The Importance Of Education In Bodega Dreams

What is expected of us is learned shortly after birth. You never talk back to your parents, you respect your elders, if you are a lady you cross your legs, a curse word never left your mouth, and you certainly never questioned “why” things were the way they were, or why the rules are the rules. Personally, I had to go to church every Sunday, I was never allowed to stain or dirty my clothes for any reason, I was told to always respect adults (even if they were in the wrong), and that an education is the most important thing that you can have in your lifetime. My upbringing was much different than some of my friends. Being raised with different standards can lead to feeling inadequate, or at even at odds within a society that tells us we should

These kids have grown up their whole lives being told that because they are Hispanic they are not as good as white people, and that there is essentially no place for them in the work force. A teacher, Mr. Blessington, challenges them to become greater than what is expected of them, and his snarly cocky attitude causes the message to go over their head. They are not used to someone telling them that they can do whatever they put their mind to, instead of them seeing Mr. Blessington telling them that they were “going to go to jail” or “end up hooking” as a challenge to do better, they see is as yet another Caucasian telling them that they are worthless. Mr.Tapia is a teacher who does try to teach his students that they are greater than what is expected of them, but unfortunately the message means nothing to them, especially a young Sapo who seems to have a very similar fate to the character in “Hardrock returns to prison”. In “Hardrock returns to prison” we are faced with a hard criminal who is known for his ‘no bullshit’ attitude. Society feared him because he was such a tyrant. Instead of someone taking the time to understand why he is so torn up on the inside, they saw him as a threat and gave him a lobotomy instead. Society is scared of things that they cannot understand. Instead of valuing HardRock’s no bullshit attitude they used it against him. Someone that was once a powerful

Some people feel the color of their skin puts them at odds against society, and there are others that are put at odds by society simply because of the family they were raised in. In “Ranch Girl” we meet a character that grows up on a ranch. She is intelligent but is raised in a town where education is not considered as important as events like the rodeo. She has a father who is so engulfed in his work that his daughter takes on more of the parental role. She lives in a simple world where life’s biggest worries were who was going to be up on the hill that weekend. Although she is an intelligent young woman, she lets the fear of a big world around her let her stay within the small town she was raised. She is small-minded because of her upbringing and believes that she is not good enough to attend the same schools that the upper class attends, although she has the grades to qualify. If the society that the Ranch Girl lived in where to put more value and emphasis on an education instead of the rodeo, Ranch Girl may of found a drive to go to school more important than the drive to date a rodeo