“WHEN YOU LEAVE YOU MUST REMEMBER ALWAYS TO COME BACK…” -Esparanza, Pg 105 One of my goals in reading this summer is to try and learn about new cultures different from mine. It is SO easy in my upper middle class existence to ignore my privilege and pretend that everyone has the same reality as my family. However, as an educator, it is impossible to ignore that we all have different stories that bring us along in this world. My goal this summer is to read some new stories to gain a different perspective. To kick off this adventure, I read "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros. This book has been on my list for years and I decided it was a great way to start my summer.
Cisneros uses a series of vignettes to tell the coming of age story of Esperanza after her family moves into a modest house on Mango street. She tells the stories of the many colorful characters on the street and how they influence her through late childhood and into her teen years. The author weaves a beautiful thread of humanity through each story--you could relate to parts and pieces of all of them. My greatest take away from this story is that ALL of us have dreams but life throws challenges in the way that truly shape our stories. As an educator, it is imperative that I help kids name their dreams and help them find ways through the challenges to get there. As a woman, the challenges are greater and we have to share our stories of challenges to help others see that they too can overcome the hard parts. As a human, we need to learn peoples individual stories (there are many of them) to understand where they are coming from. This book is beautifully written and I particularly love the forward by Sandra Cisneros. They way she describes creating in her own "house" evoked my own feelings of creating in my office. Quirky belongings, sprawling out in my own thoughts, and dreaming of what comes next. It was beautiful!
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AuthorAlmost 40 and tired of the treadmill, I am going to LIVE each day as a new adventure while finishing todo items on my life list. Mom, wife, teacher, geek! Archives
May 2020
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