Everyone has their individual differences. Diversity is understanding what makes each human unique. This is a particularly important aspect in schools because it allows students to learn to respect those who have different ideas and understand other cultures, eventually opening their minds and helping them in the future. For instance, in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior, an adolescent boy living on a reservation, makes the decision to attend Reardan, a “rich, white farm town” (Alexie 45). While Junior deals with characteristic changes, collaboration with his classmates, and stereotypes and prejudice, this drastic change of environment ultimately positively influences not only Junior, but also his peers at Reardan.
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It is important that they close the cultural student-to-teacher gap in schools and recognize that “cultural diversity helps us recognize and respect “ways of living” that are not necessarily our own...we can build bridges to trust, respect and understanding across cultures” (Belfield, Lisa). Billie, a Lakota teen says “a bunch of teachers here think they know what’s wrong with us...If people want to help us, they have to see what we’ve been through, not what their own experiences tell them” (“Culture in the Classroom”). This demonstrates that to truly engage students, educators have to reach out to students in ways that are culturally responsive and appropriate. On top of this, teachers are often an adolescent's first regular, “ongoing contact with someone outside their home community and culture” (“Culture in the Classroom”). This is an important position as a mentor, and it is vital that they understand their students’ cultures and acknowledge their differences without stereotyping or undermining their need for support. An example of the importance of diversity is after Junior attends many funerals on the reservation. When he goes back to school, Mrs. Jeremy, who has been teaching at Reardan for 35 years, mocks him for not attending class. Junior wishes he could stand up to her, but “it was Gordy who defended me. He stood up with his textbook and dropped it...And his courage inspired the others...Then all my classmates walked out of the room” (Alexie 175). This shows how the students have grown to accept Junior, but the teacher has not. Junior helped his peers understand others’ perspectives by attending Reardan, gaining their respect, and befriending them. In contrast to this, Mrs. Jeremy, an adult, who has been teaching at Reardan for thirty five years, is not comfortable with diversity. More understanding and respect towards others brings about bigger and
The novel The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian and the movie Smoke Signals both originated from the mind of a man named Sherman Alexie. The novel and the movie have some similarities, but each similarity has a subtle difference. Some subtle differences between the topics in the novel The Absolutely True Diary of A Part Time Indian, and the movie Smoke Signals is the emphasis the author puts on each of the topics. There are a few topics that are shown in both the novel and the movie such as racism, identity, and loss. These topics are expressed very strongly in the novel but are vague in the movie.
Every individual in society and in a community is unique in their own ways, and their diversity shows up in many ways. Some of these ways include: religion, race, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, and so on. Everyone’s backgrounds are different, and this is what creates diversity in people. Even though everyone might not be the same, only by uniting everyone can we create the big picture. It’s like a puzzle—even though people are different, we can come together to create a big picture that couldn’t be created by puzzle pieces of the same shape. To me, diversity symbolizes the unique backgrounds that we come from. Every individual in their communities and in their society are influenced by their background—and this can come from various reasons. If someone comes from a different socioeconomic background, or lifestyle, their thought processes and their view of life might be much more different than mine. Their reaction to a certain situation can be much more different than mine, and it is important for me to see all these viewpoints in order to be a more informed member of my community. Everyone is diverse in their expression, style, and
Gloria Ladson-Billings supports this idea in her essay titled “’Yes, But How Do We Do it?’ Practicing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy” and also expands upon its importance by adding the insight of how teachers think about the social contexts, the students, the curriculum, and about instruction, all impact the students because how teachers regards these contexts get woven into their pedagogy, which create the very classrooms for learning.
Picture yourself in a town where you are underprivileged and sometimes miss a meal. In the novel, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” Sherman Alexie wrote the book to show hardships that Native Americans face today. Alexie shows us hardships such as poverty, alcoholism and education. In the novel, Junior goes against the odds to go to an all white school to get a better education to have a better life
It is said by Jeb Bush that, “Our children can achieve great things when we set high expectations for them”. Well, Arnold (Junior) Spirit in the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, doesn’t have high expectations, if anything he is expected to fail, in life and in school. But Junior has ambition like none other, that is why he decides to break away from his reservation and attend the racist school Reardan. During his time in Reardan and on the Reservation, Junior rises above the life he was expected to live; he demonstrates ambition through perseverance and finds his identity, which proves humans ability to rise above expectations.
Vast majority of Indian reservations are suffering from chronic poverty. According to American Indian Relief Council, the reservations have been cited as, “Comparable to Third World”, in terms of living conditions. In the novel written by Sherman Alexie, entitled, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, the main character, a fourteen year old, Native American teenager, which belongs to the Spokane tribe named Junior; stated that, “Poverty does not give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor.” This indicates that poverty can turn an individual to become a pessimist. On the contrary, poverty is not a destiny. Instead, it is a source of power, an encouragement that through hard work, patience and dedication, a person can succeed in every aspect of life.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a novel about Arnold Spirit (Junior), a boy from the Spokane Indian Reservation who decides to attend high school outside the reservation in order to have a better future. During that first year at Reardan High School, Arnold has to find his place at his all-white school, cope with his best friend Rowdy and most of his tribe disowning him, and endure the deaths of his grandmother, his father’s best friend, and his sister. Alexie touches upon issues of identity, otherness, alcoholism, death, and poverty in order to stay true to his characters and the cultures within the story. Through the identification of the role of the self, identity, and social behavior within the book, the reader can understand Arnold’s story to a greater depth.
Ever wondered what gets readers hooked on a book? In “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie the authors have many ways to grab the reader's attention by using many techniques from humor to emotional and traumatic to suspense. In the book the main character named Junior is an Indian boy growing up on a reservation. By growing up on the reservation junior makes a choice to leave the reservation and go to a white school which gives Junior obstacles in his life.There are many obstacles that happen even before Junior decided to go to another path with his life. With the obstacles that happen to Junior it creates an emotional and traumatic impact on junior as well as getting the readers hooked to turn the page and keep reading.
The cartoon shows that Junior understands what the reservation does to people's dreams and what is could just as easily do to his own. The cartoon also gives insight to the reader by foreshadowing to later in the book where this sad fact will be brought upon Junior and his life. Junior decided to go to Reardan which took lots of courage. When he got there he told himself he didn’t belong there as he filled with regret. Junior said Rearden was, “the opposite of me” (56).
the Absolutely True diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, is about a young boy name Junior, who life gets affected with racism and alcoholism. He was a part time Indian that left his Rez to go to a school for Rich people even though he was very poor. During the time he was there, he is treated different then everyone just because he was an Indian. His family and friends were affected by alcohol and junior realized that alcoholism and racism affected family, friends, and the community around him. All around the world people has had a defect with a family members that know or have been affected by alcohol related deaths and Junior was one of them.
Hating the fact that even his education is effected by pennilessness of the Reservation, Junior leaves the public school he attends at and goes to a school outside the reservation, called Reardan High School. After that decision, death and despair follow his family around like a
How often does a reservation kid get told that?” (141). This is a great representation of how Reardan is always opening up new opportunities for students. The reservation has taught Junior that his tribe is his family and that they are always there to support him which every path he chooses. They are a community that has rough bumps along the way, but they will always be a family to Junior no matter what the situation.
Using the differences to promote a more global classroom can be perceived in a positive light that exposes students to diversity within their schools, as well as exposes them to global concepts and understanding. When leaders are positive about certain things, that positive light becomes contagious among the school staff and community. According to Smith (2005), “They model the behaviors that they would like their staff to emulate. In doing so they value diversity by creating an inclusive environment and encouraging a variety of perspectives in the decision-making processes at the school” (p.
Diversity in classrooms can open student’s minds to all the world has to offer. At times diversity and understanding of culture, deviant experiences and perspectives can be difficult to fulfill, but with appropriate strategies and resources, it can lead students to gain a high level of respect for those unlike them, preferably from a judgmental and prejudiced view. Diversity has a broad range of spectrums. Students from all across the continent; students from political refugees, indigenous Americans, and immigrants bring their cultural and linguistic skills to American classrooms. Students not only bring their cultural and linguistic skills, but they bring their ethnicity, talents, and skills.