Heather Hansen “Week 3 Discussion”

After reading “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, I would title my essay “School-Blocked”. The children who had moved from the south to the north seemed to be left unattended by the other adults in their life and ran free in the streets of New York. A neighborhood women whom had went to college herself, “Miss Moore”, found it her due diligence to spread her knowledge to school these children on the block they grew up and played. In my essay I would write about how “Miss Moore”, reached them, as at first the children were weary of paying attention to her and were very opinionated of who she way. They made comments “This lady moved on our block with nappy hair and proper speech and no makeup”. (Toni Bambara 1). With her persistence the she was able find a way to engage the children. One of those ways included enticing them into a car with five dollars after teaching or schooling them about money. This sets their journey to the store where they see a large price tag for $1000 on a toy sailboat and even learn about a paper weight. I found the paper weight discussion interesting as it leads to another discussion as the children compare dynamics of their lives and only one of them has a desk. I would also highlight their nervousness to walk into the store and yet their excitement prior to entering while window shopping. My essay would be about reaching the youth of the street, simple acts and the big lessons learned through the teachings of Miss Moore.