The book that I am currently reading, Always Running by Luis J. Rodriguez, is really good so far. He started the book off with an introduction, as well as a preface. In them he explained the reason why he wrote the book, to share his experience with his son who joined a gang (like he did when he was young), as well as spread the truth on these topics so that they are no ignored and the many people and friends he has seen die will not be forgotten. In the first chapter, he talks about his life which is constantly moving from place to place since they are poor family of 6. His father is constantly looking for jobs, and they move with him since they know that life is better here in the U.S. than it would be in Mexico. Also while they move back and forth, the main character, nicknamed grillo (cricket), is constantly being beat up by his brother and any neighbor he comes across. It is also revealed that him and his brother are constantly harassed by older white kids.
This was very sad to read because its hard to imagine that this was the norm back then: judging people by their race, ethnicity, or skin color and then treating them as if they were inferior. What did these 9 year old boys do to them exactly? They were Mexicans walking in their neighborhood. Luckily today this has changed greatly, but prejudices and racist minds are still among our society. However, in school students today are taught to have open minds and consider things from all points of views. This is taught by the teachers, and is prevalent everyday in the classroom as most of my fellow classmates could agree. Because we are exposed to many cultures everyday, this has created a very empathetic generation.We are able to view things from all perspectives and have learned to see both the good and bad in everything and keep open mindsets. Hopefully, one day this next generation, us, will be able to eliminate such ignorant mindsets so that we can finally achieve peace and kindness for all.
I am definitely enjoying my book in the comfort of my home. This is fun for me to read because as I am Mexican as well, I am able to recognize similar cultural aspects, like having big families, and Spanish is also used throughout the autobiography in sayings that I myself have heard from my parents, as well as similarities in the way Mexican parents talk to their children. I am not using any reading strategies because although this is non-fiction, it reads like a story. Because of this, it is easy to stay engaged while reading. I am currently slightly behind on my reading schedule (whoops) but I will definitely catch up this weekend and even (TRY to) get a jump on next week's reading.
This was very sad to read because its hard to imagine that this was the norm back then: judging people by their race, ethnicity, or skin color and then treating them as if they were inferior. What did these 9 year old boys do to them exactly? They were Mexicans walking in their neighborhood. Luckily today this has changed greatly, but prejudices and racist minds are still among our society. However, in school students today are taught to have open minds and consider things from all points of views. This is taught by the teachers, and is prevalent everyday in the classroom as most of my fellow classmates could agree. Because we are exposed to many cultures everyday, this has created a very empathetic generation.We are able to view things from all perspectives and have learned to see both the good and bad in everything and keep open mindsets. Hopefully, one day this next generation, us, will be able to eliminate such ignorant mindsets so that we can finally achieve peace and kindness for all.
I am definitely enjoying my book in the comfort of my home. This is fun for me to read because as I am Mexican as well, I am able to recognize similar cultural aspects, like having big families, and Spanish is also used throughout the autobiography in sayings that I myself have heard from my parents, as well as similarities in the way Mexican parents talk to their children. I am not using any reading strategies because although this is non-fiction, it reads like a story. Because of this, it is easy to stay engaged while reading. I am currently slightly behind on my reading schedule (whoops) but I will definitely catch up this weekend and even (TRY to) get a jump on next week's reading.