Claiming An Education Rich Analysis

Education and Democracy are supposed to go hand and hand. Democracy being the root of equality in everything especially education that helps us move forward in the world. Adrienne Rich’s "Claiming an Education", Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson", and John Dewey’s from "Experience and Education" challenge that idea based on what actually happens in the world of education by voicing issues, giving evidence of how that is not being displayed and produces unequal relations of power. Adrienne Rich's "Claiming an Education" discusses the relationship between the student and teacher. "The first thing I want to say to you who are students is that you cannot afford to think of being here to receive an education: you will do much better to think of being here to claim one. One of the dictionary definitions of the …show more content…
"To receive" is to come into possession of to act as receptacle or container for; to accept as authoritative or true. The difference is that between acting and being acted upon, and for women, it can literally mean the difference between life and death." (608) “Claiming” an education is essential for women who may not be able to get the best education if all they do is “receive”. Women, especially black women can't afford to "receive" an education because they won't be experiencing it at its full potential compared to "claiming" it. The issue, however, is not having to work hard, but having to work harder than everyone else. That's where democracy disappears and make the relationship unfair. Rich touches the environment of these women and explains "Today, with increasing numbers of women students in nearly every