ipl-logo

Analyzing James Wilden's 'A Talk To Teachers'

326 Words2 Pages
In “A Talk to Teachers” a speech given by James Wilden in New York City, 1963, he expresses his discontent with the “menace” that American society has become. He focuses on the purpose of education. How teachers are the hope of societies; teachers have the power to shape a student’s mind despite of how difficult this might be. Wilden presents his argument by providing a black child as an example. He explains how a black boy grows up in a society that rejects him and his parents. The boy eventually becomes angered by this unfairness, but holds it all in. As the society ignores and mistreats the child, the child will then follow undesirable paths. Meanwhile, black communities are afraid of the police, causing the cycle to continue.
Show More
Related
947 Words | 4 Pages

Many of the boys pretended that negative interactions and stereotyping did not affect them, but their bravo personas only masked the fear inside. Fear made the boys feel weaker and less masculine, so they would deviate from social norms to regain respect and dignity among their peers and for themselves. Routine patterns of punishment eventually lead the boys to develop an altered view of thoughts, beliefs, and ways of behaving in order to survive the tough life set them. Chapter two concentrates on the history of Oakland, incarceration rates, youth systems of control, and the boy’s resistance to punishment and brutalization. The Oakland ghetto consists of a multiracial community, predominantly African-American and Latino, that are equally targeted and brutalized by police

Read More
395 Words | 2 Pages

This account handles the story of Michelle Birdsong who grew up in the south during the 1950s, living on the Tennessee and Kentucky border Michelle and her family were constantly subjected to the Jim Crow laws of the times along with the humiliation. One of her earliest recounts deals with discovering that the outdated textbooks they were using in the ‘Black’ schools were actually hamidown textbooks from the white schools in the area along with the lack-luster education already available to the black youth of the area, for example she remember one teacher coming in hungover and slept the entire lesson while she teached, put these individuals at an extreme disadvantage compared to the dominant group at the time. Michelle and her family also

Read More
1291 Words | 6 Pages

Tatum also explains how little boys face a devalued status when growing up. Black boys receive this image due to the medias, profiling them as violent criminals, filling peoples’ mind with fear of these Black boys. If not profiled as violent criminals, it’s athletically talented. She used The Autobiography of Malcolm X as an example of a young Black boy being shut down of his dreams by his teacher because he was black. “The message was clear: You are a Black male, your racial group membership matters, plan accordingly… and eventually left his predominantly white Michigan home to live with his sister in Roxbury, a Black community in Boston” (379).

Read More
1287 Words | 6 Pages

What is the purpose and mission of universal schooling? Why are philanthropic white Northern reformers’ supportive of African-Americans’ goals of literacy and universal education? How can historians reconcile the educational advancement of African-Americans with their status as second-class citizens throughout the Eras of Reconstruction and Jim Crow? In The Education of Blacks in the South (1988), James Anderson explores the race, labor, and education questions through the lens of black educational philosophy. Anderson challenges the prevailing narrative that universal public education emerged from white Northern missionaries dedicated to civilizing newly emancipated Negroes in the South.

Read More
646 Words | 3 Pages

Obama continues her historical account as she describes the travail and bravery that a few people possessed that led them to afford educational opportunities for black people even when “Teachers received death threats.” (289). She evokes these historical events, not only to show the stark difference between the past and present with regards to educational opportunities for African Americans, but also demonstrate how the people who fought tirelessly so that they could gain an education did so because of they were aware of the value of education as it brings freedom and opportunity to those who have it. To bolster this assertion, Obama quotes Fredrick Douglas, “Freedom is Emancipation” (289) Obama details even further as she

Read More
1361 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout the article, the author proclaims that less fortunate children, especially black children, are set up for failure. In my essay, I will provide an analysis of the various rhetorical devices Watkins used to persuade

Read More
1040 Words | 5 Pages

Being able to be in school and have a proper education is a privilege that many are not able to have. In the essays of Sherman Alexie and Fredrick Douglass, both stories give the audience a way to enter these two young men’s lives and what

Read More
614 Words | 3 Pages

James Baldwin wrote “A Talk to Teachers” in the early 1960s for the purpose of publicizing the “current”, “very dangerous…menace” that plagues our country - our educational system. As Baldwin develops his argument, he utilizes various historical prejudices that have been criminally ignored in the classroom and the effects that these lies have had on our society as a whole. To him, hiding our country’s scars threatens our nation as the majority of that generation grows up ignorant and complacent - a generation that “will simply obey the rules of society”. History has shown that if people fail to fight for the truth and fail to fight for change, then our “society [will] perish.” Through various examples, Baldwin illustrates that the only way

Read More
1187 Words | 5 Pages

Oyez, 21). As continued this topic of not being treated right was only one step in fixing what was happening in communities. Due to one's tint of skin they were treated different, and it was not a good different because every African American school was given the Whites Hand-me-downs, or worse, nothing at all. That caused loss of education because they could not care for oneselfs education purposes. “As shown, Educational expectations are lower for black children, [...].

Read More
77 Words | 1 Pages

In James Baldwin’s essay, “A Talk to Teachers”, he addresses the teachers around the world. He argues that the purpose of education is to equip students with the ability to look at the world for themselves. Clearly, Baldwin’s most significant rhetorical move to persuade the reader is his use of ethos, pathos, and repetition. Throughout Baldwin’s essay, he encourages changes in education for blacks, but he does so using ethos and pathos.

Read More
511 Words | 3 Pages

This week, the readings point the spotlight at the some of the depressing hardships that the African-American population frequently experience. In “Naughty by Nature”, Ann Ferguson covers the different perceptions that society has of colored boys. David Knight’s work “Don’t tell young black males that they are endangered” seeks to explain the differents outcomes of African-American youth that arise when society constantly oppresses them. The last article by Carla O’Connor, “The Culture of Black Femininity and School Success”, focuses on the image of African-American woman that is created as a result of them attempting to preserve in a system that opposes them.

Read More
964 Words | 4 Pages

As Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Donovan Livingston, a graduate at Harvard Graduate School of Education, has similar views on education. His passionate and inspiring speech called “Lift Off” was given at HGSE’s Commencement Ceremony on May 25, 2016. The speech discusses the importance of education as well as the obstacles and injustices students, especially those of color, have experienced throughout history in getting an education. Livingston’s graduating classmates who are becoming teachers, as well as teachers and educators in general, are the audience of his speech.

Read More
278 Words | 2 Pages

The History Teacher by Billy Collins, portrays a history teacher as thoughtful and protective over his students. From the beginning, it is shown that the teacher is not giving his students the full story to help maintain their innocence. The very first line of the poem states, “Trying to protect his students’ innocence” The author directly states that the teacher is trying to protect his students by telling them that “ the Ice Age was really just the Chilly Age, a period of a million years when everyone had to wear sweaters.”, instead of telling them about how scary it really was. Similarly, the history teacher goes through many different historical events and downplays them to not sound as bad as they were. “The War of the Roses took place

Read More
521 Words | 3 Pages

Unfortunately as the war came to an end their positions in the labor force were proven to not be permanent. The image of Rosie the Riveter and what she stood for was proven to be a glorified symbol compared to the reality of their roles. Although at the time it seemed like women were making social advancements, after the war ended women were reverted back to their old social ways. In 1946, one year after the war there was a decrease of half a million women in “craftsmen and foremen” positions and the percentage of women in service positions increased. By April 1947 women were back to working service jobs and were reverted back to the same pay they were making before the war began.

Read More
601 Words | 3 Pages

My experience with students as a Greek language teacher, along with the feeling of accomplishment that comes with it, are the reasons why I decided to apply and pursue a master’s degree in education and become a teacher. After six years of teaching, I realized that interacting and teaching young individuals was something that I enjoy and fulfills me as a person. When I am in a classroom teaching my first priority is to create a positive classroom environment where my students can feel safe, welcomed and comfortable. I believe that a positive classroom environment can stimulate learning, and can eventually impact students to performance positively. When a student feels, happy and enjoys attending class he or she will be more motivated

Read More

More about Analyzing James Wilden's 'A Talk To Teachers'

Related Topics

Open Document