ENGL 1001 Chapter : Indian
Santiago Alvarez 047 August 30, 2016
Is the education system in this country corrupt? Does the system have it already set up for
us to fail at school? Many people have different opinions and beliefs about this. The education
system in this country is beneficial yet corrupt. Minorities and young children have it harder than
the typical Caucasian students and that can be debated as the truth. Today, we see racial
problems in our society that clearly translate into our schools. Many kids get stereotyped for
being the color or race still, even if it is just a “joke” to other students. Also, there are children
that attend school and no one even bats an eye that they are being neglected or facing hardships
in their own household. Unfortunately, even if people did see it, no one does anything to stop it
due to limited resources and funds.
In Indian Education and The Sanctuary of School, the stories protagonists are 2 children,
Alexie and Lynda. They both face difficulties in school and at home. Like Lynda, Alexie faces
problems at home with his family being poor and eventually his family starts to fight and drink
due to problems they are experiencing. Lynda's family is having problems with family members
always staying at their house because they have no where else to go and money has become
scarce in their household. Both children go to their schools to receive a education so that
eventually they can do something better with their life's besides stay in the town of reserve they
are in like the rest. Alexie and Lynda had a teacher in their childhood that actually cared for them
and motivated them. For Alexie, Mr.Shluter told Alexie that he should become a doctor so that
eventually he could come back to the tribe and help people in need. Alexie felt confidence with
this and told himself he would. For Lynda, going to school and seeing Mrs.LeSane gave her a
safety feeling and a relief. Her teacher would let her draw in the class and that would help Lynda
escape her stress from home. For Lynda, Mrs.LeSane was like a angel that was their for her
when she went unnoticed in her own house. Lastly, both students felt neglected at school too.
Although they were happy there, the school system was meant for them to fail and no care for its
children.
Both of the students had very different experiences at school though. Alexie went to a Indian
school since the very first year and he remembers he would be bullied for his skin and the
students would harass him all the time for doing “white” people things when they had never seen
a white person before. He would go on and face obstacles with teachers harassing him too and
telling him that he needs to not be who he wants but be what they tell him to be. He would then
move to a public school starting seventh grade and it got better in some ways but he was still a
little discriminated but ended up being a valedictorian and going on to succeed unlike his Indian
friends. Lynda on the other hand, she used school as an escape to the tough life she was living in
at her own house. She would come to school happy to be able to see her teacher and draw her
favorite images on paper. She was not bullied or affected in school unlike Alexie but she was
facing problems at home.
After reading and analyzing both stories, I see some problems like this in my past school, even
though they were amazing schools. With Lynda's side, people in their houses are facing
problems with money and parents and they feel invisible. With Alexie’s story, there is still
discrimination with people that are minorities because all they do is get stereotyped for what they
hear on the news, the country they are from or just being plain out racist to them.
Document Summary
Many people have different opinions and beliefs about this. The education system in this country is beneficial yet corrupt. Minorities and young children have it harder than the typical caucasian students and that can be debated as the truth. Today, we see racial problems in our society that clearly translate into our schools. Many kids get stereotyped for being the color or race still, even if it is just a joke to other students. Also, there are children that attend school and no one even bats an eye that they are being neglected or facing hardships in their own household. Unfortunately, even if people did see it, no one does anything to stop it due to limited resources and funds. In indian education and the sanctuary of school, the stories protagonists are 2 children, They both face difficulties in school and at home.
