The Purpose of Education
“To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education.” This sentence in Martin Luther King Jr.’s essay, “The Purpose of Education,” stands out for me as a statement that summarizes his thesis. To save ourselves from the morass of propaganda, we need to think critically, clearly, and without bias. It is not enough that education trains one to read a newspaper, write a brief, or multiply numbers. Education should also develop character and worthy citizenship through self-awareness, logic, and truth, even if that means going against the grain of majority opinion.
King evokes the late Eugene Talmidge as a man who possessed one of the greatest minds in America. “By all measuring rods, Mr. Talmidge could think critically and intensively; yet he contends that I am an inferior human being. Are those the types of men we call educated?” While he uses Talmidge as an example of a well educated man, limited in experience and unable to look outside his race, King is speaking to an audience at an all-black college, Morehouse, calling on his “brethren” not to do the same. He is calling on them to raise their standards for what the purpose of an education is. He advises them to view their education as more than a means to make themselves noble or a way to join the class of men now able to exploit those less fortunate. His defining message is “Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.”
I also chose this essay to blog about and I agree with what you said about it’s not enough just to learn how to read, write, and do math. If we want to be an unbiased and unprejudiced group of people, we must learn how to have our own character and to think for ourselves.
True education is the key. I think that most institutions are aware of that. To help students realize that education is only part of the solution. Truth of oneself and self- awareness. It all comes together to make a person become responsible for their own actions. thank you for sharing.
You did a great job identifying the thesis– “Intelligence plus character” … when I was reading the essay, I had a hard time following it and was unable to definately put my finger on his point, let alone the supporting details! Nice job!
Nice blog.
Even learning to read a newspaper exposes people to bias and propaganda. There is so many varied oppinions on what exactly propaganda is. Those in charge of the public education system and the educators themselves need clarify that fact alone to students.