It was disturbing to hear of how some of the teachers taught, yes I know that this was during a time when racism was very much a thing and people, as in whites, felt that they were superior to all and had a right to degrade people of other races, (which is NEVER okay). There was one time when Alexandra had to take a summer school class while the family was in Pennsylvania so the population was very heavily whites and it was a history class and they were talking about China. Now this is a direct quote form the teacher in the book, he said, "China has one billion people. You know what that means? That means two billion armpits and one billion assholes. On to the next country..." How people can talk like that about other human beings baffles me. What did they ever do to you personally? Have you ever actually met a Chinese person? The teacher finally worked his way back to Europe and said that's where everybody originated implying that it was superior to all. Where we (and I have to say we because I am white) get the notion that we are the best I do not know?
Religion-There was one instance in the book when Dalton, the main character, was a a boy scout camp and they were taking a trip to a nearby church and he had expressed how he didn't want to go to the church. He wasn't particularly religious and the thought of going into a church scared him. But Dalton didn't have a choice and had to go.
From what it sounds like it didn't seem like any religion was being forced in such a way that a conversion needed to happen in the end, but his religious freedom was not respected. Even though it may seem like a child doesn't know what they want, they do and their wishes need to be taken into consideration. No one should ever be forced to do something that they don't want to.
Ability-One of Dalton's best friends Jerome had been shot and as a result was paralyzed. When the injury was still very new and people were still trying to process what had happened, Dalton went to the hospital to visit Jerome. It was all really overwhelming and new to Dalton and he had asked, "So is he paralyzed from the neck down or the waist down?" Jeromes mom did not think that appropriate and yelled at Dalton. This traumatized Dalton and even some time after when Dalton and his family had moved and Jerome was out of the hospital and was mobile by way of a wheelchair Dalton still didn't know how to really act around him. He had said how he finally knew how paralyzed he was, but it wasn't from asking it was by observation. He often caught himself talking about things that Jerome could never do again, like Basketball, and felt bad. But Jerome would make jokes and talk as if his disability wasn't holding him back.
It bothers me that at this point it has been like a year since the injury but Dalton is still uncomfortable around who once was his best friend.
Race-Race played a big part in this whole story and was kind of an underlying issue the whole time.
While in Pennsylvania Alexandra had gone to a sleep over for the daughter of one of her mom's high school friends. The girls at this sleep over were all white and just before bed they all gathered around and told ghost stories. One girl had told a story about and black man who had bitten the head off of a squirrel and how he was coming after this girl to eat here too. Alexandra said that this story was told as if the black man was a fairy tale character like Bigfoot.
It's just disturbing that people can talk about other people that way. Alexandra had said how people back home would use the word "nigga" in reference to each other but it was always sarcastically and it is very different coming from someone of your own kind and being used by someone else in a way that is degrading. I just wonder if these girls would use that word or call someone that if they met a black person face to face. How much are we comfortable saying behind someones back and how comfortable are we saying that same thing to their face. If you would only say it behind their back then maybe you shouldn't be saying it at all.
"The apartment itself was a gigantic duplex. Standing on its parquet floors, staring out the huge barless windows or up at the twelve-foot-high ceilings, my sister and I felt small, as if we had regressed in our growth curves. I couldn’t understand why we should get all this and not the maintenance men who were on their hands and knees during our visit, replacing a section of floor that had warped from humidity and age.Why us and not them, I couldn’t stop asking myself. I wondered where they lived" (208-209).
I feel like only those who have seen both sides, been given more than they need and had to suffer just barely scraping by, will think of others. Wondering why they aren't the ones getting this nice house because they deserve it more. I know it's not always the case but its just disconcerting that that's how it works, the less fortunate seem to be more willing to give.Connections to Class:
Cultural Capital-The last chapter of the book is called cultural capital is just talks about how he got into the high school that he did. It says that he was able to take summer school classes because he came from a low income neighborhood. Because of this they were able to receive a lot more than some.
Culture
- Identity- This is something I think Dalton struggled with a lot during his life. He lived in a part of New York where is family was like the only white family. He went to several different schools. He had started at a school in his neighborhood, so he went to school with the kids who lived near him, but then he transferred to a school that was out of the neighborhood which was a better school. There he had made friends but still didn't quite fit in, he kind of faked his way in. These kids were smart and at first he pretended like he knew what he was talking about and spent all of his free time reading up on what the kids were talking about so that he could contribute to the conversation. One time instead of always going to his friend Micheal's house Micheal came to his. Dalton was embarrassed and thought that Micheal wouldn't want to be friends with him anymore. Then he changed schools again and made a new best friend, Jerome. Jerome was a good kid, but it was kind of like Dalton had forgotten himself and started skipping school and was doing very poorly in school. Then once he got into high school he was living a nicer neighborhood but kids from the working class areas still commuted a long distance to get to the school. And so even though he lived in a white neighborhood he was drawn to hanging out with the wealthy kids that looked like him but with those he group up with.
Growing up in a neighborhood where he was pretty much the only white kid can really confuse someone as to who they identify with and with all the transferring.
- Language-One summer when the family had taken their trip to Pennsylvania, there mother was trying to get the kids to play with the neighbors and be friends. So Alexandra and Dalton had gone to play with some kids who lived nearby but soon returned because of their language. Dalton says that they knew never to swear at anyone directly, but it wasn't rare to use a cuss word in everyday conversations. And when the parents of these other kids heard this they exiled Alexandra and Dalton from their house.
Depending on where you live and who you associate with certain language will be appropriate and at other times it will not.
Class- Because he transferred schools so much he ended up associating with kids that were of higher socioeconomic status than he was. Therefor their parents had money they could give out as allowances, where the money that Dalton was given was just for emergencies. Or they had much nicer houses and their parents showed that they cared about their child's education and well being in different ways than Dalton's parents did. Class was always a barrier between Dalton and his peers. Where he lived he was of a slightly higher class than his neighbors but at school his friends were of higher class.
Influence in my Future Work:
The biggest thing that I have taken from reading this is that you can never truly know what a child is going through at home. You do not know their circumstances and for that reason as a teacher you need to be forgiving. Yes there needs to be discipline for late or missing assignments if it is a regular occurrence but life happens and everybody needs a by here and there.
Also just being aware. Aware of everything, of my language and how I interact with or talk about people of different race, religious background, or with disabilities. Students are always watching and see teachers as examples and if they do then it must be okay. Don't snap at them when they do or say something wrong but let that be teaching opportunity and prevent it from happening in the future. Everyone has biases, but as a teacher you need to be aware of them and work on changing them and definitely do not let them show in your classroom. You have to be on every kids side and not discriminate.
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