Unlocking Potential: The Power of Self-Education for Intrapersonal Growth - Essay Sample

Since self-education involves taking several conceptual ideas and implementing them in our daily lives, it does not have to include attending a classroom session or a college. According to Bel Kaufman's argument, 'Education is not a product: mark, diploma, job, money in that order; it is a process, a never-ending one.' (Pritscher, 2011). Similarly, in his story, 'A Homemade Education,' Malcolm X admitted that his encounter in prison enabled him to acquire knowledge that was essential for his personal growth. According to Alexie in 'Superman and me,' learning to read need not be challenging when an individual is interested and dedicated (Alexie, 1998). Therefore, self-education should involve personal interest and daily commitment to achieving knowledge for intrapersonal growth and development without having to attend a college.

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Many people perceive that going to a college is the only leeway to gaining knowledge, education, and a better understanding of society. Malcolm X notes, 'Bimbi first made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge…and I tried to emulate him.' He was propelled by his desire to learn and liberate the mind, just like Bimbi. This indicates that personal interest could easily drive a person to obtain an education without going through college. He believed that it was never too late to acquire education if one only remained committed and true to the course. In his story, Malcolm presents the scenario of where he had started to learn by listing the words in the dictionary alongside their meanings. This indeed indicated the interest that he had in learning, although without attending a college, which consequently showed him how to remain mentally alive (Malcolm, 2005).

Similarly, Alexie, in his story, 'Superman and Me,' admits that having books around and the father being a good reader somewhat forced him to develop an interest in reading (Alexie, 1998). He notes, 'My father loved books, and since I loved my father with an aching devotion, I decided to love books as well.' Although Alexie had become a good reader, the world around considered him poor. However, his father understood the power of reading on a young child, thereby buying as many books as possible with the minimum-wage and irregular paychecks (Alexie, 1998). Just like in the case of Alexie, people in the contemporary world only consider education as a source of wealth while forgetting the power it has to liberate the mind and society.

Without attending a college, Alexie and Malcolm had an incredible first-time experience in reading. For instance, when he began reading, Alexie did not even understand what a paragraph was, but he used his context cues to form an idea of its meaning and purpose. He notes, 'I didn't have the vocabulary to say "paragraph," but I realized that a paragraph was a fence that held words. The words inside a paragraph worked together for a common purpose.' (Alexie, 1998). Without having to attend college, children often use context cues to understand their environment. Malcolm, however, began reading by listing the words in the dictionary and their meanings. Because of the commitment and interest he had in learning, he was able to obtain a homemade education that enabled him to transform his mind and society (Malcolm, 2005). In essence, education should be a process that permits a person to realize their full potential for higher achievements in life.

Malcolm argues that 'unlike in the schools where children are barred from being independent, homemade education permits the individuals to be mentally alive through learning from the surrounding experiences' (Malcolm, 2005). As such, schools hold children from experiencing the actual education. Being literate and educated means having a wide array of knowledge in several things in life. For instance, opening a book creates a new word in the vocabulary bank that ensures a detailed understanding of the world around. Malcolm did not view his ignorance leaving him as a negative occurrence, but instead, he 'attacked his ignorance' while appreciating its replacement with homemade education (Pritscher, 2011). Homemade education has the potential to positively or negatively influence the growth of an individual.

The phrase 'knowledge is power' is nearly accurate since when individuals read, they get to understand their rights, thus becoming a threat to the men who created the country. Through homemade education, minorities thrive and rebel against the dictatorial majority regimes (Alexie, 1998). Alexie notes that most governments do not want the minorities to get educated lest they understand the injustices they face and rise against them. Education should not entirely be pegged on a mark, diploma, job, and money. Still, it should also be able to expand the thinking of an individual rather than just being filled with information just like some piggy bank.

In conclusion, since self-education involves taking several conceptual ideas and implementing them in our daily lives, it does not have to include attending a classroom session or a college. Through learning how to read and write, Malcolm X made a significant difference in the world without having to attend a classroom. Although the world around considered Alexie to be poor, his father understood the power of reading on liberating the mind of a young child. Therefore, self-education should involve personal interest and daily commitment to achieving knowledge for intrapersonal growth and development without having to attend a college.

References

Alexie, S. (1998). Superman and me. Los Angeles Times, 19. http://staff.uny.ac.id/sites/default/files/SUPERMAN%20AND%20ME.pdf

Malcolm, X. (2005). A Homemade Education. The Mercury Reader. Ed. Sharon Walsh. Boston: Pearson, 122-131. http://languageartsreading.dadeschools.net/pdf/SecondaryPrograms/IREnrichment/Quarter1/Monster_Gd10/DAY%201%20TEACHER%20CENTER-A%20Homemade%20Education.pdf

Pritscher, C. P. (2011). Learning and process: Nonsense to Sense. In Brains Inventing Themselves (pp. 1-22). Brill Sense. https://brill.com/view/book/9789460917080/BP000002.xml