“What I Learned”

Part 1: Educated Intro Questions

Directions: Answer these questions THOUGHTFULLY. Each will require a thorough explanation.
Take the first 15 mins to write your answers and the next 15 to discuss in groups.

1.What does it mean to be educated?

To be educated, it means to have knowledge of a certain aspect of knowledge. For example, if
one has taught themself or learned information about mathematics, that makes them educated
in mathematics. Even if people are wrong about what they think is correct, they still have
education in that field because, in order to come to a conclusion, the person must have at least
some education for their conclusion. Having an education means that you have obtained
knowledge through various means, whether it is through school, hands-on experiences, or live
events.

2. What responsibility do parents have in educating their children?

Parents are responsible for educating their children about the real world and how to act and
behave. Parents need to prioritize their children’s education so that, when they are older, they
are able to support themselves and future generations the same way the parents supported
them. Parents are also responsible for teaching their children the importance of morals and
what is right or wrong. Even though the children can have changing morals as they grow older,
they need to at least have the foundation of what is moral or not.

3. How important is it to have an understanding of the world around you (street smarts), or is it
important to have formal or informal (learning from family, friends, experiences, etc.)
education?
It is important to have an understanding of the world around you and formal/informal
education. Formal and informal education provides the resources you need to live with
stability, comfort and success. It helps you develop soft skills and other skills that are vital to
how you work with others and how you proceed with your life. Street smarts are as important
as formal and informal education because street smarts help you maintain safety and
relationships. Just being smart isn’t enough; take, for example, Sheldon Cooper. He may be
really smart, but he doesn’t really understand the people around him, leading to relationships
that aren’t as fulfilling because he doesn’t have the “smarts” to understand them. Also, street
smarts can help you get out of tough situations. Street smarts help you realize the malintent
and/or real intentions of people, allowing you to avoid them and protect yourself at the same
time.

4. How much of what you believe is influenced by your parents? What beliefs/values have you
inherited from your family?
I would say quite a lot of what I believe is influenced by my parents, but those same beliefs also
have influences from other sources, such as my school, religion, and the media I consume.
Some beliefs/values that I have inherited from my family is that we must pursue careers that
are our passion but also useful, we should not have children before marriage, and that we need
to go to college.

5. Should family values and beliefs go unquestioned or be accepted at face value?

Family values and beliefs should not go unquestioned or be accepted at face value because
some values and beliefs may be actually immoral. For example, in the 1800-1900s, families in
the South believed that slavery was justified and that it was good. However, we now know that
slavery is immoral and that it should never be done. If we just accepted the beliefs of the
Southerners that slavery was fine, we would still be dehumanizing African-Americans because
we would believe that the are inferior to us.

Part 2: “What I Learned”

Directions: Use the cartoon linked on the canvas page for the following questions. Be sure to
read the context information on the first page.

1.Identify one part of this cartoon, a single frame or several, that you find to be an especially
effective synergy of written and visual text. Why do you think the section you chose works so
well?
I thought that the last two panels of this cartoon work well together because it helps show how
Chast, through schooling, realized how what she wanted to be and what she was learning didn’t
align. She was learning subjects that, although they were useful to some, weren't useful to her,
but she still had to learn them because they are “needed” and because she needed to “be
good”. It signifies how many people struggle with school and just can’t learn in a school
environment, but many still force these people to attend school because they will not get an
education and fall behind.

2. On the second page, the middle frame is a large one with a whole list of what Roz Chast
learned “Up through sixth grade.” Is she suggesting that all these things are foolish or
worthless? Explain your response.
I don’t think that she is suggesting that all of these things are foolish or worthless; however,
students don’t need to know all of the specific details of every area of knowledge. Based on
their passions and what they want to be, they should be able to choose classes that are
appealing to them, not classes that teach them every piece of information that schools believe
are important. Even though it is important to have at least basic knowledge in every field of
knowledge, there is a point where these classes become so specific that this specific
information becomes irrelevant to certain people. For example, someone who wants to go into
mathematics doesn’t need to know the specifics of WWI in order to succeed, but, because we
need to be “well-rounded”, the mathematics-minded person needs to learn about the war
(basic knowledge is good, though). Basically, I think that Chast is trying to say that it is good that
schools offer all of their information, but it doesn’t mean that students should be required to
take all these classes of varying areas of knowledge.
3. The three-page cartoon presents a narrative, a story. Discuss the extent to which Chast uses
the techniques of a fiction writer, such as plot, character, and setting.
Chast uses the techniques of a fiction writer to a great extent as she uses her life story in order
to get her message across. She develops the background of her life in order to justify why she
came to her decision about education. It shows her thought process as she navigated her life,
just as Tara’s thought process is detailed in her book Educated. The only difference is that
Tara’s life is shown through words while Chast’s life is shown through words and drawings.

4. Chast subtitles her cartoon “A Sentimental Education…,” which is a reference to a French

novel of that title written by Gustave Flaubert in 1869. The American writer Henry James
described Sentimental Education as far inferior to Flaubert’s earlier and more successful novel
Madame Bovary; in fact, he characterized the 1869 work as “elaborately and massively dreary.”
Why do you think Chast uses this reference to Flaubert’s novel? Or do you think that she is not
specifically alluding to Flaubert but, rather, to more generalized “sentimental” notions of
education? Consider her audience as you respond to these questions.
I don’t think that Chast is necessarily using this reference to Flaubert’s novel; however, I don’t
know for sure as I don’t really know what the novel is about or if she actually has had
experience with the book. I do believe that she is alluding to the more generalized
“sentimental” notions of education because many people, older and younger, believe that we
must learn all areas of knowledge to be a “well-rounded”, smart individual, but the truth is that
we don’t. She wants to show her audience, which is younger people, that they don’t need to
feel that they have to be good at or take every area of knowledge. You don’t need to know all
areas of knowledge in order to succeed.

5. What, ultimately, is Chast’s critique? What is the relationship she sees among learning, K-12
school, and education?
Chast’s critique is of the school education system and how they force students to take all
different types of classes, quite a few are which don’t teach essential facts to students based on
their careers in the future or their interests. She wants to change the school system so that we
can take classes that are more applicable to us. The relationship she sees among learning, K-12
school, and education is that schools are important for teaching us education, but we don’t
need to take so many different classes as we get older. The beginning of our schooling should
be general knowledge, but it should become more specialized as we get older. Schools are
important institutions for education, but they don’t need to force all kinds of education on their
students.