Ranciere’s Intellectual Emancipation

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Each person has his/her unique thoughts and ideas about life. Many people have tried to bring a positive change into the world. Some have accomplished bringing a change and some have not. Joseph Jacotot, a French lecturer brought up different perspectives about human beings, discussed in a book by Jacques Ranciere named, “The Ignorant Schoolmaster”. In his book, Ranciere argues, very descriptively, his principles of intellectual emancipation, with which I could not agree any less than he does with.
Joseph Jacotot experienced his intellectual adventure by teaching French to Flemish students. “The return of the Bourbons forced him into exile, and by the generosity of the King of the Netherlands he obtained a position as a professor at half-pay” (Ranciere, 1). Joseph Jacotot did not know how to speak Flemish, and he had to teach his students French. He had given his students a book called Telemaque to read until they could recite it. He did not expect the students to understand the book well; it was an experiment for Jacotot. After instructing his students to write in French about their thoughts on the book, he was amazed by the results he had received. All the students did an excellent job. This brought Jacotot to a thought, “Were all men virtually capable of understanding what others had done and understood?” (2). It is very hard to accept the fact that everyone can do and understand everything another person has accomplished, but it is possible. I learned how to restore classic BMW’s at the age of fourteen without the help of a mechanic or any other automobile professional. I decided to take apart my 1988 BMW 325e I had bought, and restore the car to pristine condition until I got my license. My only tool of information I had was ...

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...he knowledge of speaking five languages, but our willingness of learning gave both of us the capability of improving our knowledge.
A person can improve their knowledge by themselves. There is no need for a professional or an instructor to explicate, because one can teach them self everything one wishes to learn. It is the willingness of a person to learn which builds the knowledge of a person. If one is not willing to learn, then not even a professional or an instructor can improve the knowledge of the person. Therefore, one does not need an instructor to improve their knowledge. Everything can be taught to you by yourself, just stay willing and the knowledge will be built as you teach yourself.

Works Cited

Ranciere, Jacques. The Ignorant School Master: Five Lessons in Intellectual Emancipation. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1991. Print.

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