You Cannot Spell Harlem

In Taylor’s hometown Pittman County, the majority of the girls that go to her school end up pregnant before they reach adulthood. Taylor recounts how “the girls [at her school] were dropping by the wayside like seeds off a poppyseed bun… [and] by senior year there were maybe two boys to every one of us” (3). The stereotype of young women in Pittman County is to get pregnant early and drop out of school, but Taylor resists this label. Refusing to get pregnant and dropping out of school, Taylor shows how she is different from the other girls in her hometown and does not want to be part of this stereotype.

Irl Solomon, a teacher, at the age 54 described with reddish hair and graduate of Brandeis University and has taught at urban schools for approximately 30 years. Irl Solomon had experience with law school for a semester but then decided to challenge himself by teaching in urban schools and felt that he belonged there, he belonged teaching students enrolled at a ghetto high school. In Solomon’s senior class, there are four pregnant teens and he questions them of being pregnant with an honest response from his students of having “no reason not to have a baby.” Solomon’s reaction seemed as if he understood where his students are coming. Solomon understood that his students felt hopeless to graduate with a diploma from a ghetto high school where

The issues in this case study involve Melinda Smith, a veteran special education teacher, Derrick Yate, a student with behavioral disorder, Greg, the school principal, Barba Cole, the school social worker, Mrs. Yates, Derrick’s mom and Mr. Douglas, a general education teacher. Besides being a student with behavioral disorder, Derrick was low achieving and had developed a notorious reputation around school. According to Karen, one of the fifth-grade teachers, “Derrick has terrorized everyone”. Despites all the putdowns on Derrick, Mrs. Smith decides to take on the challenge to straighten his behavior.

Miss Caroline is a brand new teacher and has been trained to teach in a certain way. When she finds that Scout’s premature reading ability disrupts her teaching plan she has no idea what to do with her, and tells Scout not to read at home anymore. ‘Miss Caroline told me to tell my father not to teach me anymore, it would interfere with my reading.’ This shows how society is oblivious to individual situations and this can cause achievements to be frowned upon.

Next, briefly introduced is the relationship with her grandmother Tootsie. Not much is known about Tootsie other than she cares for Precious’s daughter Mongo who suffers with down syndrome. Looking at the way Tootsie reacts to Mary one can say she does not agree with how she is raising Claireece. (Magness et al, 2009) Unfortunately, her grandmother never reported any abuse or lying that Mary had been doing. Although she tries to inconspicuously let the social worker know there is no food, Tootsie never says anything. This single act could have changed Precious’s life often by not saying anything, we allow problems to continue to happen.

The teacher than helps Precious find a home in a halfway house where she raises her son and continues to go to the alternative school. Near the end of the movie Precious’ mother, Mary comes back into her life to inform Precious that her father has died of AIDS. Precious then learns that she is HIV positive, but her sons are not. Feeling depressed Precious breaks into her counselor’s office and steals her case files and then shares them with her classmates. This makes Precious feel much better about life. The movie ends with Precious and her mother seeing each other for the last time in Miss Weiss' office. Miss Weiss then questions Mary about her abuse of Precious, and exposes specific physical and sexual suffering Precious encountered, starting when she was young. Mary, Precious’ mother begs Miss Weiss to help get Precious back, but she refuses. The film ends with Precious still determined to improve her life for herself and her children. She does not want her mother in her life and plans to complete a General Educational Development (GED) test to receive a high school diploma equivalent.

The movie Precious, is drama-based film that tells the story of a 16-year-old girl named Claireece Jones (Precious). Unfortunately, she is struggling with her family, the school system and with her own internal emotions. Her mother despises her due to Precious having two kids from her father. She was kicked out of her high school had to go to an alternative school to get her GED. Precious also is struggling with her internal emotions and capabilities, she has been raped, verbally and physically abused. Some of the main characters that influenced Precious’s life are Miss. Rain, her English teacher at the alternative school and her mother Mary.

In her essay called ‘Shunned’, Meredith Hall composes an “arrangement of pictures” from the time she got shunned. Meredith lost her friends and family’s respect within a blink of an eye. She was also kicked out of school and was not allowed to return to her church. Those who praised Hall began to believe that if she wound up pregnant that easily, any girl in town could to. “The price I paid seems still to be extreme. But I bet it was a while again before any girl in Hampton let herself get fucked in the gritty sand by a boy from far away who said love” (50). The crime she committed was getting pregnant at a young age. For that reason, everyone including her parents shunned Hall. Although town was filled with child abusers, public adultery, and parents incapable of taking care of their kids, for some reason getting pregnant at a young age was considered a lot worse. After Hall realized that she had a baby growing in her stomach, her motherly instincts kicked in and she stopped taking part in any gymnastics activity that may have put her unborn child in danger. Hall left gym one day and went into the locker room with her two best friends. She made the mistake of telling them that she is pregnant. She thought that they would help or support her but instead, without saying a word, her friends walked back out of the locker room into the gym. The abandonment of her friends foreshadowed the blame and shame that was coming for her from the community without clear warning. “It’s

Precious, a movie based on the book Push written by Sapphire, is an interesting movie directed by Lee Daniels. Precious can be easily analyzed using basic motivation and emotion theories in psychology. The movie is about Claireece "Precious" Jones and how she becomes a strong, independent woman after breaking through her curse of physical and sexual abuse which she has endured since she was three months old. At the beginning, Precious is physically and verbally abused by her mother. In addition, Precious was raped by her father multiple times and impregnated twice. After being kicked out of her school because she was pregnant, Precious willingly joins the Each One Teach One alternative school so she can improve her reading and writing

When you think of the word “poverty” or “poor” what comes to mind? Some think of hunger, minorities, dirty areas, women, and homeless people. What about when you hear the term “abuse”? For most people, abuse means physical; getting beat up or hit. Although abuse can mean getting beat up or hit, there is far more that follows. Abuse can take on many forms like physical, emotional or sexual. The film Precious by Lee Daniels, based on the novel Push by Sapphire, encounters not only the obvious sexual abuse but physical and emotional abuse as well. Precious starts off with Claireece Precious Jones, played by Gabourey Sidibe, at her school in Harlem. She is called to the office because the principal has found out she is pregnant…Again. Kicked

The Harlem Renaissance represents the rebirth and flowering of African-American culture. Although the Harlem Renaissance was concentrated in the Harlem district of New York City, its legacy reverberated throughout the United States and even abroad, to regions with large numbers of former slaves or blacks needing to construct ethnic identities amid a dominant white culture. The primary means of cultural expression during the Harlem Renaissance were literature and poetry, although visual art, drama, and music also played a role in the development of the new, urban African-American identity. Urbanization and population migration prompted large numbers of blacks to move away from the Jim Crow south, where slavery had only transformed into institutionalized racism and political disenfranchisement. The urban enclave of Harlem enabled blacks from different parts of the south to coalescence, share experiences, and most importantly, share ideas, visions, and dreams. Therefore, the Harlem Renaissance had a huge impact in framing African-American politics, social life, and public institutions.

As his year at Crenshaw progresses, he becomes more outspoken and passionate about equality in the education system when he witnesses the changes that would have an impact on his students. For instance, he writes a couple chapters about current situations during the time, such as the removal of affirmative action and how it will further place inner-city students at a disadvantage since it decreases their chances of college admissions and scholarship (122-7). Furthermore, he reveals how families in other areas are privileged racially and financially, such being able to afford extra preparation for standardized tests, hence giving them a higher chance for college admission (114-5). Also, while the book revolves on Crenshaw’s gifted students and teachers, Corwin becomes part of his own piece when he creates a personal bond with a few of them. For example, he writes about the times when he assisted Olivia, a senior who thrived in her classes while struggling to earn money and find a place she could call “home” as well as recently been arrested for forgery (11-4; 217). Furthermore, he also mentions the time where he substituted and taught the AP Literature class that his book revolved around, when the teacher, Toni Little, takes an extended leave out of frustration (316-8). It can be interpreted that his

I always found the 1920’s a very interesting decade as it went from a lively moment to a depressing and struggling one within a split second. Therefore, I believe that I learned all of the concepts pretty well. For instance, I learned about the Harlem Renaissance, the cause and effect of The Dust Bowl, and the lasting political argument of the New Deal in the United States. First of all, the Harlem Renaissance was a time period where African Americans began to embrace their roots and create art/works to reflect their experience living in US society. However, during the Great Depression many Americans were left unemployed. In addition to drastic unemployment rates, the environmental disaster, also known as the Dust Bowl, contributed to many

Claireece Precious Jones lives in an impoverished part of New York City with her mother, Mary and her daughter, Mongo. Mary stays in the apartment, smoking cigarettes and watching television while barking orders for Precious to tend to her needs. Their relationship is a deeply troubled one. It is evident that Precious has been physically, emotionally and sexually abused since she was a toddler. It appears that Mary may have experienced similar abuse and is simply repeating all that she has ever known. Mary seems incapable of defending her daughter from being repeatedly

The movie "Precious" is based on the adaptation of the book Push written by Sapphire. Though the story is a fiction based life of Claireece "Precious" Jones it is far from reality for many young women. Growing up in an environment that is filled with emotional, verbal, physical and sexual abuse along with crime infested neighborhoods and overcrowded public school and many other factors that pose a lot of challenges for a young girl in the inner city. Though the odd is against Precious she proves to possess a great deal of strength.