Summary Of I Know Why The Caged Bird Cannot Read
Education is a big part of our society today. Learning should be an exciting journey. We should learn because it enlightens us and broadens the horizon. Instead we are learning because the society thinks wealth will bring us happiness. Students should be able to have a say in their education because they are the people who are getting the education. We should have a wide variety of books to choose from, instead of reading the same books as every other generation in the school system. Each generation of kids are different and we should acknowledge that. We should also acknowledge that America has a diversity of ethnicities. Even though English is our main language, the school system should also appreciate the other languages that our citizens
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Not a lot of students enjoy the readings because they cannot relate to the stories. We are given books that may have been popular in the 20th century, but mind numbing in the 21st century. In “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read”, by Francine Prose, she shares her opinions on the books that are currently being read at school and how they are being taught. Francine states that “high school is where literary tastes and allegiance are formed; what we read in adolescence is imprinted on our brains as the dreamy notions of childhood crystallize into hard data” (pg. 90) The texts we read in high school are not challenging enough. Books should allow us to question society and allow us to be open to new possibilities in the world. Nothing in the world should just be black and white. The books that are “chosen for students to read are for ‘obvious lessons.’”(pg. ). The characters in the books are predictable and the morals in the story were probably learned as a child. Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird was a little 6 year old girl who always solved problem with her fists instead or her head and had to face racism and prejudices at a young age. However, as she grew up this character learned to think wisely and be more aware of the problems in her generation. This novel is filled with life lessons, but this story is too predictable for high school students in this generation. If this was in the 20th century and racism was still new to the society this would be a perfect book for the students to read. If both the teachers and books are not challenging the young students minds, then how can we be expected to understand challenging books. “We hear the more books are being bought and sold than ever before, yet no one, as far as I know, is arguing that we are producing and becoming a nation of avid readers of serious literature”(pg.90 ). The books
Not a lot of students enjoy the readings because they cannot relate to the stories. We are given books that may have been popular in the 20th century, but mind numbing in the 21st century. In “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read”, by Francine Prose, she shares her opinions on the books that are currently being read at school and how they are being taught. Francine states that “high school is where literary tastes and allegiance are formed; what we read in adolescence is imprinted on our brains as the dreamy notions of childhood crystallize into hard data” (pg. 90) The texts we read in high school are not challenging enough. Books should allow us to question society and allow us to be open to new possibilities in the world. Nothing in the world should just be black and white. The books that are “chosen for students to read are for ‘obvious lessons.’”(pg. ). The characters in the books are predictable and the morals in the story were probably learned as a child. Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird was a little 6 year old girl who always solved problem with her fists instead or her head and had to face racism and prejudices at a young age. However, as she grew up this character learned to think wisely and be more aware of the problems in her generation. This novel is filled with life lessons, but this story is too predictable for high school students in this generation. If this was in the 20th century and racism was still new to the society this would be a perfect book for the students to read. If both the teachers and books are not challenging the young students minds, then how can we be expected to understand challenging books. “We hear the more books are being bought and sold than ever before, yet no one, as far as I know, is arguing that we are producing and becoming a nation of avid readers of serious literature”(pg.90 ). The books