Discrimination In Sherman Alexie's Indian Education

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“Indian Education”
In “Indian Education”, Sherman Alexie stresses to his readers and audience the effects of discrimination within educational facilities. Sherman Alexie grew up in Wellpinit, Washington on the Spokane Reservation with his parents. Sherman’s father is a Coeur d’Alene Indian who married his mother, a Spoken Indian. Through his grade school years, Sherman endured teasing from his fellow classmates and disapproval from his school teachers when he exceeded their expectations. It wasn’t until high school that Sherman realized that his educational opportunities were limited compared to the white race. This pushed Sherman to make the decision of attending a nearby farm town high school in the town of Reardon. However, during his high school years, the factor of discrimination was present as Sherman tried to build his education.
Sherman Alexie decided to share his experiences of discrimination within education by recounting the events through Victor, the protagonist of “Indian Education.” The presence of discrimination began in his second grade class with his teacher, Betty Towle. Betty Towle …show more content…

One recent case is a first grade teacher who was allegedly punched a Pit River tribe student in a Northern California district (Dadigan). This incident took place when the first grade student, Uchi Gali Garcia, was standing at his desk after his teacher told the students to sit down. When Uchi did not immediately sit down at his teacher’s demand, the teacher punched Uchi in the arm leaving a contusion on his arm (Dadigan). However, when the incident was brought up to the authorities, three deputies talked to Uchi about “telling lies”. In this situation discrimination can be seen in the act of the teacher hitting the student and the authorities assuming the student was lying about the

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