Other People's Words By Victoria Purcell-Gates Character Analysis

Other People’s Words, written by Victoria Purcell-Gates, is a captivating story about an Appalachian family who are poorly educated. Jenny, the mother, is determined to give her child, Donny the best education that he can receive, even though she cannot read. She fights for justice in Donny’s school because he is not learning and the teachers still push him to the next grade level. Purcell-Gates meets a committed Jenny, who offers tutoring to both her and Donny. This tutoring continues for over two years in which both learn basic skills. Although Jenny grows in her learning and is able to read street signs, she still relies on others for help. While Jenny was growing in her reading and writing skills, Donny was uninterested in learning how

Because Donny is preliterate, there is much that he is unable to do in school, at home, or when he is traveling to the store. Donny is limited in what he can do but with over two years of help with Purcell-Gates, Donny grows as an individual in his learning. There were countless times where Donny struggled in school and no one helped him besides Purcell-Gates. Throughout his earlier years, Donny could not read at all, in which the text says, “Most of my friends around me could read. I just copied from their papers (pg. 66).” This is extremely sad but the reality that Donny lived in everyday of his life. Because of this, he struggled in school and since he could not read or barely write, he was unable to do most of the

I would make sure to know the backgrounds of my students so I would be able to see where they are in their written and reading abilities. By knowing their background, it shows that I am interested in what they know and how they have lived. It is also crucial that I know their interests, because this allows me to become more involved in what they like and dislike. I would make sure that my classroom would have simple words with pictures that would be easy access for them to look and practice reading. Similar to Purcell-Gates, I would make sure to check on my students everyday to see how they were improving. If this does not happen, then I will never know if they are struggling. Also, if students needed more time on their work, I would allow extra time so they would be able to finish it. This shows that I want them to take time to learn important concepts but that I care that they learn the material. Through these examples, there are other strategies that can be used that I could use within my