Summary Of The Lesson By Toni Cade Bambara

One summer a group of children and their teacher visited a different side of town. Trying to teach them what education and class can do for them and making sure they learn their lesson by going far in their dreams. The story “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, explains that with education a person is capable of doing anything and going far from where a person stands. The main characters in the story know as Sylvia, learns her lesson that she can go far from where she stand. The other main character Ms. Moore, the teacher in the story teaching the group of children to dream big and that anything is possible if they put effort to it and it does not matter where you come from. Ms. Moore takes the group of children on a trip to the other side of

Moore, a weathy independent lady and teacher showing her passion to teach the children to go far beyond the slums. The children dislike Ms. Moore because she has a college degree and sees her as better than them. The author explains “The only woman on the block with no first name. And she was black as hell, cept for her feet, which were fish-white and spooky. And she was always planning these boring-ass things for us to do” (385). Ms. Moore is last name is descired as wanting to do more. That she wants to teach the students more and they can do more. It is in the hands of the young students to change their own communtiy. The author says “She been to college and said it was only right that she should take responsibility for the young ones’ education” (385). She takes them to a field trip on a summer to the other side of town to show them how they live and a toy store where they are inspire by wanting more in

Schwarz store that is on the other side of the town where all the weathy and rich people live. The children stand outside the toy store looking though the window. They all see these toys, they do not have and they stare at the price tags knowing they do not have enough money for those expensive toys. The narrator explains “So she leads us around the windows of the toy store and me and Sugar screamin, ‘This is mine, that’s mine, I gotta have that, That was made for me, I was born of that’” (387). The F.A.O. Schwarz is showed as extravagance and wealth they never seen. Sylvia is feeling uncomfortable like she does not belong there and wondering why she feels that way it was just a toy store. The narrator explains “But I feel funny, shame. But what I got to be be shamed about? Got as much right to go in as anybody. But somehow I cant seem to get hold of the door, so I step away for sugar to lead. But she hangs back too” (389). They both look at each other not being able to open the door of the store. They have never been shy to do anything until they are shown the class of what others