Education In Sherman Alexie's 'Superman And Me'

Education has been a topic of controversy for many years now, and will continue to be for years to come. The modern American society is best defined by its education. A good part of the average person’s life is spent at school, going to school, and paying for school. However, even though education is so obviously very important, there are many groups in America that are getting shorted. The Native Americans are a key group that has struggled the most. The largest obstacle they face is lack of proper education. The standard educational practices being used for the instruction of Native American peoples are not effective. There are many pieces to this road-block, and many solutions. This can be rectified by having more culturally

Sherman Alexie the author of the essay "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" was born and raised on a Spokane Indian Reservation. Growing up, his family did not have a lot of money, yet today Alexie is known as one of the most prominent Native American writers. Alexie reminisces on his childhood when he first taught himself how to read. In the essay "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" Sherman Alexie suggests, that for Native Americans reading is the key to education and education is the key to prosperity in life.

Taking away Native American children’s language caused many challenges at home. Many children were confused, homesick, as well as resentful. Many of the children attending these boarding schools did not understand why their parents sent them to boarding school. For many it was because family members were, “sick then. He don’t want to take care of a little one so he pushed me to school” (Burich 5). Many children would not understand why they were being sent to these schools, especially since the schools were changing their worlds

As Mary Bethune once said, “The whole world opened up to me when I learned to read.” Through the personal essay of “Superman and Me”, a widespread audience learns the importance of reading and the concept that one does not need to be wealthy to learn. In this personal essay by Sherman Alexie, he uses appeals such as ethos, logos, and pathos and styles such as diction and syntax to achieve the purpose and reach the audience.

The short piece of writing “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie is about his own childhood growing up as an Indian on an Indian reservation in Spokane Washington. He talks about how unfortunate his family was, how they survived as Indians during rough times, and most importantly describes his struggle to achieve his passion, which was being able to read and write in English. He mentions this to let us realize that he did not grow up with many opportunities, he was not raised in a wealthy family, he did not have the best teachers who could give him the proper education, nor was the society he lived in, kind to him. Sherman Alexie tries to engrave into his audience's minds one message which is clearly demonstrated throughout his entire story which is, education can make a great difference in a person's life. He uses three main rhetorical choices in order to craft his message through, they are ethos, pathos, and hyperbole.

In Sherman Alexie’s short story “Superman and Me,” Alexie writes about his life as an Indian child growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in the state of Washington. He depicts his life from when he was three years old, living on the reservation, up to his current self, as an adult writer who frequently visits that reservation. He primarily describes his interest in reading and how it has changed his life for the better.

“Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie is a brief passage describing a personal experience of the author’s childhood – specifically, how he learned to read and the impact it has had on his life. He discloses that he is of Indian descent from his father. Sherman speaks of his father in admiring tones, of how he devoured books and was an educated Indian, of how his house was always full of literature and how he chose himself to attend catholic schools (he was one of the very few Indians who purposely did). According to Sherman, he learned to read through the use of a Superman graphic novel by imagining his own meaning to the different panels and deducing what the words meant by doing this throughout the story. Eventually, he ends up reading more and more, and he is signaled out in his

The modern American society is best defined by its education. The “American dream” is founded on going to school, getting a good job, and becoming successful. Ironically, the actual native peoples of this country are actually the least likely to attain this dream. The largest obstacle they face is lack of proper education. The standard educational practices being used for the instruction of Native American peoples is not effective. There are many pieces to this road-block, and many solutions. This can be rectified by having more culturally aware teachers and parents, and by teaching the general population more about the Native American cultures.

In the beginning of the essay, Alexie talks about how knowledge is a power that opens a window to success by using an anecdote about his personal experience with knowledge. As Alexie talks about his childhood in the beginning, he says, “We lived on a combination of irregular paychecks, hope, fear and government surplus food...” (Alexie). When Alexie discusses the conditions his family lived in, he is setting this frame of pity that makes the reader understand that education wasn’t the first thing on their mind, but what they we’re going to eat next. Later on in the beginning, Alexie explains how his father surrounded him with books and how his love for books started. His love for books was sparked from the love his father had for books. Alexie states this when he says, “...My father loved books...I loved my father...I decided to love books as well...” (Alexie). Alexie also explains how he didn’t understand at first when he first picked up a book but soon learned that “The words inside a paragraph worked together for a common purpose...this knowledge delighted me. I began to think of everything in terms of paragraphs...”(Alexie). This could be seen as a power because although he doesn’t understand, he’s learning how to understand what he’s reading and this could count as one of his first steps to success. As Alexie explains his personal experience with knowledge, he proves how he is an example of

“Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie gives insight into his early life of being Spokane Indian living on a reservation who taught himself to read at a very young age. Despite his ability to read so early he was treated as an outside or “oddity” in his community and the world surrounding him because of cultural diversity and issues between his peers and those who weren't part of his culture. The author specifically states “A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and Non-Indians alike”; which informs the reader that an educated Indian isn't accepted in really either cultures which sets him as an outcast in both societies. The author describes his younger self as smart, arrogant, Indian boy who without books wouldn't be educated and wouldn't be what he is today.

School and education was a big topic in Sherman Alexie’s, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, as the author reflects his personal life story into the protagonists’ story in the book. In the novel, Junior is a teenage kid who loves to read, but every time he goes to school in the Spokane reservation, he notices the poor education that is offered. From unmotivated teachers, to using the same textbook his own mother used to use, he knew he would end up like everyone else at the reservation, depressed, having low paying jobs, not motivated to make a change in the world. In order to be able to go to college, he knew he had to study at a high school outside of his reservation, because he would not have the education the college demanded if he stayed. During his years at the new high school away from his home, he missed a lot of school days due to funerals and ceremonies he had to attend back in his reservation. Even if Junior understood that, going to college might be difficult to do so if he was going to be attending the events at his reservation, he knew he was able to go to college from the education he gained at the new high school he attended. Similar to the article by Guillory and Wolverton, Junior, or Alexie, were able to attend college because of the high school transfer, which gained them higher quality education. Something not many Native American teenagers have the opportunity to do so, or the self-motivation, as they are still, more than likely, accepting

Early Native American schooling was taught in tribes. Tribes would teach their children healing arts and specialized crafts like making shell money (Nash 173). Tribes used legends as a form of education a long time ago (Fixico 41). These stories would teach important lessons like how to live in balance with nature. Many tribes would make day schools to educate children on tribal sovereignty (Ellis). In the 1840s, the Cherokees formed a system of public schools (Perdue 64). Education in tribes was an important right of the Native Americans.

Perpetuation of Native American Stereotypes in Children's Literature Caution should be used when selecting books including Native Americans, due to the lasting images that books and pictures provide to children. This paper will examine the portrayal of Native Americans in children's literature. I will discuss specific stereotypes that are present and should be avoided, as well as positive examples. I will also highlight evaluative criteria that will be useful in selecting appropriate materials for children and provide examples of good and bad books. Children will read many books as they grow up.

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” This inspirational saying by Malala Yousafzai helped my understanding of what has been happening in Pakistan and many other countries all over the world. It shows us how important the littlest things can be and how by ourselves, we can make an impact on the world. In the book, I am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai, Malala explained how as a child, she was denied education because of the Taliban (a group of terrorists) and she chose to do something about it: she spoke out against them. When they tried to retaliate, even more people joined her cause for justice. In a similar case, Arnold (Junior), in the book The absolute Diary of a Part TIme Indian, was a boy living on a North American Indian reservation (rez) where unlike Malala, he was able to go to school, but his schools were very bad. Mr. P, his teacher, told him that if he does not leave the res, that he will not get any further in life. He decided to transfer to Reardan, a school outside of the reservation, where he knows that it will not be easy. He faces discrimination and he is exposed to more and more of the terrible things that happen in the world. And even though we learn from him that living on an Indian reservation is not a walk in the park, and that even living there does not compare to going to school at Reardan. Unfortunately for these two characters, they have both faced hardships that have deeply affected their lives. These stories show that when someone is in an environment that makes them lose their innocence, sometimes they also lose faith in humanity; when that has happened to someone, they might want to stand up for the other people with similar struggles.

Sherman Alexie, in the essay, “Superman and Me”, argues that as a minority, he was at a disadvantage in the education system and struggled to find footing. The author supports his argument by illustrating his early childhood life and educational struggles in detail. Alexie’s purpose is to alert teachers of the troubles that minorities go through, so that society inserts equity into the education system.