Summary Of On Becoming Educated By Joy Castro

Today, you either get educated or you get stuck in a dead-end job without much prospect for the future. The gap between those with a higher education and those without one is becoming wider with advancements in technology and the growing competitiveness of the job market. There are many dangers of this gap. One such danger is the people who have a higher educations having the leisure to ignore those who are less educated. Joy Castro in her essays “Hungry” and “On Becoming Educated” discusses her life and educational journey. She was the first in her family to go to college and has a distinct view of this gap in that she can view both sides at once. Because all voices have something to offer, Castro argues that the rift existing between the

In today’s world, the importance of a college diploma is more important than ever. Globalism has long since shrunk the world, and many jobs are becoming more and more automated. Good jobs are harder to get and positions are more competitive. College, however, is not cheap and many do not want to go through more school after high school. When Castro goes to college she notices most of the other student are either from an upper-class family or middle class, she realizes most do not understand her and she could not understand them very well either. Put simply, Castro’s struggle with these people was “I couldn’t relate,” (Hungry 264). After moving off campus Castro’s struggles deepened. She lived in a barrio which most of her friends did not visit. They see trouble when they look at her neighborhood instead of the life and culture she sees there. She moved between two seemingly completely separate worlds, the manicured campus and the apartment in her barrio. This situation, however, made Castro aware of both sides of the rift. One side had people learning and knowledge that Castro desperately craves and the other side had the beloved Latino culture that belonged to her. She heard the voice and saw the problems of both sides but did not see the way to bring them together due to their

She cries out for those who have the knowledge to help those who hunger for it. Instead of forcing themselves to be one thing or another people can choose both. People, especially the academics, don’t have to conform to the preconditioned ideologies and dichotomies set up by society. They can choose both. In the writing world Castro has been told she must choose what type of work she will write creative or scholar but she cannot choose both. She thinks otherwise. In light of the choices she was asked to make, Castro claims, “It was all too reminiscent of the old divisions long demanded of us: you must think or feel, not both,” (On Becoming 271). The dichotomies of society need dismantling in order for improvement of people within that society. To do this people must be able to attain both side of the “or” they are presented with. Castro seems to choose both thinking and feeling. She tries to get both those who care to change the world and those who have the knowledge to do so together. In order to accomplish this, Joy Castro asks for everyone to compromise, meet halfway. It is necessary for both sides to respect the other side and try to accommodate for the difference. On the side of those who have not gone to a higher level of education, they must be shown the relevance and importance of the knowledge offered by the scholars. Though this must be done carefully because “if we make them feel stupid, inadequate, and