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Obstacles In Ta-Nehisi Coates The Beautiful Struggle

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In Ta-Nehisi Coates memoir The Beautiful Struggle, he narrates his life and all the struggles he had to endure while growing up. Ta-Nehisi had parents who supported him, but sadly, the school and standardized tests were some of his biggest obstacles. It was eye opening to read because this is something I have never experienced myself. I have always been sheltered from this type of life. Yes, I have dealt with standardized tests but I never saw them as debilitating. My school had a high graduation rate; it was rare for someone not graduate. We also had a good support system at school. I can’t tell you how many times guidance counselors would pull kids out of class to discuss with them any issues that were occurring in their life and what they plan on doing with their future.
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to always have that support and in fifth grade I encountered a teacher who did not care about me. I did so poorly in her English class, they almost put me in remedial classes. My teacher never helped me, or sat me down one on one to assist me with the assignments, but instead I was left feeling stupid and not worth the effort. From then until sophomore year, I took all advanced classes except for in English because I thought I wouldn’t succeed in it. It …show more content…

TNC discuses this problem: “We were another country, fraying at our seams. All the old rules were crumbling around us. The statistics were dire and oft recited- 1 in 21 killed by 1 in 21, more of us in jail than college” (7). This statistic floors me. As someone who is planning on becoming an educator, I can’t imagine having one student out of every single one of my classes not graduating or even worse, being killed. Is this due to the school systems not creating an environment that encourages students to stay in school? What is the reason behind students not caring enough to

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