While the books I read as a child lacked diversity in the strict sense, they didn't lack values. Reading, I didn't see me externally, but I felt me - my humanity.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of values in literature, suggesting that personal connection and humanity can transcend diversity.
Jewell Parker Rhodes reflects on her childhood reading experiences, noting that while the books may not have represented a diverse range of characters or backgrounds, they still instilled important values. She highlights that the essence of reading is not solely about external representation, but rather about connecting to universal human experiences and emotions, allowing one to feel a sense of humanity that transcends race and identity.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the role of literature in shaping values during childhood.
Do you wish to learn? There are books that can teach you anything, and there is no cheaper form of education, nor one whose effects are more lasting. My education came from books, and they have been my companions by many campfires, in bunkhouses, ships' forecastles, in hotels and on planes. No matter where you find me, I am never far from a book.
In the universities, cheap, vulnerable labor means adjuncts and graduate students.
... there is no valid teaching from which there does not emerge something learned and through which the learner does not become capable of recreating and remaking what has been taught.
America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce in the world.
When our students fail, we, as teachers, too, have failed.
I studied psychology in school, and the best psychology is in literature. It's so much easier to understand a character than a theory. You can recognize yourself—or other people—in a different way.
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