"Everyone deserves an education because it is a human right" — Malala Yousafzai. Malala’s quote echoes with me as I read Tara Westover’s Educated: A Memoir. Westover’s journey from an isolated, survivalist childhood in Idaho to earning a PhD from the University of Cambridge contrasts mine. Her memoir recounts her life growing up in a strict Mormon family dominated by her father’s radical beliefs, such as exiling her family’s formal education and medical care. Despite these barriers, Westover’s determination and hunger for knowledge led her to escape her oppressive environment and pursue education. She is a cornerstone for the power of relentless perseverance.
Looking back on my educational path, I realize that a sound public education system has always assisted me in succeeding. At the age of four, I was evaluated as a special education student due to my extreme shyness and spent two years in kindergarten. I also received additional support through speech therapy and ESL programs. Despite all these aids, I did not speak much for the first few years and was still labeled as a “slow student.” Ironically, I soon started to earn recognition from my teachers as a "good student" thanks to my quiet nature, and my grades gradually strengthened. My confidence grew through my involvement in competitive ice hockey, which also helped me gain respect from my peers, and I started taking on leadership roles at school. By finishing elementary school, I successfully transformed from an unconfident “SPED” student to a top student in my last year of elementary school, and since then, all the way to high school. Now, I receive an excellent community college education for free. Although I have enjoyed the benefits of public education, I worked hard on my end, too. Silicon Valley has many students with affluent parents who provide their children with tutors and private college counselors, making academic competition severe. Being on a competitive hockey team that required frequent out-of-state travels on weekends and a demanding practice schedule, I did not have time to get a tutor, so I had to ensure I understood everything in class. Constantly pulling all-nighters and catching up on my assignments after missing classes was not easy, but all the public resources and the structural curriculum made it possible for me to do well at school. On the contrary, about thirty years ago in rural Idaho, Westover
"had been educated in the rhythms of the mountain, rhythms in which change was never fundamental, only cyclical" (Westover 10).
It sounds peaceful and stress-free compared to our hectic lifestyle here in Silicon Valley, but it is hard to imagine the mountain of work that she had to go through without formal guidance all by herself. Moreover, all that teaching had to come after her routine work for her family, as she describes in chapter five:
“Learning in our family was entirely self-directed: you could learn anything you could teach yourself after your work was done” (Westover 66).
It was a tremendous amount of willpower on her part to educate herself when her family did not put children’s education as their priority.
In contrast, my privilege is evident from the fact that my mother did not have to work and remained a stay-at-home mom to fully support me even after my father’s sudden passing. The support and encouragement from my family and community enabled me to explore various academic and extracurricular pursuits. For instance, my mother backed my decision to test out of high school early with the CHSPE (California High School Proficiency Exam) so that I could advance my education ahead of schedule and pursue higher-level learning opportunities sooner. My involvement in high-level competitive hockey was made possible by my mother’s countless efforts, from cooking nutritious meals to driving several hours to many rinks. I was even exempt from doing chores at home if I was too busy with school. The difference in our experiences illustrates the privilege in my life, a luxury Westover had to fight for. Westover taught herself from the ground up, and her educational achievements were hard-won battles against all odds. In contrast, I have been a pure beneficiary of California’s well-rounded educational system and support from people around me, which provided a stable foundation for my academic and personal growth.
Growing up with privilege combined with my work ethic, I have unconsciously developed implicit biases, often stereotyping people who do not excel academically as lazy. Before reading Westover’s memoir, I assumed that public education was always accessible to everybody and believed everybody was given a fair chance to excel. However, now I recognize that I was just given an environment where I could thrive. My bias did not consider the struggles of individuals like Westover, whose lack of formal education was not due to laziness but extensive hardships. In chapter nine, Westover describes that she found solace and comfort in portraying the orphan, Annie, in a play, saying:
“That made me feel a kind of confidence. If I didn’t have anything to say, at least Annie did” (Westover 114).
In Silicon Valley, we are all so busy consuming the stories of successful individuals that we neglect the world outside our competition. Westover’s struggles show the resilience needed to overcome obstacles and the value of empathy and support. She inspires me not to turn a blind eye to failing students but instead offers a helping hand to those in need.
In conclusion, reflecting on Tara Westover's Educated: A Memoir has made me realize how my privileged life has made me shallow-minded. My English teacher from Silver Creek High School even once said that out of 160 students, 10 of them were homeless, and I simply ignored it because it did not apply to me. The privilege we take for granted is hard to recognize unless someone else points it out. Westover’s story has done that job for me. Now I understand I have been blessed to have a quality education, a supportive family and community, and the freedom to explore my passions. Westover is an outstanding example of determination and resilience; her story defines education's transformative power. It teaches me to be aware of those who face challenges in their pursuit of education and approach them with empathy and advocacy because education should not be a privilege but a human right.
Works Cited * Westover, Tara. Educated: A Memoir. E-Book, Random House, 2018.