Assertion Journal #1

Assertion Journal #1
By: Moose Renaldez

In this quote, James Baldwin is insisting that there are some inconsistencies in education.
It deals with both internal and external personal experiences being applied to the studies of students. The quote also involves matters of how an individual takes in information. These inconsistencies are in question because it affects learning progression. The purpose of education is supposed to teach girls and boys how to look at the world, ask questions, decide for themselves, to generally find a worldly view. As one becomes more aware, they begin to question everything. The troubling factor is if schools begin or are indoctrinating students to subscribe to a set ideology. It’s ironic in the way that once you begin to consciously examine society, you begin to question the education and teaching you are receiving and its legitimacy.
James Baldwin is correct in the fact that adults are easily fooled anxiously wanting to know more, but are the wiser to question and believe for themselves. Children are a different story. Since education starts at a young age, children will have a thirst for knowledge that can be manipulated by the teachers instructing them. Children are very impressionable and will adopt virtually any belief a teacher will supply them with. The teaching process must be careful to not show bias or suddenly incorporate a teacher’s personal views and morals into learning that may go against a families or students right to their own thoughts. Children are not aware that it is dangerous too deeply at objects, people, and events around them. Intensely brooding society for a young child may cause some psychological incapability for them to avoid anxiety of the world around them. That is the reason education builds around certain concepts for certain age groups to control what subject matter may come off as too strong for the child’s psyche. The realization is that indoctrination can happen to anyone, but being involving the guidance of teacher’s we expect to learn the right things and to be opened up to different views while being able to choose our own. Though, with the right skills, anyone can be manipulated to take in the views of an individual, such as a teacher. An example is that how life on Earth came to be. Education elaborates on multiple ideas (i.e. the Big Bang, Creationism, Evolution, Darwinism, etc.) without bias. Meanwhile, indoctrination could conclude that Darwinism is the only answer, the right answer, and everything else is wrong beyond compare. School education is supposed to open up ideas, the act of consciously examining society, questioning the justifiability of education and methods are in check.
Education involves various viewpoints to what has been proven and what has been disproven. Indoctrination promotes a specific/biased point of view as if were the only answer.
School is supposed to examine different ideas without bias and promote acceptance of diversity of ideas. It is ironic when someone begins to criticize their education that gave them that very power to do so.