The Powerful Transformation of Education in ″Educated′ by Tara Westover
‘Educated’ by Tara Westover is a memoir about her desperate and pitiable childhood. Westover was born in Idaho to fundamentalist parents that did not value education. As the last born of the seven children in her family, Westover had to deal with the issue of child labour as she worked in the family owned junkyard with her brothers. She grew up in an isolated setting where her father did not allow them to associate with the rest of the world, seeing the outside world as a threat to his family. Their father perceived himself to be a prophet and he believed that the world would end at the stroke of the millennium. He did not believe in modern medicine and so the family had to rely on the faint medical knowledge of their mother that was an experienced midwife. Westover’s desire for change in her life led her to leave her home to go get educated. She struggled to educate herself and she was at the end able to join Brigham Young University, something that she never imagined she would ever achieve. Westover’s story is an encouraging message to show that education is a powerful tool that can transform one’s life and you do not necessarily need to be in a school system to become educated.
Westover was born in a family where education was not valued. Her father brainwashed them by telling them that ‘public schools was just a ploy by the government to lead the children away from God’ (Westover, p 124). Ignorance of Westover’s father is seen in the way that he looks at education as an evil rather as an important element of knowledge acquirement. Education in the U.S. especially in the 21st century is expected to be available for all children (Chakelian, p 18). Westover’s story however sheds light on the possibilities of children in the remote areas in the U.S being denied their right to education. Human Rights Act in article 26 clearly states that ‘Everyone has the right to education’ (Dean, p 1). Westover’s father understood this concept and argued that his children would get home schooled instead of attending public schools. This was however just an excuse given that he did not bother to provide the needed learning materials to favour home-schooling. He exposed the children to danger by allowing them to work in the junkyard without proper protection gear (Chakelian, p 18). Westover went through horrific mental and physical abuse, she however is able to detach herself from her past experiences and achieve her dream of acquiring an education.
Through the motivation of her brother Tyler, Westover worked hard to educate herself while still at her home. She used the limited educational resources to get the little education that she had without giving up. She did not let the negativity around her disempower her; she believed that she was capable of achieving anything as long as she put her mind to it (Niland, p 1). It is her dedication and urge for an education that saw her leave her home to go to the city. She chose to detach herself from the things that kept her from her dreams and this included her home and her family. Human beings have the power to shape their destiny; all that is required is dedication and hard work without giving up Takavarasha, p 1. Westover choose a better life for herself and her route to this good life was through education. Her determination and persistence is seen in her choice to travel many miles just to get to a bookstore to get an ACT guide (Westover, p 87). Determination and persistence are some of the main components in learning; an individual willing to learn has to be ready to persevere in order to achieve their objectives at the end. Further determination is seen when she repeated the trip back to the store to get an algebra text book to help her in her maths practice test (Westover, p 88). The way that she is able to direct herself in the maths formulae even without prior knowledge, is really mystifying and at the same time motivational (Niland, p 1). Westover’s resolute attitude and strenuous study systems are good example of her inner strength, endurance and physical determinations all which are required to help achieve academic goals.
Westover suffered humiliation and she was often not accepted by the other students for lacking knowledge on common concepts. One case example of such a situation is when she did not understand the meaning of ‘holocaust’, and everyone laughed at her which reminded her of the painful past that she was trying to get over (Westover, p 110). This was a painful incident that led her innocence to be shrouded in personal guilt that she was not in any way responsible for. This affected her self-esteem and it led her not to ever ask a question in class again for fear of being ridiculed because of something that he had no control of. The extraordinary narrative of Westover is a verification of the saying by Nelson Mandela that education is the only weapon that can help change the world (Strauss, p 1). Westover’s life is transformation from ignorance to education; her story is an illustration of extraordinary bravery, optimism and persuasion. It shows how through her courage, she changed the concept of education from just getting taught in the normal school system to one of self-teaching and still achieving one’s academic goals (Takavarasha, p 1). Westover beat the odds, she self-taught herself and through dedication and determination, she joined the university. Westover today has a PHD in history, is a Harvard Fellow, lives in a decent house, she understands the importance of a doctor, and education is one of the concepts that she values most in her life.
Westover is a true example of the power that education has in changing and shaping an individual’s life. Having grown up in an education deprived setting, without any form of documentation; she did not let this crash her dream of getting a good education. She worked hard and used the limited educational resources that were available to teach herself. Westover did not let her past dictate her future; she chose her own destiny and used education to reach that destiny. She is a motivation to many people all over the world that are stuck in their past, people that have given up because they fear what the society will think of them when they try to reach their goals. Education is the root to all success; people need to understand that you do not need the normal curriculum to get an education. The best curriculum is the one that designs for themselves, because it allows one to follow what they care about and hence succeed in that area.
Works Cited
Chakelian, Anoosh.. Escape from doomsday. New Statesman, 147(5411 / 5412), 18–19.
(2018). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=128911811&site=ehost-live
Dean, Michelle. “Educated by Tara Westover Review – Escape from a Mormon
Fundamentalist Family.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 14 Feb. 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/feb/14/educated-tara-westover-mormon-family-review.
Niland, Rose, et al. “Educated: by Tara Westover – Determination and Persistence.” The
Culture Concept Circle, 25 June 2018, https://www.thecultureconcept.com/educated-by-tara-westover-determination-and-persistence.
Strauss, Valerie. “Nelson Mandela on the Power of Education.” The Washington Post, WP
Company, 22 Apr. 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/05/nelson-mandelas-famous-quote-on-education/.
Takavarasha, Matthew. “Tara Westover on Being 'Educated'.” The Emory Wheel, 2 Oct.
2019, https://emorywheel.com/tara-westover-on-being-educated/.
Westover, Tara. Educated: A Memoir. , 2018. New York: Random House
