Harper Lee comments on the education system throughout her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Her novel suggests that she believes that the education system is rigid and insensitive. Scout has several negative classroom experiences throughout the novel. Miss Caroline, Scout's first-grade teacher, reprimands her for knowing how to read and write. Instead of encouraging and fostering Scout's advanced abilities, Miss Caroline forbids her from reading and writing at home and in the classroom. Miss Caroline mentions to Scout that they don't write in first-grade because that is a skill learned in third-grade. Miss Caroline's response to Scout reflects her rigid views of education. Jem mentions that she is trying to teach them the Dewey Decimal System that she learned in college. Although Jem completely misinterprets what the Dewey Decimal System is, mentioning that Miss Caroline's new methods of teaching come from her experience in college is significant. Lee presents this information to suggest that even post-secondary education is rigid and impractical. Also, Scout comments that most her classmates are bored and have no idea what their teaching is talking about half the time. Again, Lee portrays the classroom as an obstacle to education, rather than a catalyst for learning. In Scout's third-grade class, Mrs. Gates openly displays her hypocrisy to her students by commenting that America is void of persecution and prejudice. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee continually suggests that a moral education is highly valuable compared to the insensitive, rigid school system.
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