Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine” focuses on the life of a young Indian-American girl named Lilia. Like most children, school is a key part of Lilia’s life. However, “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine” criticizes the American education system, particularly its history lessons for not having a broad world view. Lilia describes her schooling: “That year, and every year, it seemed, we began by studying the Revolutionary War” (27). Lilia proceeds to explain how she takes field trips to American monuments, makes dioramas of American historical events, makes finger puppets of American presidents, and can recite the original thirteen colonies and their capitals (26). The American education system is depicted as being redundant, simple, and narrowly focused.
It seems that both Lilia and her parents recognize this educational inadequacy. When the war begins in Dacca, no one at school even acknowledges the huge event that rocks Lilia’s world. Lilia remembers, “We continued to study the American Revolution, and learned about the injustices of taxation without representation, and memorized passages from the Declaration of Independence” (33). Similarly, a blatant depiction of the American-centric education system occurs when Lilia is working in the school library. She is curious about Pakistan, and sneaks off to read a book called Pakistan: A Land and Its People. When her teacher, Mrs. Kenyon, finds her researching another country instead of the surrender at Yorktown, she says there is “no reason to consult” the book (33). Lilia’s parents also seem to recognize the educational inadequacy, such as when her father questions, “What exactly do they teach you at school? Do you study history? Geography?” (26)
In my opinion, the issues about the American education system discussed in “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine” are still applicable today. Speaking from my own experience, I feel like I had a solely American-focused education throughout elementary and middle school. We focused on things like memorizing the capitals of all 50 states and singing the names of all 44 presidents, but most students couldn’t identify more than five other countries on a map. I think a more broad, inclusive education system would be much more beneficial for our students, and certainly for Lilia.
This story also made me reflect on my American education experience. My parents, who are both from Poland, have also criticized what I learn in school on several occasions. This really put into perspective what information my fellow classmates and I have been fed over the past 12+ years. Growing up, I found other parts of the world very interesting, and Geography would have probably been my favorite subject. However, most schools don't actually offer Geography, at least not as a core subject, and I remained rather uneducated about the world. Instead, I had to rely on my dad's informal history lessons for this information.
ReplyDeleteI feel like at Uni, we get a more well-rounded education when it comes to history. I know I've learned a lot about the history of other countries in Mr. Leff's and Mr. Butler's class. But, in grade school and middle school, I don't remember really learning about other countries. Possibly a little in middle school, but not very much. It really reflects upon how people grow up and believe that America is the center of the world, because that's how they were taught.
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