Chapter3

This chapter was extremely interesting to me. I find that the struggle that the students have with their identity has created a vicious circle. First, they realize that they are different, whether it be their skin color, their nationality, the language they speak, etc. Then, they realize that the majority of other people are different from them also. This in turn leads them to conform with a group of others who are the same as them, further pushing their differences from the others around them. It's so sad. Why can't this school just get along and accept that everyone is different from each other in unique and interesting ways? The school could seriously just benefit if the racism would stop and the students would accept eachother and learn from each other. In this chapter it explains that the students always say they all get along, but then they do not act like it. Reading this story makes me want to go to this high school, grab the kids by the shoulders, and shake them while saying, "What's wrong with you?!"

The next concept I found quite interesting about the struggle the students have with their identity, is the notion of "white-washing" or being a wannabe. White-washing means that the students are trying to act white, and acting white includes the following behaviors:

-bringing a backpack to class

-bringing books to class

-trying to do well in class

-getting help or asking questions in class

-speaking English instead of the home language

I have no idea where they came up with these ideas! Basically what they are saying, is if you try to do well in school then you are acting white? That makes no sense at all. It saddens me that so many of the kids are discouraged about continuing higher education after high school. And what blew my mind is that so many teachers have told them to "not even bother" or that "you can never have the grades to go". Maybe what the teachers should realize is that it is because this notion of "white-washing" that students do so poorly in school. They think it's cool if they are in the Skills track of the school because being in the college prep track, they are only placed with white or asian students, with few black and latinos in that category.