African American Education Vs Formal Education

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In today’s society, education is the key to becoming successful, but it has been taken for granted. People do not seem to realize the impact education has on their future. Education is the foundation upon which people build their futures on. Education is a good but it can also be frowned upon. Education was a curse for African Americans when slavery existed. In the book Fredrick Douglass wrote and published, “Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass”, he talks about how life is growing up as a young African American boy during slavery. The reason why African Americans were bought to the United States was because European settlers used African Americans because they were cheaper and more useful labor source. African Americans were never taught …show more content…
Since there different types of education, one can be educated in a different form. Informal education is educating one through informal communication and reading books. Informal Education is taught outside of schools rather than in schools. There are many examples of informal education such as, being taught at home, after-school programs, libraries, museums, community based organizations, and etc. Formal Education is the basic education that a person receives when they go to school. Formal education is taught in school with teachers who have had the training and education to teach their students. Another form of education is special education. Special Education is for people who have a disability, such for kids who are mentally challenged or those who have autism, and who have other disabilities. The final form of education is Adult Education. Adult Education is the process of educating the adults but the goal is to aim to educating adults on literacy and job skills. It can also help with adults who drop out of school in either middle school or high school. Adult education gives the people who dropped out a chance to finish their education no matter how old they are. Adult Education can also be categorized into three further categories: formal class based education, e-learning and self-directed …show more content…
For a person in today’s time who is uneducated and wants to become educated it is a “blessing” by learning how to read and write but to Frederick Douglass during slavery time he did not see it that way. Frederick Douglass saw education as a curse. Frederick Douglass slave owner, Mrs. Auld was the one to teach him how to read and write. Mrs. Auld not only taught Frederick Douglass how to read and write but she also looked after him. The reason why education was a curse for African Americans was because; they couldn’t do much with their education. Frederick Douglass was one of very few slaves who knew how to read and write. Frederick Douglass was educated, but was forbidden to use his knowledge. There are many slaves who wished they had the opportunity he had to learn how to read or write. Frederick Douglass saw it there is no point of being educated if he cannot apply to anything or make a difference. The slave owners knew that it would be a threat to them if their slaves became educated. Slave owners didn’t want their slaves to knowledge or have the information that they did. If the slaves knew as much as the slave owners did they knew that they could be freed with the knowledge they have. That is why slave owners wanted their slaves to remain uneducated so they could still control their slaves. It would benefit the slave owners if the slaves remain uneducated because without slaves they would have to do all the labor