ColemanReadingResponse7

1) Joseph Laycock is a high school teacher in Atlanta. His students were known as "at risk" students, predominately low income and of different races. His students take interest in the martial arts he studies. Laycock finds ways to connect his gym experience to the history he teaches. He gets asks questions such as, "Why are you a teacher instead of a professional fighter?" and "Have you ever beat anyone up?" When he responds no, the students give a range of reactions. He does this because with all the new changes in the teaching structure and focus on standardized tests, "students need a teacher who is willing to fight, " he says. He is training for "battle" of his everyday life. I really enjoyed listening to this excerpt. I liked how Laycock made all the connections to his martial arts with his everyday struggles and showed the reader that he takes the lessons he learns from this activity and applies them to his everyday life.

2) Michael Oatman believes education can change a persons life completely. This was his way of changing his own life. Dramatic plays have replaced strip pole dancing for himself. He wonders what happened to the old version of himself and how he changed to the person he has become. When he was "on the streets" he thought he was nothing and could become nothing but he wrote one poem that changed his life. Oatman let go of his old life in hopes of bettering his new one. He learned to fight about different things such as racism and political issues. He wants to become a teacher one day. He believes in the changes that an education can allow a person to make. Education completely changed his life. I really like how Oatman changed his life. He realized the path he was headed and wanted more. He saw where he could have ended up, dead like his friends, if he had not have changed when he did. I think being open to change is a really important part of life.

3) This story shows how you can overcome something if you have patience and the willpower. The Nona was illiterate and received no schooling. She left all her family behind to come to America. After arriving she was forced to change everything she knew. She was forced to convert her religion, she learned 5 languages and learned how to work with numbers. She has worked at a fabric store for 40 years. This shows her commitment and dedication. Her faith helped her through all the hardships she has faced. Patience and endurance were two things she believed in that helped her through as well. This reading was encouraging to never give up. It showed that when you struggle, things can get better and that we can really do anything we set our minds too.