James Baldwin said, “The paradox of education is just this: when a person begins to become conscious, he begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.''
In late April 2024, as protests continued on U.S. college campuses, a quote attributed to author James Baldwin began circulating on social media. X user @labeautenoire_3 reshared a post about the protests adding the following quote:
This is the paradox of education. When people become conscious, they begin to examine the society in which they are educated.
As of this writing, the post has received over 68,000 views and over 1,500 likes.
Attribution is correct. This quote is part of a speech Baldwin gave on October 16, 1963, titled “The Negro Child—His Self-Image.” It was then published in “The Saturday Review” on December 21, 1963, under the title “A Talk to Teachers.” Baldwin believes that a valuable education will lead educated people to think more deeply about the society in which they live, to question it, and to want to change it, which may represent a danger to the social order. I argued that I might think so.
After all, the purpose of education is to give human beings the ability to see the world for themselves, to make their own decisions, to say to themselves that this is black or this is white, to decide for themselves whether God exists or not. It is to produce. Heaven or not. Questioning the universe and learning to live with those questions is how he achieves his own identity. However, no society really wants to have such people around. What society really ideally wants are citizens who simply obey society's rules. If a society succeeds in this, it is about to perish. The duty of those who consider themselves responsible is to investigate society, try to change it, and fight against society at all costs. This is the only hope society has. This is the only way to change society.
He went on to explore the influence of consciousness on the minds of black children and the problem of education in a country that has long sought to create social classes along racial lines.
source of information
“Talk with the teacher.” Jin Education ProjectMay 28, 2022, https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/baldwin-talk-to-Teachers/.
Baldwin 1963 Dialogue with Teachers – Articles on Dialogue with Teachers. Written by James Baldwin. October 16, 1963. – Studocu. https://www.studocu.com/en-us/document/university-of-notre-dame/area-studies-essay-latin-america/baldwin-1963-a-talk-to-Teachers/82905160. Accessed April 29, 2024.
“James Baldwin”. Jin Education ProjectAugust 4, 2014, https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/baldwin-james/.
