Theme Of Informal Education In To Kill A Mockingbird

In the book “To Kill A Mockingbird” Scout is introduced to both types of education, formal and informal, and learns a lot of lessons about each one. She is much more accustomed to informal education, and the advantages of informal education are plentiful throughout the novel, showing how informal has a very positive influence on Scout. This is because formal education is almost backwards in Maycomb and is very unappealing for Scout, as she is not like many of the people there. As a recurring theme, Harper Lee shows the differences between the two learning systems, and how informal education has an influence on Scout and hints at why informal is embraced more than formal.
One of the biggest differences between informal and formal education that struck Scout was the pace at which the students were learning, as Scout was far ahead of them, and found school boring. Throughout the novel, Scout shows a passion for learning and reading, as she and Atticus would read every night.
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Formal education was at an average pace however, and with a new teacher in Ms. Caroline, who knew nothing about Maycomb, her strict college teaching style ideas were very different. “Now you tell your father not to teach you any more. It’s best to begin reading with a fresh mind. You tell him I’ll take over from here and try to undo the damage--” (Lee 23). This just shows how the education system was corrupt, and didn’t allow Scout to learn at her own pace. In formal education, Scout is subjected to the rigidity of the system, and is singled out because Ms. Caroline can not handle the unexpected, as everyone has to learn the same and advance at the same pace, according to her. Overall, the pace that Scout learns is very important in the difference between formal and informal, and how informal is better suited for Scout and allows her to learn more as well as learn valuable life lessons as well, not just classroom