Señor Bravo was a quirky freshman-level Spanish teacher who always managed to brighten his students’ days. The man always came into class with a gleaming smile and a different and eccentric tie on his neck every day. His teaching style, speaking habits, and gentlemanly mannerisms were concrete evidence of his old age. His class was less about learning Spanish and revolved more around passing on the important lessons he amassed from his lifetime. He preached about how smoking was one of the biggest regrets and often told cautionary tales about his rebellious youth in Spain. “I am only telling you these stories so that you guys can avoid the mistakes I’ve made in the past,” he warmly told his classes. Señor Bravo’s iconic catchphrase was “That’s the way the cookie crumbles, Mr. Scrumble.” He pulled out that line in the most random situations & was often questioned behind the meaning of the line. …show more content…
Bravo? Why does the cookie crumble? Who the hell is Mr. Scrumble?” the puzzled class asked, but Señor Bravo only responded with a chuckle before brushing off the topic. While the other classmates started debunking it as “just a saying without meaning,” I spent the entirety of freshman year pondering over it. It couldn’t be “just a phrase” because Señor Bravo put so much emphasis and emotion every time he delivered his line. I found myself in deep thought over the inner machinations behind Señor Bravo’s quote whenever I wasn’t occupied with school work or play, whether it be in the bathroom or in bed on a sleepless
young. Vicente was poor, but he wanted to achieve something greater, like money or fame: “He had been an ambitious boy 60 years ago… there was not much for a Spaniard to do in his country of Spain” (Wuorio 158). He was dissatisfied with his living conditions and he eagerly wanted to ...
...se kids to me? You can’t communicate with them. Is there anybody here that can speak Spanish?” (Pg. 71) After seeing all that, all throughout his school years Francisco decides to drop out of high school because he felt that school was not worth it. Just like the title says I get nothing out of school. He leaves, but first he tells his teacher “Big deal! You call yourself a teacher! I can communicate in two languages. You can only communicate in one, who’s the teacher, teach? (Pg. 78) Francisco tells the teacher exactly how he feels toward teachers. There were teachers who judged him and ignored him, teachers who only used him, but never really cared about him. He at the end knew he had the power to help others and also had the resources. As Francisco continues his path, he finds out that the only way to become someone, and help his people is through good education.
Rodriguez believed that although he experienced a drastic physical changed, his mental state stayed the same. He states that, “After that summer, a great deal-and not very much really-changed in my life. The curse of physical shame was broken by the sun; I was no longer ashamed of my body. No longer would I deny myself the pleasing sensations of my maleness.” Richard Rodriguez has finally accepted himself as who he is after his hard work at his summer job. In his essay, he uses imagery to show who he became when he wrote, “The torso, the soccer player’s calves and thighs, the arms of the twenty-year-old I never was, I possess now in my thirties.” He urges the reader to indulge in their body work and to change their body for their personal likings and not for others. Rodriguez depicts a moment in life when he visited a school in the ghetto. He says that, “Ghetto girls mimic high-fashion models. Their dresses are of bold, forceful color; their figures elegant, long; the stance theatrical. Boys wear shirts that grip at their overdeveloped muscular bodies… Bad nutrition does not yet tell.” He states this to show how the youth are taking advantage of what they were born with and have yet to accept themselves without being flashy or trying to mimic others that they believe look better than
Junot Diaz’s “Otravida, Otravez” postulates a perspective of life where one’s present and future always reflects their past in some way. Diaz incorporates symbolic figures to convey how a person’s past can be carried into the future. Diaz’s use of symbolic figures includes the dirty sheets washed by Yasmin, the letters sent by Virta to Ramon, and the young girl who begins working with Yasmin at the hospital. These symbolic figures and situations remind the readers that the past will always play a major role in one’s present. Additionally, Diaz’s word choice, where Spanish words appear in many different parts of the reading, suggests that indirectly, one’s past habits are not easily broken.
For example, Rodriguez reveals that all this time he was not learning he was resembling his teachers actions in order to learn. He was not accomplishing knowledge or anything at all. He was only memorizing on how to be the teachers rather than himself. He had no self identity of his own how could he if he enjoyed the fact he got to use the behaviors of his teachers and apply them to himself. To him being like his teachers was a great victory that he had won because he look up to them so much that he idolized them. He would even stay after school “ to get help”, from the teachers, but in reality he only wanted their full undivided attention “I began by intimidating their accents, using their diction, trusting their every direction. The very first facts they dispensed, I grasped with awe. Any book they told me to read , I read- then waited for them to tell me which books I enjoyed. Their every causal opinion I came to adopt and to trumpet when I returned home” (Rodriguez 198). Knowledge is being accessed by mocking the teacher 's identity in order to grasp their knowledge. Rodriguez then uses it as his own way of learning, but he is only reflecting the teacher knowledge and not his. He believes the teachers are the only ones who are able to give him an education and better him. However he lacks knowledge because he is only obtaining his teacher’s level of knowledge he is not going beyond and seeing what in reality he is capable of
Education is a topic that can be explored in many ways. Education is looked at in depth by both Richard Rodriguez in his essay, “The Achievement of Desire”, and by Paulo Freire in his essay, “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education.” After reading both essays, one can make some assumptions about different methods of education and exactly by which method Rodriguez was taught. The types of relationships Rodriguez had with his teachers, family and in life were affected by specific styles of education.
After the disappearance of Mrs.Starch, Smoke appeared at school. He was clean and dressed nice, nobody even recognize him after that change. Some kids thought that “It’s got to be an imposter”(p.105). At first he was all bad and he had an thing with fire but now he is a totally different person. Mrs. Starch, a biology teacher was strict and never missed a day of school. She took “care of a baby panther”
With assertive shouts and short tempers, the prominent character, Ricardo, is characterized as a feisty townsman, doing nothing except trying to protect his town and its members from the judgments of the western world. For example, the characterization of the “‘…quaint’” man is exemplified through the simplicity of his life and the fact that he is “‘…employed’” and is full of knowledge, not a “‘cow in the forest’” (55, 29, 32). Ricardo desperately wants to establish the notion that he is not a heartless, feebleminded man, only an indigent, simple man striving to protect his friends and family from the criticisms of callous cultures. Incessantly Ricardo attempts to make it clear to the photographer the irritation elicited by his prese...
Jimmy Santiago Baca’s poem “Green Chile” describes a personal experience growing up with a staple food of the Southwest tradition. In the 3 stanzas and 45 eloquent lines, Baca uses symbolism through red and green chile peppers. The red chile peppers symbolize strength and progression and are also the peppers the author prefers. On the other hand, the green chilies represent youth, which are Baca’s grandmother's favorite. Both the red and green chilies are differentiated by the flavor and taste to tell a story of Baca and his history of growing up with his grandmother.
Gina Valdes in her poem English con Salsa used many literary techniques. One of them was humor and throughout the poem it is used greatly. An example of it starts in the beginning where the po...
...and walked home.” Collins contrasts the students’ misbehavior with the teacher’s ignorance, thus implying a relationship between the history teacher’s inability to teach his students and their ensuing misbehavior.
García, Márquez Gabriel. "Un Señor Muy Viejo Con Alas Enormes." Todos Los Cuentos. Bogotá: Editorial Oveja Negra, 1986. 215-21. Print.
Writer wants to show readers that importance of education in order to get the knowledge of real life value. Bambara illustrates the degree of perception of the world before the lesson as "Back in the days when everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish and me and Sugar were the only ones just right"(317). People understand the cost of the world after comparing the values and they get more experience. The author also shows different types of pride, the types of leadership, and the ways people form as a group during the life lesson.
In rejecting his family, Rodriguez “abstracted from immediate experiences” and often isolated himself to focus on his studies trusting that it would pay off in the future (Rodriguez 532). As he approached the age of thirty as a graduate, he wondered about the reasons for his academic success and came to this epiphany: “A primary reason for my success in the classroom was that I couldn't forget that schooling was changing me and separating me from the life I enjoyed before becoming a student,” (Rodriguez 516). As Freire suggests in his theory, Rodriguez was aware he was distancing himself from his family and accepted that it was essential to repress his “embarrassing” family as a part of the effort to free and find himself. In his mistake, he fled his family to pursue a false education that Freire maimed as the “banking concept.” Instead of properly educating himself, he only did what was necessary to appear as a good student. For example, Rodriguez read to earn extra credit and to be praised by his teachers, but never stopped to comprehend the text. In his case, he sacrificed the connection with his family only to pursue an education that would not educate him or help him discover
When Paco graduated from the University of New Haven he received a degree in Communication and a concentration in film. He spent most of his free time either watching movies or drawing. Paco was observed agreeing to attempt to try new games and experiences during the observation. This willingness to try new things is an essential part of his personality and is partially how he is able to adapt so well to a group of people whom he has just met.