Category: Unit 1

Growing up in the Caribbean Island of Jamaica, there were many anecdotes that spoke volume in regards to my relationship with education. From a very young age, I think we can all agree that we are groomed to aim for the best and to be successful in our adult life and that being successful can be achieved through education. This grooming came in the form of things such as asking my younger self questions like “What do I want to be when I grow up?” This has been a frequently asked question throughout my live. Our younger selves begin to question what profession would stand out as acceptable by society and therefore making us successful. Throughout my life, the ultimate profession has changed at different stages of life as life experiences happen and I realize; maybe another profession would be more successful, as one would aim to dream. We are taught to go to school, get a good job and you will be successful, so growing up I wanted to be an Anesthesiologist. Why? Well for one I liked the way the word rolled off the tongue but also because I’d help to save lives and that was one profession a Caribbean parent would consider as being successful. This idea was short-lived as I realized I did not want to spend 100 years being in school. 

 My dreams to achieve didn’t stop there, it just changed with time. Currently, I am interested in being a travel radiology technician as well as an entrepreneur, particularly because I am driven with the need to succeed and control my own destiny. So when it comes to my overall experience, my relationship with education and the various anecdotes in my life, education is important to me as it will help navigate my life in a better way as well as ensuring that both myself and my family are proud of my success. 

A story that that comes to my mind when thinking about the history of my education is the story my Father told me. My father is pretty old and is in his early 60s. he was around during a time where people of color were treated very differently, he would tell me stories of how he use to have to sit in the back of  a bus even after black people gained civil rights because he didn’t feel comfortable in the front and wasn’t use to it. when I was little I would always ask my dad to read me stories and he would tell me stories. as I got a little bit older I was beginning to learn how to read , one day I was having a hard time reading a sentence so I called my Dad over to help me. My dad refused to help me and instead called my Mom over to help me. I thought it was strange but I didn’t think anything of it. Eventually I learned that my Dad actually couldn’t read and he needed people’s help to read and explain things to him. when I was little he wasn’t actually reading the book he was just creating a story and pretending to read it from the book. when I asked my Dad why couldn’t he read he explained to me that his education back then wasn’t that great and that the teachers didn’t really care about him. He told me that the teachers wouldn’t help him that much because they believed that “negroes” wouldn’t make it that far and that they did bad compared to the white students. My Dad’s educational level (non-high school graduate) had an impact on my education because I would have to learn how to read sentences on my own and I would have to learn how to do homework on my own too. I didn’t have parental assistance when it came to doing homework and I was a bit behind in reading compared to the other students. After my Dad told me that story I took my education more serious and began reading books on my own so that I could help him, so in a way My education was influenced by his.