Some Thoughts On 'Claiming An Education' by Adrienne Rich

This speech by Adrienne Rich which I read in the form of an article has been a great inspiration and motivation for me. Even though she was addressing the female students at that time, her assertion that students need to claim and not receive education touched me the most. Additionally, I concur with her idea that students must take responsibility for their education which means formulating their own original thoughts and actively taking up hard work and facing challenges.

Taking an idea from the other article, ‘White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack’, by Peggy McIntosh, I tried to put myself in the shoes of women back in the old days when they were not permitted to receive or rather, ‘claim’ education.  As a student with insatiable curiosity and desire for knowledge, I believe that I would not have endured the restricting conditions that were put onto me just because of my gender. I probably would have ended up reading and solving math problems secretly hiding under my blankets or in a deserted clandestine location. As a result of this self-exercise, I learned to appreciate the opportunities that I was provided with and to not take anything for granted.

Another point that I thought critical was that the world around us (“great issues” and “major texts”), the Western civilization, is all built up by white male. This seems only natural since education was a luxury that only white men could afford to receive. As a result, all prominent positions in government and important businesses are owned by white men in the absence of women. History proves to us that most of the foundational works in philosophy, math and the sciences were developed almost exclusively by privileged white men. There is wonder that the present world view is recorded and perceived from the perspective of these white men.

In light of this fact, I believe and agree with the author’s view that students (not only female students) should challenge the pre-existing views and attempt to look at the world from their own distinct personal perspective, producing diversity of thoughts and ideas. In order for this is happen, it is, as a matter of fact, crucial to give equal opportunities to everyone and put a stop to baseless discriminations. However, the equality of gender seems to be a difficult goal to be achieved considering the fact that men hesitate and sometimes, do not acknowledge the fact that they are advantaged. According to the other article, ‘White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack’, men are portrayed as hypocrites because they acknowledge the disadvantage the women have in numerous ways and yet, deny their advantage over them. Moreover, in most cases, they do not take any actions against this inequality.

To put my broad and lengthy view of education in a nutshell, I believe that education is the basic right that every human being has the right to claim no matter what the person’s gender identity or sexual orientation might be. It is a right that cannot be denied and the right that is extremely crucial to the development of the human society and the preservation of peace and agreements. It is through education that people become more intelligent, inquisitive and social. As Adrienne Rich asserts, female students as well as male students should strive to claim knowledge, erasing the barriers that make the play unfair to certain groups. 

I appreciate you bearing with me!