In James Baldwin’s 1963 essay A Talk to Teachers, he focuses mainly on the negative impact of society on students. One important quote Baldwin uses in his essay is, “The paradox of education is precisely this - that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.” Education allows an individual to question the society one is learning in. The tension however comes in when much of society seeks to suppress this questioning, as someone consistently questions and disobeys is seen as dangerous to the societal order of things. But Baldwin states that society’s only hope for change is through those individuals who question. If no one questions anything around them, everything remains the same, no change occurs. Change is necessary to move forward in the world and in society, hopefully in a positive direction. What if Rosa Parks didn’t refuse to move from the front of the bus to the back of the bus (and go against society), racism against blacks in this country could have been more prominent and prolonged. Even though it was only person, one person can make a difference in this world. Education’s main goal should be to create the ability in a person to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, “to decide for oneself whether there is a God in heaven or not,” and make conclusions from what ONE sees, experiences, and thinks. To “ask questions of the universe,” and then learn to live with those questions, is the way one achieves their own identity. If you don’t develop your own decisions and opinions on things you lose who you are.
Baldwin also makes some sort of mention of children and how when they are born they are born with a “neutral” mind if you will. They can’t tell the difference between a black person and a white person, all they can sense is the fact that these people are different from one another. Little children are innocent until people like parents, teachers, and guardians drill the racism into their head. There really isn’t a solution to getting rid of racism and prejudices, its part of human nature it will always be there. Perhaps a solution would be for racist people not necessarily to absolutely love someone of another color, but understand and accept them for who they are as people. We all are living in this world together, might as well get along.
