Audre Lorde's essay

Audre Lorde is able to "show her readers" what her teachers were like with many experiences she describes in detail.

Her mother was the one who taught her the discipline she needed in the household. She still proved to be a bit rambunctious, but she knew she did not want to disappoint her mother by getting into trouble. She describes this with many examples of ear pinching, arm pinching, and leaving bruises. She lets the readers know the amount of control the parents had over their daughters when it came to school.

 Audre's first encounter with wanting to read came from a woman who can be considered "her teacher" as well. This librarian sparked an interest in Audre as a young girl. She describes how she felt "sold on reading for the rest of her life".  That makes me wonder if she would have found out she was good at it had she not met this woman, Mrs. Baker. Would she have spoken at that age had she not heard the stories?

When Audre was first placed into Kindergarten, she had been doing some at home schooling with her mother prior to attending school. She entered the class with more knowledge than other students and her teacher reacted with negative and what I consider hurtful comments. She belittled Audre for the skill she had already possessed. She makes the audience see that the teacher had not really given her a chance to show her capabilities. Maybe because she was in a class for children who were slightly challenged by their sight problems, the teacher thought she should not have had those qualities with writing yet.

Her teacher in the catholic school is described as ruling "with an iron hand in the shape of a cross" Sister Mary of Perpetual Help ran her classroom with very religious and controlling techniques, often seen in a catholic school. Audre provides evidence that the teacher did not give Audre the recognition she should have for her abilities. She was struggling with her numbers and there is nothing in the story that says this Sister did any extra helping to get Audre up to par on number recognition. She was accused of not doing her own work and the Sister MPH, only believed young Audre once her parents stepped forth and proved her innocence.

I see many descriptions throughout the reading that show me what kind of teachers young Audre was faced with. It seems very challenging in comparison with our young kindergartners experience these days. We are now in a much more encouraging and nurturing environment from K-12.