I volunteer in a 3rd grade class at an elementary school near my house. I was talking to the teacher of the class this morning and she told me that almost 75% of the students at the school are on free or reduced lunch. Because of this it really affects how they are able to teach the students since many of them do not always know when their next meal is.
I could not help but compare this statistic to The Absolutley True Diary of A Part Time Indian. Junior is very similar to many of the students because they are egar to learn but not always given the opportuity to succeed. Here is a quote that I though described the lunch situation very well: "I wish I were magical, but I am just a poor-ass reservation kid living with his poor-ass family on the poor-ass Spokane Indian Reservation. Do you know the worst thing about being poor? Oh, maybe you've done the math un your head and you figure: Poverty= empty refrigerator +empty stomach. And sure, sometimes my family misses a meal, and sleep is the only thing we have for dinner..." (Alexie 7-8).
This class is very motivated. Today we did grammar exersices with an online website and after have a few minor problems prompted by poor typing skills and not knowing how to spell 'grammar', they had they greatest time playing games on they website and one was so excited when he got 100% on a fourth grade level quiz. These kids have a wide range of skill levels but all are excited to learn and want to succeed and be recongized for their improvements, which I think is something Junior wants also.
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