Argument Essay

Social Change Through Education

The effect of education on the progression of equality and social change is something that has been well documented, through both personal narratives and social studies. And time and time again, it has been said that education and social change go hand-in-hand, and that the former has the ability to lead to the latter. People such as Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Dr. Kathleen Mass Weigert have written on the subject, all of them stating that education can be a promoter of change. However, it is not enough to educate any one group within a society, nor to believe that any one group is enough to cause change. All members of society are vital toward bringing about any type of change within society, which is why the education of both the oppressed and the oppressors is the most important tool of social change.

           

In Fredrick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave, he emphasizes the effect that education had on his life – and specifically, on his escape from slavery. His education allowed for him to personally reach freedom, by allowing him to impersonate a seaman using the other man’s papers. However, beyond earning him physical freedom, the ability to read granted him a mental freedom, and allowed for him to understand the truth of his situation. He spoke of one book specifically, titled The Colombian Orator, which “gave tongue to interesting thoughts of my own soul, which had frequently flashed through my mind, and died away for want of utterance” (Douglass, 334). Douglass had known that slavery was wrong, but it was only through education that he was able to be vindicated in this knowledge. By gaining the ability to read the words that abolitionists had written about slavery, he received validation in his own knowledge of the injustice being inflicted upon him and his fellow slaves.

The importance of Douglass’ education is further highlighted through the reaction of his master upon learning about the lessons which he had been receiving from the master’s wife. When Douglass’ master learned that his wife was teaching Douglass to read, he was furious, and immediately ordered her to cease with the lessons. He claimed that “learning would spoil the best nigger in the world” (Douglass, 330). In this admonishment, the master acknowledges that becoming educated would allow Douglass to learn about the injustices being heaped upon him and the other slaves. In his decision to deny Douglass an education, he emphasizes the importance of literacy and knowledge. By denying Douglass the ability to read, he acknowledges the importance of education, and chooses to prevent Douglass’ education so that he will lack the necessary tools to both recognize and escape his enslavement. The decision of Douglass’ master to deny Douglass an education was about more than a desire to keep Douglass ignorant – it was born from the belief that all slaves must be kept uneducated, so that they would continue to bear their enslavement without being able to fight back.

Douglass’ education had a lasting effect not only on his own ability to reach freedom, but on his ability to aid his fellow slaves, as well. Having escaped to freedom, Douglass began his career as an antislavery orator, traveling around the country on speaking tours and later founding an abolitionist paper. He, through his paper, rose to national fame, which allowed him to aid in convincing President Lincoln to free the slaves in 1863. After Lincoln’s assassination, Douglass went on to hold several government positions, including that of an official in Washington, D.C. All of these accomplishments are ones which he would have been incapable of if he had not received an education.

Though Douglass’ narrative speaks to the importance of educating the oppressed, King speaks to the opposite end of the equation, and explains why it is equally important for the oppressors to become educated about the societal issues surrounding the oppression. The education which King speaks about is different than the type of education of which Douglass writes. When Douglass speaks of education, he means the ability to do things such as read and write – skills which many people take for granted when they possess them. He also means the ability to learn general subjects, such as the type which would be taught in school. King, however, is speaking of a more-specific type of knowledge. When he speaks of education, he doesn’t mean typical school subjects – instead, he means that people must be educated on the issues that affect various classes of society, and be aware of how our own behavior may impact or even cause these issues.

King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a letter which he wrote to the Jewish and Christian clergyman after he had been arrested for leading a protest in Birmingham. He had heard about the way that his actions had been criticized as “unwise and untimely” (King) by those who had not been involved in the protest, and responded by explaining why his actions – and the actions of those who had joined them in the protest – had, in fact, been entirely necessary. He speaks about the injustices that black Americans had been subjected to for years, and about how after “you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society” (King), it is difficult to believe the idea that now was not the right time for social change. This frank expression of the injustice faced every day by black citizens sets the basis for his explanation of his protest’s necessity, and forms the backbone of his letter.

Though the discussion of injustice sets the background for King’s letter, the most important piece of it – at least in regards to a discussion on education – comes when King states that “the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate… who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a ‘more convenient season’” (King). Their greatest opposition is not those white citizens who are violently against their cause; instead, their biggest opposition are the white citizens who do not know enough about the cause to realize why it must be supported, because they make up a far greater portion of the population than the outright oppressors do. As King stated, these beliefs are confusing, because they are not support, but neither are they outright denials of their rights. It is easy for one to judge the actions of another group when one is not being directly impacted by the oppression that they face, which was why so many white citizens fell into believing these things. This ignorance is one of the strongest oppositions to social change, which was why King spoke to strongly in favor of educating the average person, so that they would no longer have any excuse for not campaigning for equality.

One of the purposes for writing this letter was because King was attempting to spread knowledge and raise awareness about the issues that he and his black brothers and sisters faced. He is aware that many people do not others out of deliberate malice, and acknowledges that many mistaken beliefs are caused simply by a lack of understanding. With this letter, he is attempting to educate a larger audience, and sway the white population to his side, because he  knows that people are capable of changing their minds and actions, so long as they are given sufficient reason to do so.

In fact, most of King’s letter is an attempt to teach about the oppression that black citizens have undergone. When he makes statements such as “I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for … justice … I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition …. to a substantive and positive peace” (King), he is purposely listing off his hopes in a reasonable manner in order to emphasize the simplicity of his desires. In doing go, he also highlights his disappointment over the fact that such simple and important things have not come to pass. This technique is designed to instill a sense of shame in those who read it. The reader is meant to feel as though they have done something wrong by not striving to ensure that these simple requests come to pass. But more than that, by listing his hopes for the future, King is also teaching the reader about which events must come to pass in the future, in the hopes that now that the reader is aware of the plight that the black citizens are facing, they will be educated enough to no longer oppose the actions that are being undertaken.

A slightly-more-modern voice speaking about these same social issues is Dr. Kathleen Mass Weigert, who wrote on the subject of peace studies in 1989. Peace studies, Weigert claims, is necessary for the formation of a peaceful world because it allows students to “move away from their historical and geographic prejudices by seriously engaging ideas from other cultures and societies” (Weigert, 39). She believes that by educating students in the ways of other cultures, we can prevent the future generations from becoming biased against those different than themselves, and foster a more peaceful world. She recommends multiple facets of teachings; students should learn both about what life is like for other cultures, but also about various peaceful protests from the past that were successful in bringing about a positive social change. By studying resources from the past, students will learn that positive change can come about without violence, and these classes will give the students the resources to know how they can make a difference.

Weigert’s argument is based around the belief that humans are good at heart, and that violence is an unfortunate occurrence which can be prevented. By refusing to accept violence or hatred as something normal, and by maintaining that it is a serious problem which needs to be fixed – Weigert believes that people will be able to find a solution. She urges her students to think of violence as something that can be cured, as opposed to being a regular part of the human condition. The problem, then, comes from discovering how to cure this particular issue.

For Weigert, the solution comes from education. She writes that education, far from merely being a way to impart knowledge onto students, is “a process that enables one to act, to live in a fully human way” (Weigert, 38). Without education, it would be impossible for people to know how to act – or, sometimes, to even realize that there is a problem in need of solving. Once individuals have received the proper education, they are capable of being aware of the world around them. They will also know enough about the situations surrounding the problems occurring in other parts of the world that they will be able to feel sympathy for the people experiencing these problems, and will be more likely to offer assistance.

While Weigert is clear that education allows for those to receive it to aid the people in need, she also claims that the education is equally liberating for those who receive it. Education “help free students from the limited notion that knowledge of the world only comes wrapped in neat packages” (Weigert, 38). By focusing on the various subjects and viewpoints encompassed by a thorough examine of any social issue, the complexity of the world is highlighted, allowing the students to see the world in more depth than what usually comes with basic textbooks. It shows the students that the world is not a simple place, and therefore opens their eyes to the depth that the world possesses, allowing the students to see a world more vast and varied than one would be able to imagine without the proper education.

Douglass, King, and Weigert all argue the same point: that education is necessary for social change. Douglass speaks to the individual’s experience, and how his own education allowed him to realize the horror of his situation, and to escape toward freedom. King spoke more toward educating the oppressors, so that they would understand why social change was necessary – the same point that Weigert also makes. What all three of them share is the idea that education of all sorts is capable of making a difference in the lives of everyone affected by it. Whether this difference is a personal revelation about ones life or a societal shift towards a new way of thinking, education shapes the way that everyone perceives the world, and is the most important tool in making a difference. Without education, societal change cannot occur. But when there is enough education on enough different levels of society, then change becomes not only possible, but probable, and the world can be made into a much better place.

Douglass, Frederick. "The Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave." Ethics and Morality. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Web.

King, Martin L., Jr. "King Institute Resources." Letter. 16 Apr. 1963. King Institute Resources.

      N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

Weigert, Kathleen M. "Peace Studies as Education for Nonviolent Social Change." Annals of the

     American Academy of Political and Social Science 504.1 (1989): 37-47. Www.jstore.org.

     Sage Publications, Inc, American Academy of Political and Social Science. Web. 02 Nov.

     2014.

Reflection

I learned a lot by writing this essay. I had already written and thought about both Martin Luther King Jr. and Douglass’ works in class, but even so, writing this essay forced me to think about them in much more depth, and to figure out the ways in which they were alike and similar. Furthermore, my final source – Weigert’s work – was something that I never would have read if not for this assignment, and I found what she had to say to be very interesting. I think that I have a tendency to assume that badness or evil is an innate part of human nature. It’s definitely not a good thing, but it is something that you have to count on, because it exists. However, she has a very optimistic way of viewing the world, and I liked the way that she argues that education can lead to a decrease in violence, and that people aren’t necessarily bad or even violent at their cores.

           

This essay was difficult to finish, for a number of reasons. For one, I had never written an essay of this length before, and I wasn’t initially sure how to go about it. But I found that the fact that the five-page draft was due earlier than the final draft was incredibly helpful. Five pages seemed far more doable than seven pages, and once the five pages were finished, it was easier for me to sit down and finish the last two pages today. By breaking the project up into reasonable sections, I was able to complete it far easier than if I had tried to write the entire thing at once, which is usually my method of working on papers. In the future, I will definitely set myself smaller deadlines along the way, to break the assignment down into easier chunks and to ensure that I’m not scrambling to complete the entire thing the day before it is due.