The Power of Knowledge
"Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of every progress." This quote from Kofi Annan, a diplomat of Ghana involved with the United Nations, directly correlates with an overall theme found in Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington. This autobiography clearly depicts trials and tribulations that confronted Washington, but not one of them is ever noted as anything less than a learning experience. Washington's passion for learning enabled him to surpass boundaries perceived by those who allowed themselves to merely become victims of their circumstances. He looked at the struggles that faced him as opportunities to become a stronger and more confident person. Success did not come easily for this man, but through a series of events and obstacles he was able to create a success all his own. Having an education that is furthered by schooling is important, but Washington's life is proof that the power of knowledge can also be notably attained through making the most out of life and all that it has to offer, good or bad.
Booker T. Washington's views on education enlighten viewpoints surrounding the controversial topic of placing a higher value on education or experience. As today's society heavily focuses on schooling, it is important to remember that lives are not solely based upon that aspect. A combination of both education and experience are necessary to achieve the highest level of success. Education is a good foundation, but without experience limits are placed on how much a person can achieve. Likewise, without the foundation of education a life full of experiences can be unstable.
A common consensus has yet to be agreed upon for this ongoing debate over whether educa...
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...s as a testament to how pivotal both schooling and experience are. With a balance of the two, he could best shape all that he knew and all that he had into usable material that would best benefit his life.
Works Cited
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Boud, David, and Ruth Cohen. "Experience-based Learning." Understanding Adult Education and Training. By Lee Andresen. 2nd ed. Sydney: Allen and Unwin. 225-239. Web. 22 Apr. 2012.
Savery, John R., and Thomas M. Duffy. RLT. Tech. no. 16-01. Indiana University, June 2001. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. .
"What Is Experience-based Learning?" Starting Point. Carleton College, 11 Apr. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. .
“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” This quote is by Booker T. Washington. In the book “Up from Slavery” Mr. Washington was a poor African American man who wanted an education. He was able to peruse an education, through hard work and perseverance. Then he wanted to help others also receive an education, by building a school.
Booker T. Washington’s statement in Up from Slavery, stated that “Education is not a thing apart from life-not a “system”, nor a philosophy: it is direct teaching how to live and how to work…” He was a black activist and educator, who taught newly freedman the importance of sanitation and disease prevention, urged equality through education and agriculture pursuit, and encouraged positive relationships between races. Some obstacles were minor, causing short-term inconvenience and aggravation. Washington explained how he overcame obstacles and unbelievable odds. In his autobiography, Washington describes his life as a slave and rising from poverty and oppression. Booker T. Washington is one of African American great leaders of the late 19th
Booker T. Washington was one of the most well-known African American educators of all time. Lessons from his life recordings and novelistic writings are still being talked and learned about today. His ideas of the accommodation of the Negro people and the instillation of a good work ethic into every student are opposed, though, by some well-known critics of both past and current times. They state their cases by claiming the Negro’s should not have stayed quiet and worked their way to wear they did, they should have demanded equal treatment from the southern whites and claimed what was previously promised to them. Also, they state that Washington did not really care about equality or respect, but about a status boost in his own life. Both arguments presented by Washington and his critics are equally valid when looked at in context, but When Mr. Booker gave his speech at the Atlanta Acquisition, he was more-so correct in his belief of accommodation. His opinions concerning that hard work achieved success and respect and that demanding requests does not give immediate results were more rational, practical, and realistic than others outcries of immediate gratification and popularity contests.
Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Virginia in 1865. Washington experienced first hand the atrocities that African-Americans were facing, living an unimaginable childhood in which he did not own a pair of shoes until the age of eight (Moore 16). After Washington was emancipated from slavery following the Civil War, He went on to receive his education at the Hampton Institute in Virginia. At Hampton, Washington received training in industry and agriculture (Gibson). Washington was a ...
Given his account, it is evident that Washington propagated for the development of practical skills and self help skills (Washington 3). According to Washington, these skills would create a basis for the black people. The black people had been exposed to activities such as working in farm plantations, doing laundry, among other activities that required the incorporation of practical skills (Washington 3). Therefore, Washington advocated for an education system that would reinforce the practical skills of the black people, so that they could improve their work efficiency and effectiveness (Washington 3). This fact would in turn mitigate their level of dependency on the white
Baym, Nina, and Robert S. Levine. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. Print.
This book was about Booker T Washington who was a slave on a plantation in Virginia until he was nine years old. His autobiography offers readers a look into his life as a young child. Simple pleasures, such as eating with a fork, sleeping in a bed, and wearing comfortable clothing, were unavailable to Washington and his family. His brief glimpses into a schoolhouse were all it took to make him long for a chance to study and learn. Readers will enjoy the straightforward and strong voice Washington uses to tell his story. The book document his childhood as a slave and his efforts to get an education, and he directly credits his education with his later success as a man of action in his community and the nation. Washington details his transition from student to teacher, and outlines his own development as an educator and founder of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He tells the story of Tuskegee's growth, from classes held in a shantytown to a campus with many new buildings. In the final chapters of, it Washington describes his career as a public speaker and civil rights activist. Washington includes the address he gave at the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition in 1895, which made him a national figure. He concludes his autobiography with an account of several recognitions he has received for his work, including an honorary degree from Harvard, and two significant visits to Tuskegee, one by President McKinley and another by General Samuel C. Armstrong. During his lifetime, Booker T. Washington was a national leader for the betterment of African Americans in the post-Reconstruction South. He advocated for economic and industrial improvement of Blacks while accommodating Whites on voting rights and social equality.
Booker T. Washington was one of the most influential African American writer on the issue of racial discrimination and freedom for African Americans. Washington was born in franklin county Virginia, not knowing his father. He described his growing up as the most “miserable, desolate, and discouraging surrounding” (570). In his speeches for freedom, Washington suggested that the best way to ensure progress is for white people to allow people of color to work their way upwards. After his speech, “African Americans embraced Washington as their champion and adopted his autobiography, up from slavery as their guide to better future” (570). On the other hand, there were many people who disagreed with Washington’s view on freedom.
During his lifetime, Booker T. Washington was a national leader for the betterment of African Americans in the post-Reconstruction South. He advocated for economic and industrial improvement of Blacks while accommodating Whites on voting rights and social equality. Washington traces his life from his being born a slave to an educator. His writings and speeches, though initially was very influential for his race, later in his life began to be challenged by the new generation of African Americans and died as he did in 1915 with him. In this autobiography of his life, Washington’s generalizations and accommodations of the treatment and disregard for the African American by people of the White race was nonchalant, as though he felt that for some reason it was okay or necessary for African Americans to be treated as second class.
Washington's approach to solving the problems African Americans faced was rooted in his belief in an industrial education. Born a slave and educated at Hampton Institute Washington learned from a trade and skill based curriculum. He advocated a philosophy of self-help, accommodation and racial solidarity. He believed that the best option for African Americans was, for the time being, to accept discrimination and work hard to gain material prosperity. Washington believed in education of a practical craft, through which African Americans would win the respect of whites, become full citizens, and become fully integrated into all aspects of society.
Norrell, Robert J. Up from History: The Life of Booker T. Washington. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2009. Print.
Education is a privilege. The knowledge gained through education enables an individual’s potential to be optimally utilized owing to training of the human mind, and enlarge their view over the world. Both “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” by Frederick Douglass himself and “Old Times on the Mississippi” by Mark Twain explore the idea of education. The two autobiographies are extremely different; one was written by a former slave, while the other was written by a white man. Hence, it is to be expected that both men had had different motivations to get an education, and different processes of acquiring education. Their results of education, however, were fairly similar.
Washington uses a coaching style approach regarding his process of getting his fellow African Americans to enroll in schools and pursue a higher education. Washington embraces the path-goal theory supportive leader behavior perfectly by leading them down a path with the end goal being beneficial to all those who follow it. He motivates his followers by ensuring them that if they work hard and receive a proper education that they will be free from the chains of ignorance and stereotypes that black men and women are only good for manual labor. Although he received mixed reviews at first, people eventually listened and followed his philosophy and sought out higher education. This was very successful as the percentage of African Americans and other minority groups enrolling and graduating college is still increasing. The way Booker T. Washington used Transformational Leadership was by taking a stand and speaking up about the inequality African Americans were enduring regarding education and receiving fewer opportunities than white people. He did not know how far his speeches and philosophy would go, but he knew he had to try something to improve the situation for his people. Washington stated, “…I plead for industrial education and development for the Negro not because I want to cramp him, but because I want to free him.” With this quote we understand his vision as he challenges African Americans to get their education
Baym, Franklin, Gottesman, Holland, et al., eds. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 4th ed. New York: Norton, 1994.
Booker T. Washington was a young black male born into the shackles of Southern slavery. With the Union victory in the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, Washington’s family and blacks in the United States found hope in a new opportunity, freedom. Washington saw this freedom as an opportunity to pursue a practical education. Through perseverance and good fortunes, Washington was able to attain that education at Hampton National Institute. At Hampton, his experiences and beliefs in industrial education contributed to his successful foundation at the Tuskegee Institute. The institute went on to become the beacon of light for African American education in the South. Booker T. Washington was an influential voice in the African American community following the Civil War. In his autobiography, Up from Slavery, Washington outlines his personal accounts of his life, achievements, and struggles. In the autobiography, Washington fails to address the struggle of blacks during Reconstruction to escape the southern stigma of African Americans only being useful for labor. However, Washington argues that blacks should attain an industrial education that enables them to find employment through meeting the economic needs of the South, obtaining moral character and intelligence, and embracing practical labor. His arguments are supported through his personal accounts as a student at Hampton Institute and as an administrator at the Tuskegee Institute. Washington’s autobiography is a great source of insight into the black education debate following Reconstruction.