Artifact 1, rough draft of Paper 2:
Elliot Coulombe Woznica
Prof. DeCoster
English Composition
12 October 2021
The Responsibility of Education
At one point or another, almost all of us will embark on the journey of education. Whether it’s high school, college, or even vocational school, humans often have no other choice than to pursue education in search of a better future. Even before the conscious decision to pursue education, many of us are forced to participate in elementary learning. In many ways, it’s clear that education and the institutions responsible for educating us are vastly important to today’s society. Should we, then, be questioning the responsibilities of these same institutions? Ta-Nehisi Coates is an African American author who writes about this inquiry in his book Between the World and Me. In this book, Coates is quite blunt in expressing his disapproval and dismay regarding the American educational system and how it operated where he grew up. His ideas—framed from the perspective of an African American child growing up in the “hood”—demonstrate the vagueness, normalcy, and injustice imbued within the school system. Although many believe the educational systems embraced today give students the general education they’re responsible for, Coates’ experience is a clear demonstration of how and why the “general” curriculum embraced in schools nation-wide needs to be revised. Although many would argue that this general education is exactly what schools are responsible for, my own view is that educational institutions are obligated to provide students with enough skill, perspective, and context to engage them in intellectually challenging careers that are personally relevant.
Coates’ ideas regarding how the school system should be changed are in accordance with my own, and they are exemplified by his experiences not only in school, but in life. In his aforementioned novel, Coates describes that the education he received was irrelevant to the life he was forced to lead while living in the streets. As an African American growing up in an inner city, Coates’ childhood wasn’t easy. Unlike many others, Coates spent a lot of time trying to understand and adapt to the environment in which he was unlucky enough to grow up in. While experiencing the injustices of the streets, Coates was also told by his elders that school and education would be his way out. The schools didn’t provide him with this, though. Instead, they left him feeling more hopeless than ever. “I remember sitting in my seventh-grade French class and not having any idea why I was there,” notes Coates (Coates 92). In this passage, Coates describes the ambiguity imbued within the classes he was forced to take. To Coates, this was the entirety of the educational system he was exposed to. Coates never received any context for what he was learning, perspective on who and where he was, or explanation of how his life differed from those receiving the same education from behind the comfort or a white picket fence. The school system failed Coates, and it wasn’t until his mom schooled him that Coates was finally exposed to real aspects of education.
Coates’ mom was an important catalyst for the growth and development of Coates’ perspective on the world, and Coate’s novel makes it clear that her prompts were what finally engaged Coates in critical thinking and understanding. Encouraged by his mother during one of their lessons, Coates realizes that perspective and bias are implicit in history and culture. In understanding this, Coates notes about himself and those who shaped the world as we know it, “if [he] was not innocent, then they were not innocent,” (Coates 94). Coates then starts to question, “could this mix of motivation also affect the stories they tell? The cities they built? The country they claimed as given to them by God?” (Coates 94). In considering perspective and asking questions like this, Coates displays the beginnings of what he should’ve been learning in school. Coates’ mother imbued in him the beginnings of critical thinking and perspective. These are concepts idealized by another author, Yo Yo Ma. In his article “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education”, Ma emphasizes the importance of implementing the arts into the education system. In doing so, Ma believes that students will gain perspective, critical thinking and analysis skills, communication skills, and a general understanding of empathy. This goes hand in hand with what schools should be teaching kids. In many ways, much of what Ma claims is also in accordance with what Coates’ mother provided him with that the schools couldn’t. In his article, Ma notes that “empathy comes when you understand something deeply through arts and literature and can thus make unexpected connections,” (Ma 279). In regards to this statement, Ma also notes that “these parallels bring you closer to things that would otherwise seem far away,” (Ma 279). From reading this, it’s clear Ma believes the integration of arts into education is paramount to the success of educational institutions. Moreover, though, ma believes that empathy and contextual understanding are also aspects of education that these institutions should be responsible for teaching.
Ma’s beliefs parallel those of Coates’ mother’s practices as they both emphasize a deep understanding of the world. Implicit in this is what schools should be responsible for teaching. Coates’ mom imbues in him his first senses of deeper understanding, perspective, and context. I can’t help but think that it was these early sparks of understanding that kindled the flame that is modern-day Coates. These days, Coates is a respectable author who speaks out on injustice, racism, and modern American issues. This was only made possible through his personal connection to what he speaks out on and his deep and complex understanding of the world. Schools should be responsible for instilling this understanding in students, and Ma’s views give insight into how.
Add connection to UNE handbook
Explain arts, une handbook, all back to coates
Add conclusion
Artifact 2, final draft of Paper 2:
Elliot Coulombe Woznica
Prof. DeCoster
English Composition 110
24 October 2021
Finding Purpose in Education
At one point or another, almost all of us will embark on the journey of education. Whether it’s high school, college, or even vocational school, Americans often have no other choice than to pursue education in search of a better future. Even before the conscious decision to pursue education, many of us are forced to participate in elementary learning. In many ways, it’s clear that education and the institutions responsible for educating us are vastly important to today’s society. Due to this importance, it’s paramount that we understand whether or not these same institutions are living up to their responsibilities. Ta-Nehisi Coates is an African American author who writes about this understanding in his book Between the World and Me. In this book, Coates is quite blunt in expressing his disapproval and dismay regarding the American educational system and how it operated where he grew up. His ideas—framed from the perspective of an African American child growing up in the “streets”—demonstrate the injustice imbued within the school system as well as the many downfalls of a “one size fits all” educational approach. Although many believe the educational systems embraced today are sound in giving students a general education that they may apply to various fields, Coates’ experience is a clear demonstration of how and why the simple and “all encompassing” curriculum embraced in schools nation-wide needs to be revised. Although many would argue that this general education is exactly what schools are responsible for, my own view is that educational institutions are obligated to provide students with enough skill, cultural perspective and background to engage them in intellectually challenging careers that are personally relevant.
Coates’ ideas regarding how the school system should be changed are in accordance with my own, and they are exemplified by his experiences not only in school, but in life. In his aforementioned book, Coates describes that the education he received was irrelevant to the life he was forced to lead while living in the streets. As an African American growing up in an inner city, Coates’ childhood wasn’t easy. Coates spent a lot of time trying to understand and adapt to the environment in which he was unlucky enough to grow up in. While experiencing the injustices of the streets, Coates was also told by his elders that school and education would be his way out. The schools didn’t provide him with this, though. Instead, they left him feeling more hopeless than ever. “I remember sitting in my seventh-grade French class and not having any idea why I was there,” notes Coates (92). In this passage, Coates describes the ambiguous purposes of the classes he was forced to take. To Coates, this was the entirety of the educational system he was exposed to. Coates never received any context for what he was learning, perspective on who and where he was, or explanation of why his life differed from those receiving the same education from behind the comfort of a white picket fence. Moreover, Coates never felt that he could apply what he was learning in school to the life he was unlucky enough to be born into. As Coates puts it, “the streets shackled [his] right leg [and] the schools shackled [his] left” (91). The school system failed Coates. When it should’ve been protecting him from the streets by providing him with a personal and contextualized education, it instead focused on the basics of algebra and French while leaving him alone in comprehending the world he was forced to grow up in. It wasn’t until his mom imbued in him a sense of self and a sense of perspective that he started to actually learn. It was in these moments of critical thinking and contextualizing his upbringing that Coates finally realized what it meant to be educated. This was what the schools should’ve been igniting in him.
Understanding the importance of these critical thinking skills is certainly a responsibility educational institutions should bear. Yo Yo Ma—another author who comments on the responsibility of educational institutions—believes that instilling these skills could boil down to the implementation of more liberal arts courses amongst educational institutions. In his article “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education”, Ma emphasizes the importance of implementing the arts into the education system. In doing so, Ma believes that students will gain perspective, critical thinking and analysis skills, communication skills, and a general understanding of empathy. This goes hand in hand with what schools should be teaching kids. In many ways, much of what Ma claims is also in accordance with what Coates’ had hoped to get out of his education. In his article, Ma notes that “empathy comes when you understand something deeply through arts and literature and can thus make unexpected connections” (279). In regards to this statement, Ma also notes that “these parallels bring you closer to things that would otherwise seem far away,” (279). From reading this, it’s clear Ma believes the integration of arts into education is paramount to the success of educational institutions. Moreover, Ma’s views clearly tie into much of what Coates writes about in his book. Encouraged by his mother during one of their lessons, Coates eventually realizes that perspective and bias are implicit in history and culture. In understanding this, Coates notes about himself and those who shaped the world as we know it, “if [he] was not innocent, then they were not innocent,” (94). Coates then starts to question, “could this mix of motivation also affect the stories they tell? The cities they built? The country they claimed as given to them by God?” (94). By adding this to his book, it’s clear that Coates believes there’s inherent value in asking questions like this and understanding multiple perspectives. Like Ma says in his essay, asking these questions and drawing these parallels likely brought Coates towards things that would’ve otherwise seemed far away for him. For Coates, this was a future that didn’t involve balancing the streets and his personal goals. By failing to encourage these thought processes in Coates, though, the school system once again failed him. Rather than the general education school provided him, Coates really needed a chance to understand his situation deeply and make connections. Once again, this is something educational institutions should be responsible for. Sadly, though, this isn’t common practice.
The University of New England is a good example of how schools should implement this type of learning. Because of this, the school is a great model for exactly what responsibility educational institutions bear in society. In the UNE Core Handbook, it states that students will be equipped with “foundational knowledge and critical thinking skills that are necessary for understanding and assuming their roles in natural, social, humanistic, and other environments” upon graduating from UNE (UNE 2). This statement demonstrates the emphasis UNE places on not only foundational and “general” knowledge, but also critical thinking skills. These are things that students like Coates needed growing up, and they are also concepts idealized and praised by authors like Ma. Ultimately, this demonstrates that UNE does a good job in upholding its responsibilities to students.
All in all, it’s clear that the responsibilities educational systems bear should revolve around purpose, context, and personal relevance. Although it’s important to establish a baseline, general education, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ experiences demonstrate exactly how this type of education exclusively can set kids up for failure. Other authors like Yo Yo Ma also corroborate this belief. Ma’s ideals parallel those of Coates’ as both authors emphasize a deeper understanding of the world. Implicit in this is what schools should be responsible for teaching. Coates’ mom instills in him his first senses of deeper understanding, perspective, and context. I can’t help but think that it was these early sparks of understanding that kindled the flame that is modern-day Coates. These days, Coates is a respectable author who speaks out on injustice, racism, and modern American issues. This was only made possible through his personal connection to what he speaks out on and his deep and complex understanding of the world. Schools should be responsible for instilling this understanding in students.
Works Cited
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “Between the World and Me”. Barclay and Barios, pp. 91-95.
Ma, Yo Yo. “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education”. Barclay and Barios, pp. 277-283.
Barrios, Barclay. Emerging. Available from: Macmillan, (4th Edition). Macmillan Higher Education, 2018.
University of New England. The Core Curriculum Handbook. CASFA and CCC, 2019.
Reflection:
Paper 2 was much more impressionable than Paper 1 for me as I actually received “”peer” reviews on Paper 2. Because of this, I’d like to focus my reflection on the review process and how I performed. To start, peer review has never been something I’ve taken seriously before this class. On top of this, I hardly ever start papers with a rough draft (I usually just jump right in). With all of this in mind, I’m proud of my work on Paper 2. Although my final draft is, admittedly, imperfect, I spent a lot of time revising my first draft to produce the final draft. Like I mentioned before, this was something completely new to me. When I first started my revision process, I thought my changes would take half an hour at most. What ended up happening, though, was me spending hours on revising my paper. I cant help but think that the revisions I made turned my paper into a more cohesive and well-rounded piece, as well as a more appropriately toned essay. One thing I will note is that I had trouble reuniting with my original ideas a week after finishing the rough draft, so some parts of the paper may seem rushed or incomplete. This was simply because I interrupted my trains of thought and couldn’t later reconnect with them. This would be my one negative takeaway from the review process. All in all, I feel as though this paper turned me into a better reviser. Although I am not yet perfect at the revision process, this paper made the experience less daunting.
