pg. 131 # 2

Q: Alexie lists a variety of ways that Indian children failed inside of school but excelled outside of school. Using this list, consider what it meant to be "literate" not he Indian reservation where Alexie grew up. What literacy skills did the Indian children have that were not valued or seen inside of school. 

A: Alexie talks about how a smart Indian person is dangerous and feared by Indian's and non-indians alike. He says that Indian children were expected to be stupid. The Indian children struggled with basic reading in school and they were monosyllabic in front of their non-Indian teachers. The Indian children would duck their heads when confronted by a non-Indian adult. Outside of school they would remember how to sing a few dozen powwow songs. They would tell complicated stories and jokes at their dinner table at home. They would fight with Indian's who were 10 years older than them. Alexie said Indian children were supposed to fail in the non-Indian world, and those who failed were accepted by other Indians. Literate means to be able to read and write. I think on the Indian reservation, being literate, meant almost the complete opposite of its actual definition. The kids were expected to fail. They struggled to read simple words. Alexis read many books. He read books wherever he would go, and he was not accepted by many other children. He always fought with his classmates.