The effects of education

“Up From Slavery” by Booker T. Washington is a very inspiring text. The benefits of an education that includes practical experience as well as book learning have always been evident in my reading and in the courses I have taken, but this text has not only made it clear, but also provided a clear real life example of it. The use of autobiographical writing in this case has made the Washington’s position much more clear than it would have been otherwise. In regards to the concept it is quite evident that being taught personal hygiene and being given a work ethic has a major impact on the abilities of a person. The question is why this is. Possibly the reason that it has such a differing impact than an education that only involves theoretical book learning, is the sense of confidence that it gives the student. This reaches back to the discussion that took place over the last text, “Prologue from Race, Rhetoric, and Technology”. Being literate does not only involve knowing how to use a technology, but also understanding how the concepts behind the technology work. In reading a textbook it is possible to learn how something works, but the knowledge does not connect very well with the real world. However when a student actively works with something be it a piece of technology, a certain process, or even animals while at the same time receiving the book learning, they can see how the knowledge in the book applies to real life. Once they gain this knowledge they become more confident in themselves when they face other challenges. Because once they connect one piece of book learning to real life by working with it, they come to learn the process of how that connection is made. This makes it easier to make connections to other pieces of book learning no matter how much real experience they have had with it. Also the ideas in this text are quite similar to what was in the first text of the class, "Engineers and the New South Creed". Georgia Tech was founded with the intent of educating southern students not only in the theory of engineering, but also, in the actual use of the equipment.