Journal Entry #6

Precious has now been at the alternative school for several days, and she loves it. She is reading at a second grade level, which is still extremely low for her age group. However, Ms. Rain makes the class write in their journal everyday. People often say, “if you can read, than you can write.” The class gets angry at her because they don’t seem to understand why they should write, if they can barely read. As I think about this tactic, I believe it is clever. I often don’t understand why teachers use the methods they do. However, I can see how this technique could be useful. It allows the learner to be more confident in their writing, although they will get frustrated. After the student writes in their journal, Ms. Rain translates what they were trying to write, under their entry. They are able to see the correct punctuation, spelling, and grammar they were supposed to use. She then responds to their entries. I am predicting that within several weeks, Precious will be able to read on a junior high school level. I am now beginning to see the meaning of the title, Push. All of Precious life she has had to “push”, she has to push through labor, push through her father’s sexual abuse, push through bullying, push to obtain her Pre-GED, and more importantly, push through her pain. Sadly, as good as it sounds, I don’t think her “pushing” is over yet. By reading through Precious struggles so far, I believe the theme is centered around pushing. If I were to make up a theme for this story, it would probably be about life and the hard obstacles we face. We come to the crossroads more than once in life, but it is up to us to push through these problems to see what life really has to offer. When we do this, we can finally feel the joy we need to live a more productive life.

Words: 330