Education Essay

The most prominent example of a formal setting in the book is school. However, Scout does not learn much from school. This can be examplified by the fact that when Scout is able to read better than the teacher, Miss Caroline Fisher had expected, Miss Caroline Fisher told her to tell her father to stop teaching her how to read. Instead of helping Scout to improve her reading, Mrs Fisher is impeding Scout’s learning process. This shows that schools do not cater to children of different abilities and Scout’s learning is restricted in school. Hence, school is not the only place where a child learns. Jem and Scout learn moral values from Atticus. This is examplified by the many values Atticus teaches them such as moral courage and to stand up for what one believes is right. Atticus brought his children up to treat the blacks and the whites as equals. When Scout tells Atticus to send Calpurnia away, Atticus told Scout that they could not survive a day without Calpurnia and he told Scout to â€Å"mind† her. Scout learnt that she had to treat Calpurnia (a Negro) like how she would treat a White and to be respectful towards Calpurnia. Jem looks up to Atticus and tries to emulate him. This is because Atticus is a good role model and a good father. Jem learns from Atticus to have the moral courage to fight for what is right. This is evident as Atticus went all out to fight for Tom Robinson as he believed that Tom was innocent. Atticus did this although he knew that he would face severe criticism from the people in Mycomb and that he would put his life and his children’s at risk. From the example he sets, Jem is able to learn to have the moral courage to fight for what is right. Hence, Jem and Scout do learn in informal settings. Jem also learnt to have the courage to do what one decides to do. This is evident from Jem’s encounter with Mrs. Dubose. Mrs Dubose is a morphine addict and she tried very hard to get rid of her addiction. Mrs. Dubose sets an alarm clock and made Jem read to her as he was angry at what she said and cut off the top of her bushes. When the alarm clock rings, it would mark the end of Jem’s reading time. During this period of time when Jem is reading, Mrs Dubose will refrain from taking morphine. She used this method to try and get rid of her morphine addiction. To further elaborate, Mrs. Dubose was very courageous to try and get rid of her morphine addiction as it was a very painful process. Mrs. Dubose was almost dying but she wanted to leave the world beholden to nothing so she tried her very best to get rid of her addiction and displayed a strong sense of courage. Jem learnt from Mrs. Dubose that no matter how painful the process is, one should have the courage and determination to accomplish it. Hence, Jem do learn in an informal setting. Jem and Scout also gained knowledge from a new experience that Calpurnia showed them. This is evident as Calpurnia showed them how it was like in a Negro church. By visiting their church, they learnt about the difference in the conditions of the Negroes’ church and their church. They also learnt more about Tom Robinson’s case when Scout asked Calpurnia why the pastor demands a donation from everyone to help Tom Robinson’s wife provide for her kids. From these, the children were somewhat more aware of the discrimination happening in Maycomb.