Humanities Based Text

I have learned a lot through reading the Humanities Based Textbook. In high school we learned about different countries and their problems with education, crime, poverty, politics, rights, and all sorts of issues. But we did not really focus on the parts of the United States that were living in poverty. I did not know about East St. Louis until I read about it in class. I am really glad that we read savage inequalities because it opened my eyes to how much more I should really give to others through volunteer and donations. I could make a huge difference if I just tried harder to help places like East St. Louis. I knew that there were places in the United States that were in poverty, I just never actually studied it before in a classroom setting. But I did go on a work tour to Clarksdale Mississippi to help build houses in their town about a year and a half ago. I think that I and everyone else should do more volunteer work like a work tour because anyone can really do it as long as they can give up a few days of their time.
The other Humanities Based Text short story that I thought was really interesting was learning to read and write. I had never really thought about what it would be like to never have the opportunity to read. I can’t imagine what it was like for slaves like Douglass to have to work so hard to try to get secret help in order to learn how to read. It just amazes me because there are kids who refuse to do their homework and never take advantage of the great learning opportunity we have in the United States. This short story made me really appreciate all of the learning opportunities that I have had throughout my education. I hope that there will be more opportunities for people in other countries around the world to become literate because it opens up a so many more chances for a better life.
The third short story that had an impact on me was Translations. I saw the play Translations at my school junior year. I really like it and thought it was very interesting. But when I read it this semester it impacted me in a different way. Before I did not really put myself in their position and understand how hard it must have been for them. I cannot even imagine having some other country come into America and take it over, and then proceed to change the names of all of the places I have grown up with and loved. It would make me very angry and I would not know how to stop it. Also the idea of hedge schools seems like it would be a lot of work and I would get fed up with having to keep the secret and not being able to go to a real school that I was used to.
The fourth part of the Humanities based text that I thought was really interesting was the poem by Langston Hughes. I am really not a fan of poetry and I have never been. I can remember back in 5th grade English class when my teacher wanted us to write poems all the time. I could never do it and whenever I did write a poem I did not think it was good and pretty much never gave poetry a chance. I had to write poems throughout middle school and high school but I never really enjoyed to read them or to write them myself. But when I read the poems by Langston Hughes I thought they were really good. They are really unique and I like how he uses really unique adjectives throughout his entire poems. I also like how they are short and to the point. I am sure that he has longer poems but the two that I read were short and sweet and really made me appreciate him as a writer. Overall, Savage Inequalities, Learning to Read and Write, Translations, and the poems by Langston Hughes were all very appropriate choices for our English class and I am really glad that we got to read them this semester.