Discussion Prompt #2

#2  Discussion questions for “A Homemade Education” by Malcom X.

1)    1)  Discuss the values implied in the term “homemade”.  In what ways can homemade things be good, or better than store bought things?  Give examples.  In what ways can homemade things be taken less seriously or given less value than store bought things?  Give examples.  Can you think of anyone else who has educated themselves, rather than at the university?  Explain.

2)      2)Education and freedom.  How does Malcom X relate these concepts in this work? Compare and contrast to bell hooks’ quote:

"I entered the classroom with the conviction that it was crucial for me and every other student to be an active participant, not a passive consumer...[a conception of] education as the practice of freedom.... education that connects the will to know with the will to become. Learning is a place where paradise can be created."

bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress, NY: Routledge, 1994.

3)      3)  Malcom X copied the dictionary in his prison cell in an effort to achieve literacy.  His interest in his religion and in history inspired his years of work toward literacy.  If you were locked in a cell, what subject are you passionate enough about to pursue as he did?  What would your goals for your life be after your release, what sort of literacy would you need at achieve, and how would you use your newfound literacy to help you achieve your goals?