideas on education.

In Emile, Rousseau believes that a child should be educated in a way that cultivates natural tendencies. He suggests “man is truly free who desires what he is able to perform, and does what he desires.” (5). In Black Shack Alley, Zobel describes “It was painful to me to spend days on end without reading aloud and in unison with other children” (76). Jose enjoys being in school “ran about like young animals enjoying freedom” (71). However, he is deprived of his freedom.

Not only can’t Jose do what he wants to do, but he also has to do what he doesn’t want to do. Jose feels that “spend each day in Mme Leonce’s dark kitchen and yard was for me a horrible experience” (69). By the time he finishes the chores, “Raphael had already left and though I ran quickly, I still reached school late” (69). He has become accustomed to the “dish-washing chore as the logical task to follow the meal; whereas polishing shoes after lunch upset my digestion, made me drunk. And it made me reach school late every afternoon” (70). He can’t avoid “being scolded by the mistress for late-coming” (70). Another time, Jose “reached school later than usual because, after the dishwashing and shoe-polishing chore, I had to sweep the yard” (71). Everything Mme Leonce does prevents Jose from getting a good education. Furthermore, M’man Tine doesn’t listen to his complaints and even asks him to “remain outside on my knees until dinner time” (71). All these lead him to doubt “perhaps I don’t even have the right to arrive at school so early” (71).

Rousseau also proposes that education truly matters when it is relevant. When Emile receives letters, “The note is read to him at last, but it is too late” (12). Later, “He does his best, and at last he makes out half the note” (12). Emile wants to learn how to read deliberately because it is going to help him meet a need. In Black Shack Alley, Godmother Fanny tirelessly drags the whole class to along. In fact, “we had forgotten everything we’d repeated” (93). Students don’t learn effectively because they are beaten into submission instead of developing their individual natures. The mistreatment Jose experiences in school and the negligence of his mental health by his grandmother clearly violates learning of nature.

Peer Response Post

Misery Around Every Corner

This is my peer response to Jenny’s Here

I agree with Jenny’s view of Black Shack Alley. Rousseau believes that this time should be a happy and joyful time. Not all children make it to their adult stage, if they not treated with care now, they might not live to an age where they would again: “You torment the poor thing for his good; you fail to see that you are calling Death to snatch him from these gloomy surroundings” (Rousseau 4). While this idea is present in some areas of the book; there are many times at which is idea is contradicted and challenged.

 

One case would be what Jenny stated; when children were misbehaving in school they were whipped. “Raphael was extremely fidgety, talkative and inattentive in class… the mistress always had some reason to scold or punish him” (Zobel 65). The beatings were so harsh, Raphael wept as he received the blows and Jose sympathized for him. The mistress used force to discipline the “bad” students to get them to learn and pay attention. This was only the mistreatment at school, and this is not the once case.

 

Jose also felt threatened and afraid the period after breaking Mme Leonce’s pitcher. After breaking it, Jose’s first reactions were to run because he was afraid of getting beaten: “Mme Leonce thinks I did it. She’ll beat me, … she’ll do all sorts of wicked things” (Zobel 73). He ran and never came near the house again. He even took detours. This fear caused him to starve for a portion of his childhood, because he was too afraid to go back and too afraid to tell M’man Tine. This fear of abuse was a physical and mental strain to Jose.

 

As one can tell, Jose and his friends’ childhoods were not problem free, and there are hints of mistreatment in all their lives and that goes against Rousseau’s idea of a child’s life at this age.

Peer Response Post

Miserable Restriction

This is a peer response to Jenny’s post that can be found here.

I definitely agree with Jenny’s post. I had not thought to compare Joseph Zobel’s message on education to that of Rousseau’s but her post really had me nodding. After reading her post, I thought back to some scenes in the novel that really relate to Rousseau’s theory that children should be allowed to enjoy an easygoing and happy youth, free from all kinds of restrictions, including physical ones. Additionally, while Rousseau implied a tough love that should be shown to children to ensure their proper understanding on the way the world works, Zobel showcases a very cruel childhood and education through Jose Hassam’s early life.

Mme Léonce is introduced as a nice, but a strange authority figure in Jose’s life. Soon, however, Jose becomes suspicious of her unexpected kindness, and it becomes apparent that Mme Léonce’s feeding him would not be a favor unreturned. Jose, instead of enjoying his free time, becomes stuck, growing more and more indebted to Mme Léonce every time she gives him a meal. She starts to treat him, a mere child, like a servant, ordering him to clean up her kitchen in exchange for food. At this point in his life, Jose should be enjoying his childhood, free of stress and full of curiosity and adventure to be explored. Instead, he is “constantly afraid of Mme Léonce whom…[he] detested because of the unending humiliation [he] underwent at her house” (Zobel 69). A child should never have to experience embarrassment in such a degrading way. Jose is put in a situation in which his sense of justice had matured too fast, recognizing immediately that what Mme Léonce was putting him through was not acceptable. Forcing her to do these “li’l favor[s]” restricted him from his childhood freedom that Rousseau advocated so strongly for (Zobel 68). Not only does this take away from his playtime with Raphael and his other friends, it also causes him to reach school late, taking away valuable time from proper education.

A place of prayer should never be the same place where violence is condoned. While sitting with other children for Sunday prayers, Jose giggles with the rest of them. This does count as rude during a time dedicated to silent prayer and praise, but the people who are the most religious should act as the best role models for the children who will learn to copy them. Adults should also understand that children have “this uncontrollable urge to laugh,” especially in situations where one definitely should not do so, and that with children, they tend to imitate each other – when one laughs, the rest will, too, eventually (Zobel 95). So when a woman of faith shows children cruelty instead of love, Zobel’s contradiction to Rousseau’s theory on childhood education is evident. Jose narrates: “Mam’zelle Fanny…hadn’t forgotten to bring her whip, lashed out…with blows on our backs and even on our faces if we hadn’t had time to bend down. And she would lead two victims away by their ears, putting them to kneel down in front of the Holy Table” (Zobel 95). This act of brutality is committed to teach these children and the rest of those watching a lesson. This restricts a child’s right to learn of their own free will, by the ways of which they choose. Just as importantly, it is taking away the children’s love for things that are being taught to them, for these topics are accompanied with violent reproach when not practiced to adult satisfaction. This is exactly what Rousseau wants to avoid with his thoughts on “cruel education” suppressing a child with limitations and “making him miserable,” just like Jenny said in her post (Rousseau 4).

Close Reading Post

education: An escape from poverty

The community has a large impact on individual identity because individual develops their personal identity by the influence of their surrounding. In Black Shack Alley, Zobel’s daily interactions with his grandmother, neighbors, and friends have significant impacts on young Zobel’s life. One character that influences Zobel the most would be his grandmother. M’man Tine plays the role of the mother in Zobel’s childhood, she takes care of him and gives him motherly advices. Everyday before she sends Zobel to school, she would repeat “don’t get your clothes all torn, don’t rip off your buttons to play marbles with, don’t run too fast….” (80), and Zobel does the best he can to follow her advices. In addition, M’man Tine’s belief matters so much to Zobel because she is his guardian and he looks up to her just like any other children would look up to their parents. M’man Tine believes education is the only way to overcome poverty. This idea that education is the way to success is deeply implanted into young Zobel’s mind; she tells him with the knowledge to knowing the alphabet and writes some words, Zobel would have the chance to become a factory worker instead of working in the plantation (91). In the community that they live in, the factory works are in higher social ladder than workers in the plantation; to have a chance to work in a factory is the beginning of the escape from poverty. M’man Tine and the community value so much about education. The atmosphere also makes Zobel to believe school is important, although Zobel doesn’t fully understand the value of education when he is still young. When he grows older, he finally realizes the privilege of being in school, thus leads to his hard work to be success in scholarship examination. Furthermore, Zobel’s good work in school gives him opportunity to success, in his own words, “the opportunity[education] to give my parent’s profession [farmer] never again presented itself” (136). Education gives Zobel the opportunity to change his fate.

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