Flawed Education System in "To Kill a Mockingbird
The education system in "To Kill a Mockingbird" is depicted as flawed, with narrow-minded teachers and outdated methods like the Dewey Decimal System. Scout's advanced intellect clashes with the school's rigid structure, leading to conflicts and misunderstandings. Miss Caroline's lack of understanding of her students' backgrounds highlights the cultural divides in Maycomb. The novel explores the challenges of traditional education and the importance of empathy and personal growth in learning.
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Theme: Education Ammar , Jamie, Soven, Rohan, Josh TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
School (1) The school follow an unusual system known as the Dewey Decimal System . In chapter 2, Jem says to Scout I'm just trying to tell you the new way they're teaching' the first grade, stubborn. It's the Dewey Decimal System. The Dewey Decimal System is a flawed system with the main fundamental weakness being that the children being taught is one set way as opposed to testing them based on their current ability In Scout s case this system is simply imperfect because we can see her initial excitement for school, I never looked forward more to anything in my life (17.2) By the end of the day, her disappointment is shown after Miss Caroline looked at her with faint distaste (19.1) simply because she is an excelling student It seems as though Miss Caroline being no more than twenty-one (18.1)( presumably just come out of university) cannot cope with Scout being so ahead of the others that she takes it out on her In the school, we also realize that the education being taught is flawed and there are many narrow-minded teachers. This is shown when Scout is criticized for learning to read before starting school. I did not love to read, one did not love to breathe , which shows that Scout found reading as a daily habit like eating or breathing, however she is criticized by the teachers.
School (2) Another reason why she is against education in school is that she is being punished for her knowledge as opposed to being rewarded for her talent, I ll take over from here and try and undo the damage (19.6) She wrongly tries to upset Scout and makes her feel as though Atticus is teaching her incorrectly The teaching in the school is in-turn flawed due to the fact that many of the teachers are from Maycomb County, therefore they are narrow- minded with the exception of Miss Caroline Fisher. This is down to the fact that Miss Caroline approach to teaching the children who are from the South is different, in the sense that because she is from the North she believes that the children to be less educated, honourable and sophisticated as she is, this is evident in the ways how she dresses to school with her high-heeled pumps (18.1) Lee really emphasises Miss Caroline being from North Alabama. She wore a red-and-white striped dress (18.1) She also outlines this when Miss Caroline writes on the blackboard, I am North Alabaman (18.4) This is the reason she says: We don t write until the third grade . This helps to reinforce the fact that she is very narrow-minded and is a microcosm for society As the year passed This shows that Scout is finding school boring and repetitive simply as she is so ahead that she is not learning anything new, Now you tell your father not to teach you any more. (19.5)
School (3) An example of Miss Caroline s way of teaching via the Dewey Decimal System is when, she reads the class a story about cats and seems blithely unaware that she's already completely lost her audience, a bunch of farm kids who Scout says are "immune to imaginative literature Scout s sophisticated description of her classmates shows that her caliber is much greater than the others and that her education predominantly comes from home via lessons taught from Atticus, Calpurnia, Aunt Alexandria, Miss Maudie, Mrs. Dubose, etc. On the first day of school Scout learns one of the most important lessons of understanding others perspective on things. Miss Caroline offers to lend Walter Cunningham Jr. a quarter for lunch, telling him to pay her back the next day. Scout tries to explain to Miss Caroline that Walter doesn't have the money to pay her back. Scout doesn't consider the fact that Miss Caroline doesn't know all of the social and cultural rules of Maycomb. In Chapter 3, Scout realises this when she says to Atticus, if Walter and I had put ourselves in her shoes we d have seen it was an honest mistake on her part. We could not expect her to learn all Maycomb s ways in one day
Atticus (1) Atticus teaches Scout a fundamental skill of life which is reading, Scout explains I never deliberately learnt to read . This shows that it is natural and indicates her love for reading. Since, her ability is natural, she inherits good habits such as reading from Atticus. The main education is in the forms of lessons learnt from Atticus. These are moral lessons preparing not only Scout but also Jem for adult life e.g. You never really understand another person until you climb into his skin and walk around it (Atticus said this to Scout and Jem referring to Boo Radley I never went to school (35.5) Atticus says this light heartedly to Scout. This helps the reader to also understand why he was so keen about he children s schooling. Also shows us his high intellect Are we poor?... We are indeed. Atticus educates Scout with the different types of poor in Maycomb. This helps Scout to respect others differences in the town. For example, the Cunningham s are poor in terms of money but are honourable people, they will never take what they can t give back whereas, the Ewell s are poor in terms of honour as opposed to money Atticus teaches It s a sin to kill a Mockingbird This teaches the children that there are innocent people who are being destroyed by evil. This reflects that fact that there are mockingbirds in the novel for example, Tom Robinson being destroyed by Bob Ewell.
Atticus (2) Scout says to Miss Caroline that Atticus, ain t got time to teach us anything This shows that Scout is a clever, natural and able learner Scout approaches Atticus with issues with regards to her education and he helps her to comprehend that it is essential that she gains a good education, even though she might find the process long and annoying. Atticus will continue to read with her and teach her at home. Patently, Atticus sees many weaknesses in the education system, however keeps Scout in school so that when grown up she can be apart of the educated society. However, his teaching at home, both morally and otherwise, is far more valuable to his children than anything they learn in the classroom. Scout notices this most obviously when learning about the Holocaust. Her teacher explains that such oppression of one group of people could never happen in the United States and Scout is astonished. She heard Miss Gates outside the court house during Tom Robinson's trial saying that, referring to black people, she thought it was, "time somebody taught them a lesson, they thought they was getting' way above themselves, an' the next thing they think they can do is marry us." Scout sees Miss Gates's statement about blacks in clear conflict with her statement about the equality in America. Source : http://www.gradesaver.com/to-kill-a-mockingbird/study- guide/themes
Calpurnia Atticus said, Calpurnia had more education than most other coloured folks (27.3) This is something that Atticus regularly reminds his children and this reinforces the idea of upper class VS lower class blacks. It also shows that she should not be disregarded as she is of higher social status than some whites e.g. The Ewell s In Chapter 3, Walter Cunningham Jr. comes for dinner and he pours syrup all over his food. Scout comments rudely and Calpurnia educates her to act morally, That boy's yo' comp'ny and if he wants to eat up the table cloth you let him, you hear? (27.5) Calpurnia is shown to be a privileged black person with an education as evident by the good language she uses in the Finch household, Her grammar was as good as anybody s in Maycomb (27.4) However, when she is at the Free Purchase Church she talks in a very different way, she explains, Suppose you and Scout talked colored-folks' talk at home it'd be out of place, wouldn't it? (chapter 12) The fact that she is conversing in her friends' dialect indicates that she does not want to feel superior to them and shows the difference in education in society between the whites and the blacks Jem suggests that the church should invest in some hymn books however Calpurnia says, they can t read (chapter 12) This also shows the difference in education between the whites and the blacks
Aunt Alexandra There are different ways in which Aunt Alexandra teaches mainly Scout. At first her sole purpose is to make Scout a young, disciplined lady. She is trying to make her elegant. We see this after Aunty Alexandra comes to the Finch Family where she dresses Scout like a lady and educating her to become a lady. We also see Aunt Alexandra behave like a mother to the younger Scout and Dill. She behaves like a strict mother who wants to educate her children as well as she can. She s (Aunt Alexandra) trying to make you lady. Can t you take up sewin or something? Jem to Scout
Miss Maudie When Scout calls a nigger snowman (chapter 8) a morphodite , Miss Maudie corrects her by calling it a Hermaphrodite . This shows that she has probably had a good education as she knows a rare term for an organism with a mixture of organs from a man and women.
The Town (1) During the first few chapters, we see Jem cry when he sees that the tree dies, this shows that when he was educated about the dying tree, he has learnt about the cycle of life and death which links him to his mother s death, which makes him more emotional. The children later on the book are also educated by Mrs. Dubose s death due to her addiction of morphine, an illness. Here they learn that they should always respect the elder, because they never know what problems they have and if they are dying.
The Town (2) At the tea party Scout is educated on how the town has a lot of hypocrites. This is shown when Mrs. Merriweather at the tea party talks how they feel sorry for the poverty in Africa when they are saying rude things about people right next to them: That darky s (Tom Robinson s) wife
The Town (3) When Tim Johnson is shot by Atticus due to his illness which makes him mad, the children get educated when Cal rings Atticus which shows Jem and Scout that Atticus is responsible for the town and its safety. Then when Atticus shoots the dog in one shot, Jem and Scout learn that Atticus isn t just an old man who doesn t have any energy, and are surprised: Don t you know your daddy s Hush Heck, let s get back into town This then however shows that Atticus does not want to educate his children that he was the best shooter in Maycomb, showing how violent he is.
The Trial(1) During the trial, Scout, Jem and Dill both learn a lot and are hugely educated. Firstly during the trial when we see Tom Robinson being treated unfairly, we see how Dill begins to cry. This show how the children are educated how there is racism and cruelty throughout the town. This is shown when Mr. Gilmer talks to Tom Robinson: Scared of arrest, scared you d hafta face up to what you did?
The Trial (2) During the trial Jem and Scout have innocent childlike knowledge which is developed into adult like knowledge. This is shown when Jem begins to question why Tom gets convicted and talks to Atticus about adult topics like rape and the trial: It ain tright Atticus and then later on maybe rape shouldn t be a capital offence Scout learns and applies Atticus golden rule. When Atticus and Scout
