My Response to Mr. Harvey would be he’s tough. Not so much rude but tough. Reading his responses to kids in the story was interesting. He almost sounded like he was mad and about to give on those students witch made me sad .An example of, how his students reacted would be where the boy named Jerome put up his middle finger after Mr. Harvey told them they wouldn’t be successful in life if they didn’t learn to speak proper English. Another example of Mr. Harvey would be where he’s yelling at the kids because they aren’t speaking properly and he lets them know there terrible out of frustration.
It was sad to me because it touched home in a way .My parents talked to me in Greek so naturally Greek was my first language. I remember going to kindergarten and knowing a very little English and sometimes my teachers not being able to understand what I was saying. I struggled learning to speak proper English and still do sometimes to this day. I never experienced a teacher losing patients with me but I know how those kids must of felt.
Hi Samantha,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you've discussed Jerome. His response to Mr. Harvey is interesting because it shows his rebellion against Mr. Harvey, albeit a passive-aggressive one. Unlike Lovey, Jerome is fighting against Mr. Harvey's interpretations of their language and Mr. Harvey's belief that the children won't find success without Standard English.
I wonder if there's a double-edged sword for Jerome; if he refuses to learn Standard English, he may fulfill Mr. Harvey's prophecy, but he'll maintain a strong sense of his own language and still have a positive self-concept.
Thanks for giving me more to think about.
Take care,
Lauren
Hi Sam,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I like how much compassion you seem to have not only for the kids but also for Mr. Harvey. I must admit I did not have any compassion for Mr. Harvey in fact I blew him out of the water, so I like reading your perspective. You believe that he was tough but only because he was frustrated. I for one believe that somewhere in his life, he was treated just as bad as he was treating these kids. It reminds me of someone who was beat and then instead of learning from it and not repeating the same mistake did not learn anything and now keeps the cycle going.
I need to say that I am so sorry that you had such a hard time in school because of the language barrier. However, I am sure since the teacher’s did not lose their patience; you did not develop a complex or did you? I can see how you might be able to sympathize with these kids. Thank you so much for sharing.