The power of education

In his autobiography Born a Crime, Trevor Noah finds that education is one of the most important tools that can help people evolve. His mother, Patricia, is aware that education is key when it comes to helping Trevor understand that there is more to life than the ghetto: “Because (…) even if he never leaves the ghetto, he will know that the ghetto is not the world. If that is all I accomplish, I’ve done enough” (Chapter 5, p. 81). Going to school and learning English has helped Patricia leave a life of misery behind, get a job, and become financially independent, so she is determined to offer her son more than she had.

Patricia encourages Trevor to educate himself and to take advantage of the opportunities that education brings about. She takes advantage of scholarships and enrolls him at Maryvale College, where he has a good educational start. However, Trevor is often bullied for his white education:

I went to an English private school. I’d learned to g...