Reardan High School: A Short Story

In the essay entitled “How to Fight Monsters” by Sherman Alexie, an Indian boy named Junior faced challenges in handling bullies in his school. One morning Junior's father drives him to his new school in Reardan. He tries to comfort Junior that he is better than the white kids, but Junior thinks otherwise as he feels weak and insecure. He arrives at the school with a black eye from Rowdy, a boy who bullied him in his previous school (Alexie, 124). The kids waiting in front of the school stare at him like he was "a Bigfoot or a UFO" and he immediately felt that he doesn’t belong there. What is worse is that the only other Indian at the school is not a person but a mascot (Alexie, 125).

Coming from an all-Indian school previously, Junior was at first bound to racist remarks (Alexie, 63). At first, all of his peers seem like they are out to get him. To Junior, he believes that he will be fist-fighting every single day at Reardan High school. But to his surprise, everyone at Reardan is nice and respectful unlike his hometown school at Wellpinit. One of the popular athletes at his new school, Roger, was punched in the face by Junior after telling him an extremely racist joke. To his surprise, Roger doesn’t punch Junior back and instead just walks away maturely (Alexie, 66). At Wellpinit, Junior would have gotten into a full-blown fight just like when he got beat up by the Andruss brothers at the annual powwow (Alexie,

A student named Arnold Spirit Jr. recently transferred to Reardan High School, the only all-white school near the reservation. This student relocated himself from the local school on the reservation to the school off of the reservation. Our team asked Arnold a few questions about the swap, here’s what happened. We asked about what the members of the reservation would think of his switch “I think they will disrespect me more than they already do, they will definitely pick on me a lot more” said junior we then asked how he feels about the mascot of the new school being an Indian and if he takes offence to it. “I think knowing I’m the only other Indian in an all-white school brings attention to it.” We then asked if he was going to try to make friends or just go to get an education. “I will start by focusing on the transition to the new school. I am thinking about trying out for the basketball team at Reardan, but I am a great shooter”

Young, but driven, Jorge began dancing in the spring of his senior year at Sharyland High School. He was welcomed into Melba's School of Dance's family where he was introduced to ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, and folklorico.

“ In the early month of May at the Menifee Middle School, it was a normal day until ‘YES’, ‘HIT HIM’ ‘HIT HIM.’ Students were pilling out into the schoolyard toward the echoes of cheering. With the excitement in the air, it was the chance for students to grasp the glimpse moment of exhilaration.

This draws a connection to the erasure of Native American culture in history, they are seen as rare and different from the ordinary, and for some people their existence is completely forgotten or denied. His own comments of not belonging at a white school, because of his nationality and family history further show the division of race that he can see at Reardan. Junior’s cursing accentuates how frustrated and pathetic he feels, viewed as less than everyone at his school, and constantly rejected and isolated by his white peers. The negative, demeaning mindset of those white kids is that Native Americans do not deserve anything from white people, not their time, attention, care, or even a proficient education. According to Jens Manuel Krogstad at Pew Research Center, Native Americans have the second highest high school dropout rate- eleven percent. This is very high, especially when compared to the white or Asian dropout rates- five and three percent, respectively. Additionally, it says Native Americans have the second lowest percentage of bachelor’s degrees, only seventeen percent, compared to the two highest, white and Asian, at thirty three and fifty percent (Krogstad). Many Native Americans today are not allowed a chance at education because of poverty at reservations, and lousy, penniless schools. These issues are not thought about or spoken of often, because they are simply not

Transferring to Carencro High School was really terrifying. I was a Lafayette High School student and we just thought we were the best school since we were an A school. Like “ nobody couldn’t tell us anything.” That been my mindset for the past 3 years since I’ve been there. I remember there were times I was like” I can’t wait to leave that school.” I honestly didn’t think I would be leaving so early.

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One Thursday morning when I was in the school with my friend two boys were picking on me and my friend it happen on the bus and the hallway. That made me and my friend upset me and my friend goes to Arnall Middle School. it happen 1 week ago. What happened was two boys were picking on us so we told them to stop. But they keep going so we told the teacher. So he was talking to them out of the classroom door. So they can have a conversation about bullying.

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