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Toni Bambara's Short Story 'The Lesson'

646 Words3 Pages

There are a plethora of methods that can be used in order to teach, guide and brainwash children due to the fact that their minds are incredibly malleable. Toni Bambara and David Wallace demonstrate two distinct teaching styles that are beneficial when used on certain groups and detrimental when used against others. In “The Lesson”, a teacher tries to open her students minds to the lives beyond their own and in “Commencement Speech, Kenyon College.” the speaker wants their students to choose the way they think. Both teachers want their students to be able to escape the “rat race” that many people find themselves stuck in, and want to teach their students solely for the betterment of the children …show more content…

In Bambara 's short story “The lesson”, she demonstrates how children who grow up only exposed to what their parents subject them to will live deluded to what people are capable of living like. Miss Moore attempts to show the children “how money ain’t divided up right in this country” (Bambara 99) and although the children do not understand what she is trying to tell them right away, she knows that this experience will stay with them forever. Wallace does this in a less overt way. The speaker does not tell the students that they are living in the “rat race” and instead encourages them to “simply (pay) attention to what’s going on” (Wallace 310). The speaker only desires for the students to choose their actions and the way they think instead of just going with whatever their animal instinct …show more content…

In “The Lesson” and in “Commencement Speech, Kenyon College.”, the teacher 's attempt to open up the kids’ minds to the “rat race” that many people find themselves in and only want to help the children for their future. Although people question teaching methods and want to only have their own ideals put into their child’s mind, there are things that every person should be aware of and teachers are the people who can be sure that every child is aware of the world around them in order to live a better

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