The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

          Arnold Spirit was not expected to live much past infanthood.  Beating the odds, he was left with a big head and big glasses and short in stature.  In spite of his ailments, he was a smart kid who caught the attention of one of his teachers.  When Mr. P told Arnold that he deserved better and ought to leave the reservation, his whole outlook changed, even his life.  Young Arnold may have been the first on an Indian “rez” to hear such encouragement.    He was exposed to all the traps of reservation life, the alcohol, the extreme poverty, miserable friends who needed company.  In spite of all the tragedy in his life, he found the courage to take that step, to a “better” life. 

            This kind of courage is tough even for adults to muster but Arnold did it as a freshman in high school.  He disappointed everyone in his life, his family, his friends, even the whole reservation.  Once at Reardan High School, he had to be looked at as different, a native-American in an all-white school.  It was at here that the big world began to open.  He met a beautiful girl, Penelope, a smart kid that could only make him smarter, Gordy, and many on the basketball team.  This is a very heartwarming story of kid taking a road never traveled, at least not for reservation Indians.  Just the frequent long walks to school and the difficulty of even getting there could’ve been enough to give up, losing his best friend, Rowdy, another reason. 

            He had so much sadness in his life, so much loss: his dog, his grandma, his sister, and Eugene.  He just kept plugging away.  It was very uplifting to have so many at the school express condolences for his sister, Mary.  This is a fruitful illustration of trying not to judge others, based on how they look, for everyone, in the majority or in the minority, not to be suspicious of those who are different.   We as teachers need to be an example of this to our students.  We need to be the first to look at all of our students the same, to let go of stereotypes.  We need to dare ourselves to tell a student words they might not have heard before, while we have them.