I Know Why The Caged Bird Cannot Read Analysis

True education is the process of developing the ability to learn, apply, unlearn, and relearn. Schools mostly serve to give their students a true education, but they should focus on teaching students the facts instead of focusing on topics that should be learned outside of the classroom.

In literature, schools often teach students the morals of a book rather than actual knowledge that they should acquire in the classroom such as literary devices or sentence structure. In Francine Prose’s, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read,” she discusses how teaching students to only focus on the moral of a book instead of the many different literary elements it contains, effects their passion for reading. “A friend’s daughter’s English teacher informed a group of parents that the only reason to study Huckleberry Finn was to decide whether it was a racist text.” (94) This acknowledges that schools do not focus on important aspects of the books. The main point that Prose forms in her essay is that students are no longer required to read a piece of literature in depth, they only have to read to identify and learn the moral, when

educators should be focusing on teaching their students the factual knowledge.
“It is not for you to choose what he shall know, what he shall do.

It is chosen and foreordained, and he only holds the key to his own secret.” (102) In “Education”, Ralph Waldo Emerson provides his thoughts on what he believes to be a true education. Emerson wrote that the student should be allowed to determine what type of education he or she receives. He is stating that the student should have the opportunity to learn what is needed for them to succeed in life. He also makes a point that educators should direct their teachings towards factual knowledge only, keeping lessons that should be taught in the real world separate from the classroom. Emerson makes this point because students should not have to learn morals or life lessons in the classroom out of a book, students should get to learn from experiences, so they benefit more from

them.
Having knowledge of the real world along with knowledge from being taught in the classroom is extremely important. If a student has only been taught in a classroom, without any real world knowledge, then succeeding outside of school would be extremely difficult because they have not been exposed to the experiences of life or they may not have much common sense either. If someone is truly educated, they will be informed about various subjects, and also have the ability to teach fellow peers so that they also become informed. Students who are capable of teaching their peers can then make those they teach capable of teaching more people, allowing knowledge to be spread. To be considered truly educated, one does not have to be at the top of their class or have a ton of real world experiences. By being able to apply the knowledge obtained through life experiences or from a textbook to different situations will lead them to success. Schools that focus primarily on teaching its students factual knowledge instead of directing focus to knowledge that could be learned through experience in the real world may create more inform students that are able to teach others and apply what they have been taught to the experiences in life outside of a classroom.
Margaret Talbot’s essay, “Best in Class,” proves that school plays a huge role in becoming successful, while it also prepares students for real world situations. Her essay presents the reader with several valedictorians who have applied their skills learned in school to their life experiences.