Sherman Alexie Book Response

            Sherman Alexie’s works are definitely not uncommon to teachers around the Washington area.  His book The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian takes place in our own back yard of Washington on the Spokane Indian Reservation.  What Sherman Alexie offers in this book is an in-depth look at the obstacles and daily struggles thrown at Native kids both off and on the reservation.  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian opens up the reader to the ideas and themes of identity and where an outsider belongs.  In my opinion, this book is a “must read” for anyone who has never read a Sherman Alexie novel before.

            One part in this book that bothered me is Junior’s teacher Mr. P.  After Mr. P distributes textbooks to all the students, Junior notices that the name written inside the book is his mothers.  This infuriates Junior because this means that the school is so underfunded that they’ve resolved having to recycle outdated texts and reusing them to teach their students.  In a fit, Junior throws his text at Mr. P; breaking Mr. P’s nose.  Junior gets suspended and Mr. P visits him at his home.  Mr. P explains that just like Junior’s sister, Mary, Junior is a smart kid and has potential to live a happy life.  However, to do so, Mr. P encourages him to leave the school on the reservation.  Mr. P basically admits that he has given up hope on Junior.  This infuriates me because I believe that no teacher should discourage students or tell them to just “give up.”  This scene in the book was a teachable moment for me because it shows that there are some teachers who give up on their students.  To me, that’s not an option.

            As a future educator, I believe that this book can be beneficial in a classroom as it can help teach kids about race and cultural differences and begs the question “how do we treat others who are different than us?” and analyze the binary “us” vs “them.”  Although I believe that this book can be beneficial in the classroom, it may be difficult to get administrative approval to pass this book into the curriculum.  The book does include offensive language and obscene gestures.  The book also includes death, alcoholism, domestic violence, and self-destructive behavior that students may already be exposed to but parents may not want their students to read about. 

            The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian could be taught in a more open-minded and liberal district.  So long as the students and parents keep an open mind to the ideas provoked from the novel.