For the end of the year, students in AP Lang were assigned to read “Educated: A memoir” by Tara Westover. I was already intrigued because I’ve been told it was a good book, but nothing could have prepared me for the insane contents of the memoir. 

“Educated” explores real-life themes from Westover’s life such as abuse, toxic masculinity, mental illness, manipulation, family trauma and the importance of being educated.

Westover starts off her memoir by stating that she never went to school as a child, and didn’t even have a birth certificate until she was nine years old. Her family lived on a desolate mountain in Idaho where her father, a devout Mormon, was constantly preparing for “the end of times.” Her mother was a midwife who had a special talent for herbal medicine and like her father, did not believe in doctors and hated the government.

Eventually, Tara Westover realizes that she wants to go to school and pursue an education. Despite her parent’s wariness, she passes the ACT and applies for Brigham Young University where she opens her eyes to a whole new world, very unlike the world of her family. As she moves throughout her life to bigger things, such as Cambridge and Harvard, she struggles to choose between her toxic family and her want, or perhaps need, to be educated. 

I assume this memoir was chosen for the curriculum because it tackles how ignorance can negatively affect someone’s life, and how it is important for parents to educate their children. Most students constantly complain about the school system and how their life would be so much better without school. 

Although the school system is far from perfect, it is better than having no education at all like Westover had for a good portion of her life. This memoir educates (no pun intended) the reader with real-life anecdotes that help open their minds to new perspectives and situations they may not have thought of. This is why I think this book should be taught in all high schools.

Memoirs are pivotal to teach high school students because unlike fictional literature the real events written through the lens of the person who experienced them helps get through to students on a deeper level. Despite my love for classic fictional literature taught in school, I think memoirs speak more to high school students. Real-life experiences written by the person who experienced them helps to strengthen students’ perspectives. Similar to “Educated”, there are many fantastic memoirs out there that help teach students about real-life situations and different perspectives of life.