Generational Education in To Kill a Mockingbird

"Racism isn't born, folks, it's taught. my uncle  have a two-year-old son. You know what he hates? Naps! End of list." American actor, Denis Leary, first spoke out about racism during his standup comedy. People all over the world realized that racism still exists in our modern society. The characters of Scout and Jem are growing up in Maycomb County, Alabama in the 1930's. During this time racism and discrimination play a huge role in their everyday lives. Through the teachings of their father, Atticus Finch, children learn to respect all people no matter how different they are.
The lessons a child learn at home are more important than any school lesson, because they decide how you will act and how you will treat everyone else. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, young characters are used to show racism and discrimination are traits a person learns, not ones they are born with.

Scout Finch, the narrator, starts the story going into the first grade. Right off the bat she has a disagreement with her teacher, Miss Caroline, regarding where she does her learning Scout claims that Atticus didn’t teach her how to read because he is too busy to teach her. Miss Caroline does not believe her and tells her to tell Atticus that she needs to learn to read the school's way. "'If he didn't teach you, who did?' Miss Caroline asked good-naturedly. ‘Somebody did. You weren’t born reading The Mobile Register.’…'Jem says I was.'"(09) Before Scout began school she already knew how to read and write, but she did not know that her father and Calpurnia, a worker for the Finch family, were the reason. This is a perfect example of the learning that happens at home. Everyday children, like Scout, pick up on the teachings of their parents. Scout did not realize that Atticus was the reason she knew how to read because he did not sit her down and teach her out of a book. Instead, she learned by listening to him read and following along in hymn books at church.

On Christmas morning the Finch’s go to Finch Landing for brunch with the rest of the family. Aunt Alexandria’s grandson, Francis, says some rude comments to Scout that he heard from his grandmother. The two get in the disagreement that Aunt Alexandria and Atticus have been in for years. “If Uncle Atticus lets you run around with stray dogs, that’s his business, like Grandma says, so it ain’t your fault…I guess it ain’t your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides… certainly does not mortify the rest of the family.”(45) In the dialogue, Francis says things like “Grandma said” and “like Grandma says” more than anything else. Children are sponges when it comes to information. Many parents have to explain to kids when they are young that some words they hear are bad words. In Francis’ case, he got his opinion of Uncle Atticus from his grandmother, who is his main care giver. Aunt Alexandria has a discriminatory attitude toward anyone she considers different, which is reflected in the things Francis says to Scout

Not only do parents and guardians play a big part in a child’s learning, siblings do a lot of teaching as well. Sometimes it’s as simple as telling a younger sister how to make the bed, or playing catch with a little brother. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem teaches Scout many lessons about growing up in Maycomb County. At the courthouse before the trial, Jem explains to Scout and Dill about mixed children. “Half white, half colored… they don’t belong anywhere.”(85) Jem answers all of Scout’s questions to the best of his abilities.

Important lessons, like which people that are different really are, sway the judgment of kids. Many of the lessons that children learn from their parent’s, like Atticus teaching Scout how to read, are just a part of growing up. Influences like Aunt Alexandria’s on Francis, however, can lead to the passing of racial and discriminatory points of view. In a modern day example, children with gay parents are much more likely to be accepting of LGBT people in their communities than other kids their age. Children also develop opinions from drawing conclusions about what they see and hear. Jem told Scout that mixed children didn’t fit in anywhere; Atticus or his school teacher never told him that, he came up with that from the way people like Miss Maudie and Miss Rachel treated mixed kids. All of these influences combine, creating an individual opinion for each child. Some people will be like Atticus and accept everyone, and others will find themselves pulled toward a narrow-minded pathway.

Harper Lee uses young characters in To Kill a Mockingbird to show that racism and discrimination are learned traits. Lee’s characters Scout and Jem learn a lot about reality and other people’s perspectives in Macomb County. Growing up in the 1930’s involved racial discrimination for many African Americans, Thanks to Atticus’ careful teachings, Scout and Jem were not apart to those who discriminated. These lessons taught to the children are still very important in today’s world. Though it is not as extreme, racism and discrimination still exist and shouldn’t be treated any less seriously than it was in the 1930’s. Lee’s young characters in To Kill a Mockingbird are used to show how a child could learn traits on racism and discrimination.