Both Baldwin and Carrillo made compelling arguments about the nature of the American education system and what it has evolved into. James Baldwin highlighted a direct correlation between history, race and how education has been shaped to overlook students of color and the negative effects of the past.When Baldwin states that “the world is larger”, he does so by making a comparison to American history. He meant that a student’s education should not be limited on what they are taught in classrooms or within the school systems that they are placed under, but rather through their own life experiences and how they see the world themselves.

Ellen Carillo argues that schools have adopted certain standards of learning that have not been effective. With the rise of technology as a tool for educating, children and teens are not gaining the proper comprehensive skills for success in reading, writing and mathematics. The term she uses called “Google-knowing” is surface-level compared to understanding. Knowing does not always mean something is understood and Carillo describes how the digital age has allowed for less fact-based knowledge to spread without it being proven or challenged.

Baldwin and Carillo have parallel beliefs. While they are not making the same exact point, both of their logics go hand in hand. The main difference is the time period in which they are presenting their arguments. Baldwin delivered his in the 1960s, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, and though it is still relevant today, it does (unintentionally) leave out the impact that the digital world has had on education in more recent decades. I see Carillo’s stance as an extension of Baldwin’s since it does delve deeper into the influence of technology and it does address what students currently face.

I think that we are all given our own individual minds, and we have the right to explore, “examine”, and learn independently. Many of the systems that we are under expect us to have a “cattle herd mentality” where we all behave and think the same. Being a student does not always mean you are in a school setting; everything can be seen as a learning opportunity. 

As I went from kindergarten to twelfth grade, I feel that I was able to see some of the progress being made within school curriculum, more specifically in history classes. In first grade, we were blindly paying respect to Columbus Day as a celebratory holiday and by seventh grade, we were writing reports debating whether or not he was a hero or a villain. Giving students the leisure to learn outside of a bubble will only make us smarter and more valuable as citizens that can contribute to making our society better as whole.