This poem was written by a 9th grade student from a south Boston high school. Read the poem and share your thoughts on the questions following.
You Have to Live in Somebody Else's Country to Understand by Noy Chou
What is it like to be an outsider? What is it like to sit in the class where everyone has blond hair and you have black hair? What is it like when the teacher says, "Whoever wasn't born here raise your hand." And you are the only one. Then, when you raise your hand, everybody looks at you and makes fun of you. You have to live in somebody else's country to understand. What is it like when the teacher treats you like you've been here all your life? What is it like when the teacher speaks too fast and you are the only one who can't understand what he or she is saving, and you try to tell him or her to slow down. Then when you do, everybody says, "If you don't understand, go to a lower class or get lost." You have to live in somebody else's country to understand. What is it like when you are an opposite? When you wear the clothes of your country and they think you are crazy to wear these clothes and you think they are pretty. You have to live in somebody else's country to understand. What is it like when you are always a loser. What is it like when somebody bothers you when you do nothing to them? You tell them to stop but they tell you that they didn't do anything to you. Then, when they keep doing it until you can't stand it any longer, you go up to the teacher and tell him or her to tell them to stop bothering you. They say that they didn't do anything to bother you. Then the teacher asks the person sitting next to you. He says, "Yes, she didn't do anything to her" and you have no witness to turn to. So the teacher thinks you are a liar. You have to live in somebody else's country to understand. What is it like when you try to talk and you don't pronounce the words right? They don't understand you. They laugh at you but you don't know that they are laughing at you, and you start to laugh with them. They say, "Are you crazy, laughing at yourself? Go get lost, girl." You have to live in somebody else's country without a language to understand. What is it like when you walk in the street and everybody turns around to look at you and you don't know that they are looking at you. Then, when you find out, you want to hide your face but you don't know where to hide because they are everywhere. You have to live in somebody else's country to feel it.
Published in 1986 by the Anti-Defamation League for the "A World of Difference" project.
Questions:
1. What groups and individuals are treated like outsiders in America? 2. What are the possible results or consequences when people feel like outsiders in their surroundings? 3. What did you learn from this experience and the poem that might help you to better understand the feelings of outsiders in the future? 4. How might you act differently toward someone when you recognize that s/he might be feeling like an outsider? 5. Select any passages or phrases that you feel are the most powerful. Explain your selections and why you thought they were potent or emotional.
Evaluation: For each of the questions answered, you will receive 10 points. You will receive 50 points for your reflection on the poem itself. Be as descriptive as possible. Thanks!
What groups and individuals are treated like outsiders in America? Hispanics are treated like outsiders because they cant speak English.
2. What are the possible results or consequences when people feel like outsiders in their surroundings? They might be antisocial because they dont click with the other students.
3. What did you learn from this experience and the poem that might help you to better understand the feelings of outsiders in the future? They have feeling and making fun of them isnt helping them learn and to understand they new country.
Max Montille 2/11/09C Period4.How might you act differently toward someone when you recognize that s/he might be feeling like an outsider? I will be nicer toward them and I will talk to them and even become their friend.5.Select any passages or phrases that you feel are the most powerful. Explain your selections and why you thought they were potent or emotional. What is it like to sit in the class where everyone has blond hair and you have black hair? They were emotional because there feel like a outsider because every one have the same hair color and you dont and he might feel like everyone is watching him.
1. What it like to be an outside is that people do not give me the same respect like regular american people. 2If everyone in the classroom have blond and I have black hair I will not care what color everyone hair color is. 3If the teacher said who was not born here so raise there hand I think she is racist to people who is not american. 4.If I have raise my hand and my classroom laugh at me It will bored me a little bit but they so respect becuase I am happy to be an outside where I was born. 5.What it like if the teacher treat me like If I was here all my life is that everyone will respect me more than being an outside. 6.What it like if the teacher speck to fast is that it is goint to be hard for me to understand because I just came form the dominican reepublic and it going to be hard to hear what they talking about. 7.What it like to be an loser is that it does not matter if you are an loser because in life you will always find love.
1.The group that are indivual and treated are Puerto Rico. 2. How their feel whne they are in there surronding is that they was to find life in american so that they can have an better life,family,education. 3.What I understand in this poem is that how the poem is true bacuse everything he ment in the poem still happenig today. 4.How I feel toward someone who is an outside I wil show them around what it like in the world of american. 5.That everyone have the right to be presindent of the United States this is my strong phases.
Anyone that isnt american is basically treated as an outsider they dont get accustomed to their surroundings and never get comfortable it shows in what ways people feel liek an outsider i would treat them more nicely and try to have them become comfortable
"What is it like when you try to talk and you don't pronounce the words right? " i thought they were emotional because i have expreienced that because im not that the U.S.
1. What groups and individuals are treated like outsiders in America? Many groups are. Americans can be, coming from different states or cities, and immigrants. 2. What are the possible results or consequences when people feel like outsiders in their surroundings? They tend to hate where they are, and want to leave, and develop stereotypes that all "insiders" are the same in disrespecting them in being an outsider. 3. What did you learn from this experience and the poem that might help you to better understand the feelings of outsiders in the future? Everyone treats people different for being an outsider, so from reading this, I'll try my best to avoid what the kid had to go through in the poem and others as well. 4. How might you act differently toward someone when you recognize that s/he might be feeling like an outsider? I might ask he or she where they're from and ask them how that was and such. 5. Select any passages or phrases that you feel are the most powerful. Explain your selections and why you thought they were potent or emotional. "What is it like when you try to talk and you don't pronounce the words right? They don't understand you. They laugh at you but you don't know that they are laughing at you, and you start to laugh with them. They say, "Are you crazy, laughing at yourself? Go get lost, girl." This passage is just about the girl pronouncing a word wrong, and no one understand what she just said so they being to laugh at her. She doesn't know what's going on so she laughs as well, but she's laughing at her self. I think this is the most powerful because I think this happens a lot more than anything else, and everyone, I believe, has done it.
1 puerto ricans are treated different beacause they can barely speak english.there are many moe to like everyone from outside this country are treated different.
2.The outsiders start feeling out of place and wanna move.
3.Reading this poem got me to realize to not judge a book by its cover and get to know a person.
4.I will try to get to know that person and become friends with them so they dont feel left out.
5.When you wear the clothes of your country and they think you are crazy to wear these clothes and you think they are pretty.You have to live in somebody else's country to understand.
People think you are crazy just for wearing your native clothing thats not right.
1. I beleieve that he is refering to all immagrants in general but mostly i think she is refering to those who have the most physical differences to most americans. 2. I think that this results in things like crime and more importantly hate. 3. i learned that i realy have no idea what its like. i get the intensity of the experience everytime i recieve an assignment but they have to face it everyday. 4. I will let them know that i am there and that i can sympathize with them as well as empathize and i will listen.
5. What is it like when you walk in the street and everybody turns around to look at you and you don't know that they are looking at you. Then, when you find out, you want to hide your face but you don't know where to hide because they are everywhere. You have to live in somebody else's country to feel it. i believe that this is most powerful passage because it shows the intensity of the experience like you are wearing a scarlet letter and everyone can see it. It shows the true fear by trying to hide your face [of which we see people do it all the time by doing things like dying their hair or perming it or facial reconstruction] and you know that you really cant not only because even if you did u feel as though everyone would know our secret but that they are even watching ou do it. to some extent this would even be more of an embaressment. i also liek the way she said "in the street" because it depicts all areas and life styles, its not being specific. this poem didn't specify because the whole point is that you really jsut dont know how it feels unless u are the one who is going through it. i also liek this section because to "feel" [in the last sentence] is the most important part of this whole experience not just to see it.
Questions: Poem 1. What groups and individuals are treated like outsiders in America? All immigrants and most Americans
2. What are the possible results or consequences when people feel like outsiders in their surroundings? Revolt against the government and innocent people
3. What did you learn from this experience and the poem that might help you to better understand the feelings of outsiders in the future? That we are all the same, we all have been discriminated so dont do it to the immigrants.
4. How might you act differently toward someone when you recognize that s/he might be feeling like an outsider? You help that person and dont make that person feel like and outsider. I would act in a way that would help that person.
5. Select any passages or phrases that you feel are the most powerful. Explain your selections and why you thought they were potent or emotional. "What is it like when the teacher speaks too fast and you are the only one who can't understand what he or she is saving, and you try to tell him or her to slow down. Then when you do, everybody says, "If you don't understand, go to a lower class or get lost." You have to live in somebody else's country to understand". -This passage make me mad, it makes people really thing about their opinion to others.-
