Walter Dean Myers’ Bad Boy chronicles his childhood and his most memorable moments that led to his career as a writer. Growing up in Harlem in the 1940s and 1950s, Myers constantly struggled with racial issues and financial problems. His unconventional interests for young boys gradually made him feel isolated from the rest of the world, with his only escape being in the books he read and the poems and stories he wrote. In addition, he was bullied due to a speech problem that he has so, when someone would tease him, he would fight them to defend himself. Although he was a very smart child, his constant recklessness and knack for getting into trouble gave him a bad reputation. Myers came from a poor family, so he had to find ways to entertain himself that did not involve money. By participating in neighborhood games of basketball and other sports, he became a very strong young man. He grew at a very rapid pace and was six feet tall when only in the fourth grade. He found immense joy in reading and writing because he was able to find himself in a whole different world where everything was different and more interesting. However, when he had to read in class, he …show more content…
His teachers were not pleased with his behavior and constantly had to send notes home to his mother and punish him in class. Nevertheless, his teachers noticed that his grades were excellent, especially in English. He was placed into a gifted class that was very fast-paced and intensive so that he could have the opportunity to challenge himself. Unfortunately, the class was also very unruly. The school decided to terminate the gifted program because his class was not performing any better, especially behavior-wise. He then went on to attend a high school for smarter and higher achieving students, but stopped showing up because he felt behind. He just wanted to read and write all