I read a lot. Usually I read bestselling novels, but I have a few favorite authors. Lately, I've been reading books that have been made into movies. I'm one of those people who has to read the book before I see the movie. So last week I bought Push by Sapphire. This was the book that was made into the movie Precious. I'm only halfway through the book, and I am absolutely saddened by what has happened to the protagonist of the book in just her short sixteen years.
A short synopsis:
The protagonist, Precious Jones, has been raped repeatedly since the second grade by her own father and mother. When she was twelve she gave birth to her first child (by her father) in the middle of her kitchen, while her mother kicked her in the head for "stealing her man." The baby was born with Down's Syndrome. Now, Precious is sixteen and pregnant with her second child (also by her father). Precious cannot read or write and has been kicked out of school for being pregnant. After she gives birth to her second child, she is kicked out of her house because she told a social worker that the first child is being raised by her grandmother, not her mother, thus ending her mother's welfare money. The only refuge that Precious has is the school that she is attending to bring up her reading and writing skills so that she can eventually get her GED.
I haven't even got to the part where Precious's mother comes to the halfway house to tell her that her father died of AIDS.
I think I've always known that stuff like this happens in America. I was told in high school that one of my classmates had HIV, but the teacher obviously couldn't tell us who. So I've known for a while that the world is cruel.
So what does this have to do with anything? I promise this post isn't a book review, nor is it a push to get other people to read the book, although I do think that more people should read it and open their eyes to the injustices that are possible in our society.
I guess my point is that I hope that none of my students is ever this bad off. No one deserves the stuff that happened to the main character.
I want my child to grow up knowing that bad things happen in the world. I just hope none of those bad things happen to her.
Becky,
ReplyDeleteI had to leave teaching for these very reasons. I am not a social worker. My campus became rife with situations that I could not handle or maybe didn’t “want” to handle.
I taught a boy, “Blake,” who was one such situation that was beyond my means. He was from a single-parent home whose mother worked a double-shift at night and then slept all day. He came to class with no supplies. I gave him a binder and other things during the year. He would lose them. He would ask questions about how to do PowerPoint--in 9th grade. During the last six weeks, I finally got in touch with his mother who had never seen his report cards.
I appreciate those of you who are still helping those kids in needs. I am thankful that I didn’t have to overcome such obstacles and I can’t imagine what type of person I would be if I had to do so. Thankfully, there is help for those who want to take the opportunity to seek out the help that they need.
Sheryl Floyd