Preview

The Power of Reading

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
921 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Power of Reading
Education
The Power of Reading

One of the Malcolm X famous quotes states “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it”. Reading was the key of success of Malcom X’s achievements; books were his best friend during the time he was in prison, he enriched his acumen through reading and searching for vocabulary words. Reading is the ultimate proficiency children must have in order to succeed; in fact parents should encourage their children to read in order to improve their academic skills, logical cognitive ability, and language skills.
Myriad studies have revealed that children who have begun to read in early ages have a high possibility to do well scholastically. According to the Matthew Effect of reading, “early learning in reading leads to increasing success in life; conversely, some other kids are poor readers will have difficulties catching up or some never do” (n.d.). As this analysis indicates, there are some kids that are improving, and some that are struggling. In our modern society, children do not like to read; books are available at school, public libraries, book stores, online free book (Kindle) or even at home, unfortunately they do not take advantage of it to fulfill their intelligence. Academically, having a strong reading skill is the result of having good vocabulary kills, proper spelling and grammar, the ability to write good paper, which can increase the statewide test scores. Books should be not only students’ best friend, but also children’s best friend just like Malcolm X; in addition, Malcolm X is a perfect influence on education where he did not even know how to write on a straight line, but he gained a purpose through reading, which turned out to be successful (RA, 211-12). As Malcolm X a good influence for education based on reading, children should read in order to progress academically.
When talking about cognitive which means thinking, it is incredible not to mention the work of Jean

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Reading is one of the most important skills a learner must acquire in life. Statistics show that students who are behind in reading…

    • 1598 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dana Gioia Summary

    • 340 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Dana Gioia offers convincing argument on the importance of reading, which has been dramatically declining for decades. In fact, an ability to read critically is fundamental for social interactions, range of thinking and even sustainability of society. To build the argument profoundly, author uses variety of facts and studies, personal anecdote and conclusions.…

    • 340 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By reading the passages on Malcolm X, Richard Wright, and Sherman Alexie it is only obvious that reading brought enlightenment to their lives, and all three authors have a lot in common. These significant people felt trapped in some form, and their insatiable hunger for reading set them free. They were all fascinated with the act of reading, and they all taught themselves, and gave themselves the education needed to enlighten and influence others. Discovering how to read provided many opportunities beyond their imagination, it empowered these individuals, as if being a minority didn’t matter anymore.…

    • 260 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read,” he talks about his time in prison and how he decided to teach himself about things he never learned in school. While Malcolm X was in jail he decided to improve his vocabulary by reading the dictionary and copying all of the definitions. This helped him become more eloquent of a writer and paved the way for him to be able to read more difficult books. When Malcolm X began to read seriously he discovered a violent past that most people tended to avoid mentioning; the history of the white man. He read about how white people conquered lands, enslaved countless numbers of people, and tricked trusting people.…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Learning to Read ‘excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X’”. Mr. X tells us about how reading had such a tremendous impact in his life. In fact it made him who he was. While in prison he met an inmate named Bimbi who talked him into reading as much as he could. Mr. X started off with reading a dictionary, and as time passed he went on to more articulate readings. After reading book after book on Anti-slavery and realizing and gaining more knowledge of horrible things people did to African Americans. It showed him how…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Although they come from different backgrounds, Mark Mathabane, Richard Rodriguez, and Malcolm X all promote education and literacy as the only real option to improve reading and writing skills. Mark Mathabane is a South African author,lecturer, and a former collegiate tennis and college professor. In his article he mentions that for him school was a waste of time and that he did not want to go, but then he changed his mind and promised his mother that he would go to school for the rest of the years that he had left. In the article he mentions that he did not know they were taking him to school, they made him take a shower and wear the school’s uniform, he thought he looked ridiculous, but when they told him they were taking him to school he totally freaked out and he was about to leave his house but he couldn’t…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    But now, trying to write simple English, I not only wasn’t articulate, I wasn’t even functional.” He first realized that he wanted to increase his knowledge of the English language when he met a fellow prisoner that commanded everyone’s attention. In Malcom X’s words, “Bimbi first made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge. Bimbi had always taken charge of any conversations he was in, and I had tried to emulate him.” This is where Malcolm first describes how he was as a reader at the beginning of his time in prison. Malcolm X grabbed a dictionary and started reading and memorizing what was on the pages. He says, “I began copying. In my slow, painstaking, ragged handwriting, I copied into my tablet everything printed on that first page, down to the punctuation marks. I believe it took me a day. Then, aloud, I read back, to myself, I read my own handwriting.” Malcolm simply believed everything he read. He wasn’t absorbing the true meaning of the words or how to use them in context. He simply memorized and learned. He was reading like a child. He read to learn how to read not how to understand or increase his understanding. Malcolm X did not think critically. Its like when I child reads about Spiderman and doesn’t stop for a second to think how that would never happen. The child just happily accepts…

    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Learning to Read, Malcolm X, one of the most articulate and powerful leaders of black America during the 1960s, describes his struggle of self-education while being incarcerated. Malcolm X composed his journey of self-in order to convey the message that the reader should strive to look for more than what is taught to them by the public school system, to, in a way, look outside the box.…

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X were remarkably resourceful and self-reliant during their journey towards literacy. They were diligent in that they used whatever time they had to learn more. Slaveholders deliberately withheld education from slaves as a means of suppression, “for it is an almost unpardonable offence to teach slaves to read…”(Douglass 146). His mistress was unaware of this practice, teaching him the alphabet before her husband could stop the lessons. After this he then would bribe or trick local white boys to teach him more or used shipyard timber and stolen copy-books. Malcolm X was also resourceful. He entered jail with an eighth grade education, but after copying the entire dictionary by hand, and studying it “like a miniature encyclopedia” (X 283), he was able to “...pick up a book...and now begin to understand what the book was saying” (X 283). These remarkably self-motivated men learned to read and write almost entirely independently.…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What motivated Malcolm X to educate himself was his inability to express himself in an appropriated way. In the streets, Malcolm X was someone important, someone who could express himself without problem “In the streets, I had been the most articulate hustler out there- I had commanded attention when I said something” (X 189). Nevertheless, during his time in Charlestown Prison, trying to write a letter for Mr. Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X comprehended that he was not able to explain his thoughts or feelings clearly in words without using the language of the streets. Malcolm X realized that his language skills as writing, reading and speaking were unskilled “But now, trying to write simple English, I not only wasn’t articulate, I wasn’t even…

    • 155 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In today’s society, what can we do about the beliefs Malcolm X had towards knowledge in reading. One of the main questions will be the way this knowledge in books will change our attitudes in the culture will live on. At the end of the day do books change the overall spectrum of knowledge for anyone trying to become educated by themselves with no source of education background. The main point we have to make in the lives of any individual with a sense of trying to become educated they must have read a book of some source, in which has helped them realize changing their way of thinking into making important decisions. The main function we can do as an individual to prevent ignorance and spread vital information to those who are less educated a group which can help themselves grow intellectually in a…

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Cold Blood Essay

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Truman Capote is able to show the reader that Dick is more than just a cold-blooded killer. Capote does this by showing the reader Dick’s “status of life” details letting the reader see that he’s just like anyone else; he has a family who worries about him, a hard childhood, and he has made some bad choices.…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Eed-470 Task 1

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages

    "Just simply teaching a child to read is not enough; we must provide them something that is worth reading. Material that will make their imaginations grow - materials that will help them to understand their own lives and push them towards interacting with others who 's lives are completely different than there own" (Paterson).…

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Most of us learn to read through various outlets such as television, books, movies, etc. Becoming literate is essential to functioning in society. Looking back at one of the most influential figures of the 1960’s, it is hard to imagine that at age 21 Malcolm X tried to start a letter with “Look, daddy, let me pull your coat about a cat…” (X 256). He spent 7 years in prison for robbery, and during that time he underwent a self-metamorphosis. His way of putting it is “books opened up a whole new world to me” (260). History, philosophy, genetics and a whole dictionary all contributed to his learning process. But, as he learned more, he found the terrors of slavery and the other atrocities that the white man had brought upon the world’s non-white people. In this period of time in which he became more versed and more aware, we see the emergence of who people think of as Malcolm X today. He was an intelligent, black, Muslim man that influenced the civil rights movement of the 1960’s. The literary techniques that Malcolm X uses in “Learning to Read” are imagery, tone, and diction to explore his self-transformation by books.…

    • 1327 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Malcolm X Quotation Essay

    • 848 Words
    • 4 Pages

    With an unemployment rate of 9.6% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) this is one of America’s darkest days, people are falling deeper into debt month after month with no hope left with obtaining a job and with only a high school diploma or G.E.D. to fall back on. Thus, many are turning to education. The honorable El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, African American civil rights activist of the 20th century and founder of the Muslim Mosque Inc. also known as Malcolm X knew the importance of becoming well educated and said, “Without education, you are not going anywhere in this world.” (“Malcolm X”). "Get a good education" is the new modern day slogan, it has been preached by teachers, parents, peers, police officers and any other positive role model in anyone 's life. Malcolm X realized the importance of this message, saying "Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today" ("Malcolm X"). His goal of opposing the force of cruel injustice in America was quite similar to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s goal. His name has been imprinted into our textbooks, face stamped onto inspirational posters, words forever impressed into our heart, and his shared goal of your social class to not be based on the color of your skin.…

    • 848 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays