Author: Alexis A

I think James Baldwin is saying to teachers, they should teach their students that they should not place limitations on themselves even though the country they live in does not accept them or  see them as equal or human, America in this case. Baldwin stated in this presentation, “The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not.  To ask questions of the universe, and then learn to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his own identity”. 

I believe Baldwin’s statement “the world is larger” means these students are not limited to America, there is a whole world out there for them to explore and they should be curious and go outside their comfort zone to find out what the world has to offer them. I think as Black boys/girls traveling to places outside of America may offer them a different experience, that the humiliation of racisms, segregation Blacks face in America may not be the same in a different part of the world but the only way these Black students would find out is if they traveled outside of America. I think Baldwin was stressing the point that as educators it was their responsibility to teach Negro children to be curious and to emphasize to Negro children there is more out there for them to explore.

I think I have the necessity to learn more about how to be a responsible adult, I feel it is my obligation to myself and my parents to learn more about the ways responsible adults live their lives. How you choose the right career for you, how can I as an adult choose a profession I will be happy to do in the long-term that will maintain my lifestyle, paying rent, utilities, food etc. I wish schools taught more about how to open and manage a checking account or savings account; how to create a budget. I wish my school taught me why having a good credit history is important and how to use credit wisely. I wish my school gave some classes on ways to NOT have tons of student debt! These are the topics I wish I had learned more about in school. These are the topics that will be really important to know when I start my professional life and I have to be responsible for myself and my money. I called this out in my educational narrative, and I will re-state it here! The public education system in America does not fully prepare students for real life. 

I really like this essay, it was real! Dealing with a very real topic. Black and Brown children not being taught their history and the important contributions Negros have made to the American society. It’s a relevant topic for today because we see in the news how politicians are banning books, canceling curriculum and firing teachers that teach Black and Brown history.

The one significant event I can think of that had an impact on the way I view education was my first year of high school  when we started to study European history. I actually wondered why I needed to learn European history? It had know impact on my life, all it taught me was all the horrible things that white people did to other races to gain power, money and land. Literally I learned that there was not a race of people that had not been oppressed, marginalized or discriminated against by white people. I wondered if we were being taught this history as a warning on not repeating the past? Then I realized the education system in our country thinks this history is really really important and this is why 9th grade students like myself and thousands of other kids have to memorize this ancient and outdated information as a standard of learning. As I continued to learn history in the proceeding grades 10th, 11th and 12th grades it was still more history on what white people did, who they conquered or fought a war with to get more power, more money and more land. I did not see the value in learning this history, I don’t see the value of it now! It would have been more beneficial for me to learn how to open a checking or saving account or to invest or how to save for the future than to learn European/American history.  The educational system in the US does not prepare children for the real world. It focuses too much on the past and not enough on the future. We need to do better for students by incorporating more practical and beneficial subjects in school.