Topic > Changing Beliefs and Ideas Through Experience

There are many ideas and beliefs that you are taught as a child. These ideas and beliefs are meant to keep you on the right path in your life and give you a place to belong in society. While growing up in a middle class family in India, I was taught many misconceptions and many erroneous beliefs. I didn't come from a rich family and the education I received was only meant to keep me oppressed and maintain control over the rich people of the upper classes. When I moved to the United States I discovered the truth behind my education in India. Then I gained knowledge that helped me decide which beliefs were right and which were mine. Whatever I was taught as a child was not all correct. I have found evidence contrary to the information I was taught growing up and have gained experience and knowledge in life. The ideas necessary to reproduce today's society are taught to us as children. The reason for teaching values ​​that might be questionable early in a person's life is that it makes those ideas seem more meaningful and people see them as something they shouldn't question as they grow up. bell hooks states in the ninth chapter of her book, Teaching to Transgress that “I understood the meaning of gender inequality at an early age” (119). A student is taught at an early age that there is a difference between how a male and a female should act in society. Students accept this as a fact and over time begin to consider this idea as their own. They never really realize that the things they are being taught are wrong until someone points it out to them, they are given knowledge that contradicts their beliefs. When I was in high school in India, I was also taught the notion of how a man... middle of paper... the real reason, she was afraid that if she gave me a raise I would start working less (she knew this because she had asked another employee at work who was a friend of mine who I had told her). Then I realized that working hard doesn't always mean being successful. The pain of not getting a raise will always be remembered. It will help me in the future because I will consider all the factors that could help me succeed. Whatever I was taught as a child may not be true, people may have lied to me about many things and I have received a lot of wrong information in my life, but it is because of all these ideas that I was taught and all the wrong information that I were provided that I gained experience to prove were wrong. The pain I felt during the change of heart will always be with me and will guide me through the daily challenges of my life.