Comparison of the Concepts of Education as the Process of Learning by Essay

Comparison of the Concepts of Education as the Process of Learning by Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X - Essay Example In today’s society, education, as a concept, has evolved to be taken synonymously with schooling (Lear 2). However, while it is undeniable that formal schooling is an integral aspect of education today, understanding and promoting education within this limited context leaves students unable to benefit from its full potential; hindering their full development as individuals. Education is a process of knowing. While formal schooling can undoubtedly contribute to this process, it is but one of many means to achieve an education. Looking at Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X’s experiences, one can illustrate how education can also be achieved through self-study. Douglass, for example, was deprived of formal education as a result of his status as a slave. He laments in his autobiography, â€Å"education and slavery were incompatible with each other† because, in the words of his master, it â€Å"would forever unfit him to be a slave† (53, 49). Malcolm X, although not necessarily deprived of formal schooling, did not finish beyond the eighth grade because of a disheartening talk with one of his professors (Malcolm X 36-37). Thus, he notes, â€Å"[his] alma mater was books, a good library† (203). Nonetheless, both men educated themselves. However, although it is possible to educate oneself without formal schooling, self-education is not a simple process. Douglass himself writes he is â€Å"conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher† (50). In this respect, what allowed both Malcolm X and Douglass to succeed in their self-studies is the fact that they are determined and dedicated in their own education. Malcolm X, for example, tirelessly began teaching himself how to read by copying pages of the dictionary by hand, learning the words and reciting them aloud. Since learning how to read, he notes, â€Å"from then until I left that prison, in every free moment I had, if I was not reading in the library, I was reading in my bunk.