Erika Christakis, in “The War on Public Schools” (Atlantic 2017), argues that the public school system in the U.S has been denigrated. Christakis supports her arguments by telling how most of the Americans have lost faith in the public school system, demonstrating how even the secretary of education Betsy DeVos see the public school system as a dead end, explaining how articles and documentaries as “Waiting for Superman” had led to false conclusions about the teachers unions, and finally, describing how the public school achievements have been minimized. Christakis’s purpose is to inform readers about the conditions of the public education system in the U.S in order to create interest about the current system of education. Christakis uses a…
In "Superman and Me", personal stories and repetition are two solid writing tools used by Sherman Alexie. While both of these writing tools differ in many ways; Alexie creates a similar response from his audience that creates a connection between the audience and Alexie. His essay was not just informative, but also emotional and through his use of personal stories and repetition, he allows the reader to understand the emotional journey he faced growing up on a reservation.…
Sherman Alexie was a young Indian child that was driven to know how to read and right. He was determined to turn other opinions, that didn't matter to him, down and set out to do what he had the desire to do. Alexie didn't let the stereotype that ¨he was an Indian¨ slow him down either. Indians were expected to be at a lower education level, but Alexie wasn't willing to obtain that thought. Frustrated with the lack of change in his Indian community, Sherman Alexie sets out to defy stereotypes, and save the lives of those without equal chance through reading and writing.…
“Superman broke down the door,” Sherman Alexie’s metaphor just as he broke through adversity. Internal and external expectations are a basis of identity and how we each perceive ourselves. In Alexie’s writing, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” he describes finding his identity through his struggles as he excelled academically obtaining his unique view on the world and facing many stereotypes. As a young boy expected to maintain limited intelligence and accept the standard of ignorance, he was able to surpass limitations while “viewing his world in paragraphs.” While sharing a love of reading with his father he overcame his expected limitations on his reservation. The struggles he endured allowed him to give back to the community he grew with after becoming an adult.…
In the story, “Superman and Me”, one idea Alexie explores is that stereotypes should never be an excuse for accepting failure. Sherman says that he read “Grapes of Wrath in Kindergarten when other children were struggling through Dick and Jane.” Sherman hints that in kindergarten, when sherman was expected to act like he knew almost nothing about reading, Sherman had shown his intelligence by reading better than all the other kids, often there are high schooler students that act like they are not smart, when really they are, they just don’t apply themselves, and there are also the kids that actually show their intelligence. Sherman states that “those who failed…
learns the struggles America has to find good teachers who are willing to motivate students and give them the push and motivation that they need to excel and succeed in primary school.…
The author’s persona in “An Indian Father’s Plea”, written by Robert Lake, is an angry Indian father who is upset with the treatment of his child in school. He claims the teacher has, “already labeled him a “slow learner”’ because his son is Indian (Lake 109). This plays on the major controversial topic of racial or cultural profiling. The narrator speaks in a very intelligent tone, which only proves to his argument that you can be culturally diverse and intellectual. “An Indian Father’s Plea” is a prime example of why you cannot judge a book by its…
Sherman Alexie’s essay “Superman and Me” is about how Alexie changed his life, and the lives of others, by learning to read. “Sherman Alexie, a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, grew up on a reservation surrounded by poverty, alcoholism, and disease. . .” (About Sherman Alexie), though his family was poor, his father loved to read; and Alexie adopted that love of reading at an early age. Alexie soon started to see the world around him like paragraphs. He would read anything and everything he could get his hands on. Indians like him were not supposed to be smart. Those who failed were excepted, but Alexie refused to fail and soon became a writer, “His work carries the weight of five centuries of colonization, retelling the American…
In The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me, Sherman Alexie shares with his audience his story of when he learned to read at a young age through a Superman comic book. Through stories and memories of his childhood, he explains how Indian children on reservations were expected not to try in school and fail in the non-Indian world. In order to successfully portray his ideas, Alexie uses many rhetorical techniques and ideas. By using these techniques the audience is forced to look more into the writing instead of just being given the direct meaning of what Alexie is trying to share.…
The 1960’s, when Sherman Alexie was born, was not an easy time for people of colored backgrounds. With the Civil Rights Movement and other movements for colored people, it must have been difficult for Native Americans to make it in life. By reading books and acquiring knowledge, even a Native American can be successful and “save his life.” Even though they were expected to fail during this time period, acquiring wisdom made them smarter in school, causing them to gain respect, not pity from whites. Alexie tries to express the idea that reading books can give one knowledge, therefore allowing them, white or colored, to be successful in life to “save their life.” Alexie believes that by reading books, he “saves his life” and becomes successful, inspiring other Indians in his society to follow his path and “save their lives.”…
The year 1978 was an excellent year for film. Some notable movie titles that are still popular today are; the peppy musical Grease, The first Halloween movie, which has had numerous remakes and sequels the most recent having been released in 2009. Along with these classics there were two that stand out, Superman: The Movie and The Dawn of the Dead. Both these movies have survived into the twenty first century, becoming icons of the 1970's in both cultural significance and as a demonstration of the technological advances of the time.…
read or write. Alexie refused to be labeled as such and states “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was…
Alexie’s belief is right because the more someone reads is the more knowledge someone gains. This helps people in life because it allows them to be smart in the world and it can teach them to express themselves in a positive way. In his essay states, “ The indian kids crowd the classroom. Many are writing their own poems, short stories and novels.” This shows that the indian kids are learning to read and write as well as express themselves which will give them a better place in society. Earlier in his essay before he states that he talks about himself when he was in school. He states “ In all my years in the reservation school system, I was never taught how to write poems, short stories or novels.” He also talks about never seeing any guest teachers in the school and that is why he tries to visit as much as possible. He tries to save their lives as indians by encouraging them to pick up books, so that way they won’t be known as stupid or won’t need pity but so they can have a important role in…
(3:1.2) What is discrimination, and what are the potential effects on a service user’s life?…
Chavez, L. (2006, October 23). "Discrimination Is Alive and Well." Human Events, 62(36), p.19. Retrieved February 28, 2007, from EBSCOhost database.…