Like Malcolm X my grandfather was self-taught. His education was much more from the source, rather than from the perspective of another. The homemade education is not limited by credits or programs or administered by bias instructors.
1) So what are the pros and cons of a formal versus homemade education? And which would serve as a “better base” for expository writing?
On page 3 Malcolm X writes
“You can hardly show me a black adult in America‐‐or a white one, for that
matter—who knows from the history books anything like the truth about the black man’s role.”
and
“… But at the same time Toynbee is among those who have helped to bleach history. He has written that Africa was the only continent that produced no history. He won’t write that again. Every day now, the truth is coming to light.”
2) How would our ancient philosophers categorize the “bleached” version of history, that textbooks have used over the years to conceal rather than expose the truth about the past?
1) I think the pros of a formal education are socializing with other students in your peer group and extracurricular opportunities in the school system that are not at home. The cons of formal education come in the form of bullying, peer pressure, and possibly not being able to stay on grade level or not learning enough. I think homeschooling offers children an opportunity to learn a lot more than is taught in school. There are a lot of topics that are not covered in a curriculum due to time constraints, funding, policy decisions, etc. For instance, foreign languages are not taught in most elementary schools in the U.S., but many homeschooled kids learn other language at a very age. Expository writing is better in a formal education because of the uniformity of the language. It makes more sense for a larger group of kids to learn exposition because of the structure of the school systems—classifications, state and nationwide testing, homogeny with the age and intelligence groupings, etc.
ReplyDelete2)I don’t remember which one of the philosophers talked about how rhetoric was the most powerful out of all the tools for a career, maybe it was Gorgias, but I feel the bleaching of history shows the importance of rhetoric. You can convince anyone of anything if you’re persuasive enough. The lies about history has already been established by the people who had the power to record the deceit and that still has a strong effect on education today. The textbooks are not the only things that don’t reveal the truth of the past; neither do the teachers or the school curriculums, and that is because they have the power to reveal what they choose to.
1) This is a really interesting question. I think the biggest pro of a formal education is human interaction. The biggest con is that you aren’t in complete control of your education. Even though you have more control in college since you can pick a major, you still learn what your professor teaches you. So the biggest advantage of a homemade education is that you choose your lesson plan. You are still influenced by whatever source you use—so I think there still is a chance for bias—but there is a choice. However, you don’t benefit from being around others. Human interaction is one of the things I love most about this class. I have learned so much by hearing everyone speak in class.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if a person isn’t motivated, then the person isn’t going to benefit from either type of education. So I’m not sure which type is the better base for expository writing. Originally I would think a formal education is a better base since there is more interaction, but Malcolm X (and your grandfather) proved otherwise. So I’m going to cop out and say that it depends more on the person than the education.
2) I can hear Plato screaming, “Told you so!”