Writing Homework Help

Topic: We’ve read some key authors’ work on living within inequitable social systems in the United States. Comparing and contrasting their ideas can help us better understand each author in more depth. How similar are these authors in their key ideas? What would these authors say to each other? Where do their ideas align? Where do they diverge?

Pre-Writing: As you compare and contrast your assigned authors, consider: What is the problem that each author identifies? What do they see as the resolution to this problem? How do your authors compare on the individuals-systems spectrum?

Task: In this timed essay of at least 5 paragraphs, you will be ASSIGNED one author that we’ve read – Freire, Anzaldua, or Tan – to compare with the author, Ta-Nehisi Coates, based on his book Between the World and Me. In this paper, you are asked to put your two assigned authors in conversation with each other. On what key theoretical points would they agree? On what key theoretical points would they disagree? Explain. (By key theoretical points, I refer to the authors’ deep beliefs – not just superficial differences like the authors growing up in different cities, for example.) What can we learn from comparing these authors? You must include at least 1-2 similarities and 1-2 differences between your assigned authors. Support your claims by referring to evidence from each of the texts you are assigned to write about. (Describing what the authors say is sufficient; no need to precisely quote from the authors.)

• Special Note: You MAY: Use your annotated copies of the 3 articles that we’ve read (Freire, Anzaldua, and Tan) and/or Coates’s book, Between the World and Me. You may also use your completed tasks from this week (such as your Works Cited page post), and additional notes you took based on the tasks assigned this week. 
• You MAY NOT: Use any sources outside of the texts assigned in this class, nor get any help from any person outside of yourself. 

You are assigned to discuss Coates and Freire. 

Gp #2 – Paul FREIRE

Key Points: Freire believes banking education is an oppressive educational system. (EX: Associates banking ed w/ “necrophilia” – lover of death/dead bodies) He prefers problem posing education because he feels it allows individuals to think critically for themselves. Doesn’t believe in the hierarchy between teachers and students.

Problem: Banking education compartmentalizes an individual’s ability to critically think. Freire believes this is systematically o/ppressive and hinders an individual’s ability to grow.

Conflict:between teachers and students

Author Wants: Problem posing education to be the basic educational standard throughout k-12.

Education: There are two versions of education, one is banking education while the other one is problem posing education. Banking Education: Participation is mostly done by teachers. Problem-posing education: Participation is mostly done by individuals themselves.

Race: Not much of Race was mentioned. More focused on teacher-student divide rather than racial divide.

Author’s Solution?

More Individual OR Systems focused? More of a system focused than individual .

Gp #1 – COATES

Key Points: teaching his son how to live in the black body

Problem: the systematic racism, the police in the U.S

Conflict: People who believe in white Supremacy & the “dream”, the police, anti-Black racism

Author Wants: he want to be able to be safe in his own body and skin (He fears being “disembodied” or killed)

Education: to educate more about racism; He wants more freedom to learn in schools. EX: he felt his ed in Baltimore was almost as dangerous as the streets b/c they “concealed the truth”. He didn’t go to his college classes. Instead, he taught himself in the library.

Race: Yes, it even mentions “the Black body”

Author’s Solution?

More Individual OR Systems focused? The author uses his first hand experiences to explain racism and tell the people about it. What he is telling the people is about the system and how it is messed up and racist.

Gp #5 – COATES

Key Points: Teaching his son about the black body. Teaching his son to live in a black body in the Unites States of America.

Problem: How to live in a black body in the U.S., hierarchy within society, Slavery persists today in the form of fear for one’s body. How to deal with injustice to people of color

Conflict: The “Dreamers”, police, white people, racism.

Author Wants: To educate his son about his experiences, and help him mentally prepare for what he has to deal with as he grows older only because he lives in a black body.

Education: Talks about attending Howard University, where he fell in love with reading and learning about different cultures in the black community, difference between white/blacks experience in schools white schools don’t say “this will keep you out of jail,” but instead “this will get you into college.” In white schools, education is viewed as a steppingstone to pursue one’s interests and obtain a fulfilling job. (He says his school in Baltimore was about controlling students.)

Race: Prejudices that African-Americans face in the U.S. due to the color of their skin. Differences between black and white parents. Talks about how people of the same race could have completely different perspectives and backgrounds.

Author’s Solution?

More Individual OR Systems focused?: Coates seems to use his individual experiences to show how the U.S. systems affect black people in America. Coates mentions how society as a whole must be more anti-racist; to actively fight against raciism that happens. Most of the book also gives accounts of Coates experiences as a black man in the U.S. or what it’s like to “live inside a black – body” as he mentions throughout the book. Coates argues that racism is deeply rooted into America’s history which has had a huge impact on black people then and today. Coates mentions how history has also been white washed or been altered for the sake of white people. Mentions how the American Dream is false and not catered to everyone’s expectations.

https://www.mtsac.edu/elj/english/documents/engl1a…