LITR 5731: Seminar in
American Minority Literature
University of Houston-Clear Lake,
spring 2003
Student Research Project
Martin Perez
Litr 5731
May 6, 2003
Introduction
Education is power. This is a phrase commonly heard everywhere. Does it mean anything? Has it been used so much that it doesn’t hold the weight it used to hold? If you go into the schools and talk to students will the common response be “yes, I love school” or “I love to learn.” This may not be the common response but there are still many students who may say that they do love school and love learning new and exciting things. In this journal I will explore just how powerful an education can be to a minority person. How an education can make a minority person become free, not just physically but emotionally.
Personal
Inquiry
I am the only one in my family of eight brothers and sisters who has completed college. Out of the eight only three of us finished high school. My parents were migrant workers and were taught that the only way to survive and have things in life you have to work hard. As we grew up my mother made sure we kept up with our studies. My mother and my father both only had an elementary education, my father who loved school and to learn was taken out of school to work in the fields. My mother who was the fifth of twenty children born to my grandmother was the one who would drive my grandparents and her siblings across Texas to pick what crop was in season. So to my parents an education meant just finishing high school.
As I went to school my mother would tell me to finish high school so I wouldn’t have to clean toilets the way she had to. However, while in middle school, I would lose all interest in going to school or learning. I loved elementary school, I loved to read, and most of all I loved art. I used to dream of becoming a famous artist or writer. However, something happened in middle school that I can’t explain all I knew was that I had lost all desire to learn. I wanted to quit school, and I almost completely stopped reading. I peacefully slept in class over the watchful eyes of my teachers, who never once questioned why I was making zeros or fives and tens on papers while in class.
While in the eighth grade my mother became sick with cancer and the summer after failing the eighth grade I began to drive my mother to the hospital for her treatments. When school started in the fall, my mother said I had to go back to school, I said I know, but I need new clothes. My mother told me when we get some money we’ll go by you some clothes, I said ok but till then I’ll keep driving you for your treatments. To make a long story short I never got my new clothes and I didn’t go back to the eighth grade. A year and half later after my mother’s cancer was in remission, (so we thought) she asked me if I wanted to go back to school, not taking her seriously I said yes. Next thing I knew I was starting school sophomore year second semester with two “special led” classes for math and language.
Finishing high school and then going to college was not an easy task for me. I had to work twice as hard in my language and math courses in college. There were many times I wanted to quit and go work in the chemical factories as my father had instructed me to do, but there was something inside me that did not let me quit. When I read Fredrick Douglass in The Classic Slave Narratives, I could feel that desire he had in him to learn. I felt that same desire when I read about Precious in Push. I have read many books I could relate too, but while reading these two books the feelings where overwhelming.
Desire
to Learn Compared with Fredrick Douglass
In the first sentence of the second paragraph it states, “In literacy lay true freedom for the blacks” (Intro, 1). The gift of composing words is not one of my talents, but I am great at teaching others what they need to do to become good writers. I work with middle and high school students and I tell them if they want to be great writers they have to be great readers. This is a practice that I have been working on. The schools I work in are about 80% Hispanic and the majority have parents who speak limited English. So when it comes to the English language they are limited in putting in words what they are feeling. Many chose to give up and settle for whatever comes their way, however there are some who get that desire to learn and will do what it takes to overcome their limited ability to write and express themselves in words.
When I am in the schools, my wish is for everyone to have that feeling, that feeling is the desire to learn. I try to impose on them that by reading, doors can open and they will see all the opportunities waiting for them. When I began to read Fredrick Douglass, I felt sorry for him, I felt sorry for all the slaves. Then we read when the wife of his owner began to teach him to read. When his owner found out he forbade her to teach him, he told her that if she taught him (Fredrick Douglass) to read there would be no “keeping him.”
While his owner and his wife were having this conversation Fredrick Douglas was listening and this is where it happened for Fredrick Douglass.
These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within
that lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train
of thought. It was a new and special revelation, explaining dark
and mysterious things, with which my youthful understanding and
had struggled, but struggled in vain. I now understood what had
been to me a most perplexing difficulty – to wit, the white man’s
power to enslave the black man. It was a grand achievement,
and I prized it highly. From that moment, I understood the pathway
from slavery to freedom (Douglass, 364).
This is the turning point for Fredrick Douglass; this is where he gets that desire, that no matter what he will learn to read.
Some people may be born with this desire and for others just like Fredrick Douglass something may happen that triggers that desire. When I think back of when I was in middle and high school, I wonder why my teachers didn’t tell me anything. If they had showed an interest I may have begun to study, but not a word was said. When I was in high school I never remember meeting with my counselor, or being told about the SAT or anything else about college. I was happy to graduate high school; however, college was unimaginable to me. Besides “we” (Hispanics) didn’t go to college, only the “white people” did. So I did what was expected of me, I got a job and when I got tired of working, was trapped into joining the Navy to see the world.
It was after the Navy and working in the mailroom at NASA, that I had my epiphany so to say. When seeing all those people there who had a degree, I decided to myself, why can’t I do that, why can’t I get an education? Here I was living with my sister, not enough money to have my own place and get a car. So I decided that no matter what, I was going to get my college degree.
I had decided that if the “white people” could do it, I could do it too. When I was in high school besides the “special led” course I also had basic courses. One day while walking home from school, I made the comment that I wanted to be a doctor, my cousin who I was walking with and in honor classes seriously looked at me and told me that I was not smart enough. Fredrick Douglass writes that, “The very decided manner with which he (his owner) spoke, and strove to impress his wife with the evil consequences of giving me instruction, served to convince me that he was deeply sensible of the truths he was uttering” (Douglass, 365). Even though, it did bother and anger me then, I didn’t take use of that anger until I went to college. Every time I wanted to give up, I could hear those words, “you’re not smart enough.” I would use this comment many times to convince myself to keep going on.
Others things I would use to keep convincing myself was the thought of why my teachers in school never encouraging me or asking if I needed help. Fredrick Douglass describes what he feels after his realization that his owner wanted to keep him ignorant:
What he most loved, that I most hated. That which to him was great
evil, to be carefully shunned, was to me a great good, to be diligently
sought; and the argument which he so warmly urged, against my learning
to read, only served to inspire me with a desire and determination to learn.
In learning to read, I owe almost as much to the bitter opposition of my
master, as to the kindly aid of my mistress. I acknowledge the benefit
of both (Douglass ,365).
While I was an undergrad student and even today, my personal feelings about my teachers in middle and high school are that they saw me as another Mexican loser, who would amount to nothing.
The anger I have toward my middle and high school teachers has been a positive reinforcement in attaining my education. However, unlike Fredrick Douglass I sometimes wonder that if they had encouraged me to succeed and do well with my studies that maybe I could have become a great writer or artist, or even a doctor. So there is some resentment mixed with anger, but the end result was and is that desire to learn.
I have also used this anger now as I work in the schools, to let students know that no matter what, they can achieve their dreams and that no one can take that away from them.
Fredrick Douglass wrote about his experiences in 1845 and even with my experiences being more recent, some of those same feelings were the same. However, I cannot say that the sense of education is power is not universal. In an article by Robert Bellah, he writes that “Education has always been a central concern of free societies. For the flourishing and even survival of a free society depends on the quality of its citizens – and citizens” (Bellah, 3). Even though this concept has been around for a while, education in the United States was only for the “wealthy, although of course only for whites and only for males. In the early republic, there was an effort to extend it to all white males was the limit of Jefferson’s concern” (Bellah, 4). When our forefathers, like Thomas Jefferson spoke for education for all the people in the colonies, he was speaking only about wealthy “white men.”
It was this belief that education was only for the wealthy “white man” Fredrick Douglass had to go against. He was not only going against his owner’s view but the view of all society at that time. It would take the women’s suffrage to begin opening the doors for Blacks, and then the doors opening for Blacks to open for Hispanics.
But the case for the education of women was also made in the early
decades of the 19th century. Long after they were a part of the
grammar schools, there was still a struggle to establish women’s
academies, women’s colleges. And, of course, the movement for
higher education for women was closely related to the movement
for women’s suffrage, for the consciousness of women’s rights.
All those things go together. If we consider developments in the
field of black education, we would see parallels. In short, what
begins in limited form tends to spread in American history and
those left out demand to be let in and education is always a key
point in that entry (Bellah, 4).
We (Hispanics) are getting in, it has taken a while, but we are getting in. If education is power, and we live in the most powerful nation in the world then we will have to get in. The Hispanic population is the fastest growing in the United States and if the United States intends to keep advancing, Hispanics will have to become educated.
Reference:
Bellah, Robert, N. “Religion, citizenship a d the Crises in Public Education.” http://hirr.hartsem.edu/Bellah/lectures_3.htm
Douglass, Fredrick. “Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas.” Gates, Henry Louis, ed. The Classic Slave Narratives, New York: Mentor 1987 (325 – 436)
Struggle to Learn Compared with the
story of Precious in Push
The story of Precious a young black girl in the book titled Push begins with two poems. One poem goes, “Every blade of grass has its Angel that bends over it and whispers, ‘Grow, grow’” (Sapphire, intro). There are millions upon millions of blades of grass and just to imagine what this poem says, is just inspiring. When we have that desire to learn, it may not be easy, however, there is that force that keeps each and every one us going.
A few years ago I worked teaching GED to students who were just the like the characters in the book Push. I remember the one student I had who was a black seventeen with a two year old and pregnant with her second child. If one of the white boys in class would make her mad, she would scream at them, and then yell out with a loud voice, “I hate white people!” This was something that seemed to go on, on a daily bases. I usually admire a person with a free spirit, but there are limits and she broke them all.
However, every student who came into my class wanted a GED, and many thought they were ready. Not to argue with many, I would simply give them the test that would determine if they were ready. Many of my students were reading and writing at a sixth or seventh grade level and there were the few at a fourth and fifth grade level. And even these students always felt that they were ready to take the GED test. These students had the desire but were not willing to do what it took. They would not take that extra step, they did not have that burning desire eating away at them like Precious had, like Fredrick Douglass had, or that I had. These students knew that with a GED more doors would be opened to them, however even with this thought they would not push forward and take that extra step. I would give them a speech and say if you don’t want to be here, and then learn and you can leave and move on. They would look at me and say I’m going to learn, I would get excited and say yes…I did it…I broke through. The next day they would be absent and when they came back it was back to the same routine.
Many people take education for granted, but there are some that know that with an education things can be different.
It’s letters in the alphabet. Each letter got sound. Put sound to letters,
mix letters together and get words. You go words. “Baby,” start wif B,
b for “baby,” I says in nice soft voice. Soon as he git born I’ma start
doing the ABC’s…Git off Precious like that! Can’t you see Precious is
a beautiful chile like white chile in magazines or on toilet paper wrappers. Precious is a blue-eye skinny chile whose hair is long braids, long
long braids. Git off precious, fool (Sapphire, 64)!
Precious would dream that her mother would come to her rescue when her father would molest her. She knew, however, that she would not be like her mother; she would treat her child differently.
When I go into the schools and talk with students, I talk to them and let them know how important an education is. I want them to have that desire, I try to let them know that someone does care and will work with them. I tell these students that they have all the opportunities that everyone else has. What I really mean is that education does not only have to be for the “white people.” Growing up and watching reruns of leave it to Beaver, or the Brady Bunch, I would think, I wish we had a nice house like they have, or I wish my parents would ground us when we did something wrong and not whip us all the time. I used to wish my life was like the “white peoples” lives. That’s why growing up going and to college was not a thought for me, only “white people” went to college. Getting an education has opened my mind; I now think differently and know that the opportunities in life are for everyone and every person. So I try to let every person know that they have the opportunities. Education is not only for the “whites” it’s for everybody of every ethnicity, and then I hope they get that desire to learn.
In the book Precious says, “Thas the alphabet. Twenty-six letters in all. Them letters make up words. Them words everything” (Sapphire, 67). Precious knew that if she learned to read that the world would be open to her, that she could be free, free from her parents, free from the bondage that society had over her, that the only way for her to survive was to get on welfare. Like Fredrick Douglass, who knew that words would set him free, Precious knew if she learned to read, she would be free. I knew if I was going to make it in life, I would have to get an education because luck was not dropping money at my doorstep. I had and have that desire to learn. At times I wish I had the luxury of time to indulge in education, however, I understand and try to make the most of the time I do have.
There is a passage in the book where a ½ way house is described to Precious, they describe it as “½ between the life you had and the life you want to have” (Sapphire, 84). After learning this Precious makes the comment, “I’m on threshold of stepping out into my new life, an apartment for me, Abdul, and maybe Little Mongo, we see on that one, mo’ education, new friends” (Sapphire, 84). Precious knew that with an education she could have her own life, her own place where she could take care of her children and give them the opportunities she never had.
With an education there are opportunities, opportunities not only to better oneself but also their family. Robert Bellah notes that:
Opportunity is one of the highest goods a modern society can offer. It
is almost always individual opportunity that is implied: we are the land
of individual freedom, and I for one would not wish it otherwise.
Opportunity is the possibility of making something of ourselves, of
freely choosing our occupation, our mate, if we choose to have one, our
place of residence and work, our church or synagogue and many other thinks.
It is part of the richness of our culture and our national life. And if there
are individuals or groups denied opportunity in any of these forms it is a
sign of the failure our society (Bellah, 1).
In a free society everyone has opportunities. It is what they choose to do with those opportunities that decide their future.
Fredrich Douglass did not live in a free society; his society was determined by the white man. However, he new that if he learned to read, he would have those opportunities it would take to survive. Precious also new that when she learned to read and receive more education, that she would also have the opportunities that she once thought only a white person could have. I knew that when I received my college degree that I would also have those opportunities that my parents did not have.
Conclusion
I began this article with the phrase, “education is power.” I knew that an education could make a difference in my life. I also know that with all the students I work with, that an education can make a difference in their life. However, there are many obstacles along the way, and some make it through, while others don’t. The opportunities to achieve dreams are only an education away, and yet still many do not take hold of that opportunity. For many minorities, an education can make a big difference, we do not share all the luxuries that “White People” have. However, with an education we can have almost the same opportunities they have. These opportunities can lead to power and freedom, both physically and emotionally.
For Fredrick Douglass, an education meant freedom. He states:
I was born and reared in Slavery; and I remained is a Slave State
twenty-seven years. Since I have been at the North, it has been necessary
for me to work diligently for my own support, and the education of my
children. This has not left me much leisure to make up for the loss of
early opportunities to improve myself (Douglass, 439).
One thing that students have today, that Fredrick Douglass didn’t have was opportunities early in life. I had opportunities early in life, but was ignorant to them. Minorities have had opportunities for years and were also ignorant to them. However, times are changing and a determination to have what America has to offer are becoming a reality for many minorities.
Precious was determined to learn to read. Although her mother wanted her to learn something like computers, so she could get a job, Precious was determined to learn to read. Precious states, “Mama wrong. I is learning. I’m gonna start going to Family Literacy class on Tuesdays. Important to read to baby after it’s born” (65). Precious knew it was important to learn to read not just for herself but also for her new baby that was on the way. She was going to teach her baby to read, she was going to give her baby the opportunities she did not have when she was a young child. However, after her baby was born, Precious was torn between going to school to learn and giving up her baby for adoption. She did not want to give up her baby, but she also wanted to learn because she knew that was the only way she was going to have opportunities. She also had the desire to get and education.
After finding herself in a desperate situation and having to leave her home with no place to go, Precious made up her mind. She thinks to herself, “What I gonna be, queen of babies? No, I gonna be queen of those ABC’s – readin’ ‘n writin’. I not gonna stop going to school ‘n I not going to give Abdul up…” (75). Many students I work with have never had the life that Precious had, but still they give up on education.
One day Precious steals her chart from the counselor at the halfway house, and reads that the counselor thinks she would benefit more if she gave up on her studies and worked as a home attendant. This angers Precious and makes her more determined to get her GED. With so much pain in her life Precious could have easily given up, but she learned to read and this gave her the hope that one day she would have her GED and make a better life for herself and her children.
As a cross cultural major, I am fascinated with not only the different cultures of today but of their history. It is the history of that culture that has made it what it is today. History can also affect the way a culture is today and the opportunities that may await individuals within that society.
Fredrick Douglass was determined and had the desire to be a free man, Precious was also determined and wanted the opportunities that all in Americans are entitled to. They had that desire, a desire for education, because they new that an education meant power. What I have learned is that when everything seems good in our life, we take it for granted. It is those misfortunes that sometimes give us the desires to achieve something in our life.
Reference:
Bellah, Robert, N. “Individualism and Commitment: America’s Cultural Conversation.” http://hirr.hartsem.edu/Bellah/lectures_6.htm
Douglass, Fredrick. “Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas.” Gates, Henry Louis, ed. The Classic Slave Narratives, New York: Mentor 1987 (325 – 436)
Sapphire. Push. New York: First Vintage Contemporaries Edition, May 1997