Lessons Learned Beyond the Classroom

Educational literacy is stressed in this society because it is ultimately what will advance a nation to becoming the best it can be. The United States has stressed that ultimately math and science education will work towards the betterment of our nation to be technologically savvy and be the most innovative and resourceful country in the world. That is our aim, and this is why there is a push for more math and science oriented camps and schools, pushing more and more children in that direction. While math and science are important, the humanities such as music and English are important because they give an insight into the human experience that clinical subjects such as math and science cannot give. This is one reason why those entering fields of medicine, for example, must have a year of English as to not forget the human side of medicine, to learn and understand the complex struggle of human struggling and to help to alleviate the pain of someone who is suffering. The point is, there is something to be learned in even the most seemingly unrelated of circumstances, lessons that can be used in the everyday dealings of life.
In Unearthing Hidden Literacy, Lillie Gayle Smith discovers the lessons she has learned from the grueling work of picking cotton in her aunt’s cotton field. She took a course called “Black Women’s Literacy”, which made her drudge up the memories of her work in the field. She hated this work and viewed it as a negative experience, but when she carefully thinks about her experience, she finds that there were many pleasant things that she could take from cotton-picking. For example, she learned the value of earning money and independence, and also how to hope through the direst of situations from the elders in her community. This makes me think of how I felt in high school when I felt defeated in one of my math classes, my worst subject at the time. This caused a cascade of events, from me dropping from a high level precalculus class to a lower level one. I was so disappointed because I had worked so hard to do my best and I did not receive the grade that I wanted. I was also moved into other different classes because of this one grade. It was a low point in my life that could have broken me, but after being upset, I picked myself up and pushed forward. I was so motivated to conquer the beast that had always worked against me that I ultimately defeated.
Sometimes you have to push through the obstacles that work to detract you from your dreams, and I was and am motivated to push through anything that tries to get in the way of my goals, from difficult classes to negative relationships, I do not have the option to fail in my endeavors. I would’ve never learned this life lesson if it had not been for this negative experience, and just as it made Smith a better person to work in the heat of those cotton fields, my experience with my class has made me more determined than ever to succeed in everything that I do. From academics to social activities, that lesson was one that I learned that applied to other things in my life outside of the classroom and one that I will retain has I navigate through my college experience.

Jasmine Bryant