From the Personal Papers of Mr. P
September 12 –
A student threw his textbook at me a few days ago. I was
surprised and slightly angered. I felt that I couldn’t go back to the
classroom without knowing why he did this. When I took this job
on the reserve, I knew that I was going to be working with poor
Indian children. I didn’t expect they would be this poor.
When my student, Arnold, finally explained why he threw the
book at me, I was both relieved and guilt-stricken. Relieved
because his anger was not towards me, but guilt-stricken
because he is frustrated by the low-class education the reserve
is giving him. He deserves better. He deserves a chance to
learn and to become his best. I might have been out of line
suggesting he go to Reardan, but it is his only chance to break
away the crumby life he has been dealt. God forbid he turns out
anything like his parents or the others on the reserve.
English 495 ESM Diary
16 years ago
