The Joy of Reading and Writing Superman and Me Week 3

a. Why is a “smart Indian” dangerous?
A smart Indian is widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians who fight with their classmates on a daily basis. They were expected to be stupid and struggled with basic reading in school. Possibly being educated about their rights and changing the culture of Indian reservations as they are known to be ill-literate uneducated and stupid. They are taught to keep their heads low and expected not to speak up or answer.
Because education doesn’t stop smart Indians like Alexie from achieving their hopes and dreams in life such as he did becoming a writer and educator.

b. Dangerous to whom?
Indians because of the potential that they know it gives them to be an educated smart Indian. They are not stupid as expected and so they stand out among their people and probably ridiculed and feared or even threatened.
Non-Indians because they don’t keep quite anymore they become curious to explore their learning potentials and are not typical stereotype Indians that are stupid. This would definitely be highly threatened to their own people and non-Indians to continue to exceed and be smart.

c. How could it be dangerous to be smart?
Because they are ridiculed and feared and don’t stay quiet when non-Indian teachers ask for answers which causes their classmates fight with them. Knowledge is power, its gives you the ability to advance in life without many restrictions.

d. What does it mean to be smart in contemporary U.S. society?
Being school educated, provided common sense and to save your life being educated opens the door to anything you want in life. You can have a career toward financial success. Also having a college degree you are not stereotyped as ignorant but educated and with the ability to have an opinion and earning potential.

e. What do people need to know and/or be able to do, and where is all of this learned? I believe that people need to be able to read, write and communicate and they learn this through some form of school education. They need to know that they have the right and can be educated to become successful. They need to know the resources available to them to pursue their success. Yet I also want to state that not going to school or college or being educated today doesn’t make you stupid, but it does have its limitations that may be harder obstacles to overcome. Anyone can become successful with knowledge and personal effort to learn and educate themselves.

f. How is education a means to save one’s life?
Education empowers people with hope, inspiration and drive to succeed in life to be a better person with inner self confidence. This education is a building of self reliance, image and meaning to one’s self.

g. How is Alexie attempting to save the life of the students he works with?
Alexie visits the schools frequently, tells stories with learning meaning and value to the students and encouraging them to be what they want to be in life. He is teaching these kids to write poems, short stories and novels. They are reading more advanced then they may have without him who gives not arrogance or worthlessness but meaning.

How did Alexie save his own life?
Alexie did not give up, he wasn’t quite when expected to be, he had curious eager to learn and didn’t give up on his goal and kept reading as his father did but till he fell asleep which helped his brain keep the attention of his readings in the most peaceful time when he rested so he was able to take that to his conscious in the days. Most important he didn’t let anyone tell him or stop him by telling him he was stupid and he spoke out!

h. Choose a quote from the reading and share your critical thinking in response.
“I refused to fail I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky.” Alexie used these words in his story depicting that Indian children were suppose to fail in school, most did. He loved to read everything and I think he shows how easy it is to teach young children how to read with enjoyment. Alexie pursued as a writer in life because of his eager determination to not fail or give up. He gives back to children who weren’t as lucky as he was and doesn’t give up on them even though they may not be trying to save their lives as he did. He really states how the world can be viewed as a book “we are all just paragraphs in one big long essay.”

i. Come up with your own question/topic on the reading.
I would possibly ask what literacy means to Sherman Alexie.

My first topic would be ways of not struggling with English and writing and replacing them with singing powwow songs.
How can be placing a comic book in every child’s hands educating them to read or as an inspiration to conquer and achieve in life.