PUSH is the story of Claireece Precious Jones and her heartbreaking account of her life for two years. The story gives detailed accounts of the physical, sexual and mental abuse Precious faces from her father, mother, and the strangers she encounters on a daily basis. Although the story starts when Precious is 16, we find out that at 12 years old, Precious had a child with Down Syndrome. The father of her child is her own father. We soon come to find out that Precious is again pregnant by her father.
Precious then begins to go to an alternative school where she finally encounters a teacher who cares about her. Ms. Rain sees the potential in her students and isn’t willing to give up on them. She works with the class to support them both in and out of the classroom. Precious ends up being kicked out of her mother’s house and living at a half-way house where she gets the support she needs to further pursue her education.
By the end of story, we begin to see how Precious is starting to realize the potential she has. She begins to set goals for herself and see what the future just might hold.
About the Author:
Sapphire, born Ramona Lofton, is an author and performance poet living in New York City. Born into an Army family, Lofton’s mother left her siblings and father when she was in her early teens. Sapphire dropped out of high school but moved to San Francisco to attend San Francisco City College in the early 1970’s. Some sources say Sapphire graduated with an associate’s degree, while others claim she too dropped out of school here. Sapphire moved to New York City in 1977 and began writing poetry. It was around this time too that she changed her name to Sapphire “because of its association at one time in American culture with the image of a "belligerent black woman" and because she could picture the name on a book cover more than her birth name”. Sapphire published her first collection of poems in 1987 called Meditations on the Rainbow. This book was overlooked though and many people refer to her next collection of poems on the urban experience, American Dreams, in 1994 as her debut work.
During this time, Sapphire had been working as a remedial reading teacher in Harlem, Brooklyn and the South Bronx. In 1993, Sapphire enrolled at Brooklyn College to work on her Masters in Fine Arts and was about to leave her teaching position. It was at this time that Sapphire decided that she needed to tell the story that many of her students had come to embody. Sapphire said, "I had the intense feeling that if I didn't write this book no one else would." There was a bidding war to publish the text, and soon after it hit stands, Sapphire was approached about turning the book into a film. At first Sapphire turned down all the offers to turn PUSH into a film, but changed her mind when she received an offer from director Lee Daniels (of Monster Ball and Shadow Boxer). In 2009, PUSH was released as a screenplay entitled Precious and has since won multiple awards including two Oscars.
Sapphire's most recent work came in 1999 with the publishing of Black Wings & Blind Angels: Poems. This collection of poems looks at the African American experience, but also shows the possibility and hope for the future.
This is a great interview with Sapphire by Katie Couric. She discusses everything from her life, to writing PUSH, to turning the book into a film. It's long but definitely worth watching.
Classroom Uses:
I honestly struggled at first as to how to use this text in the classroom because of some of the sexually explicit content in parts of the book. I felt that if it made me uncomfortable reading it, it would most likely make some of the students uncomfortable. However, I then realized, as Sapphire said, that this story represents different aspects of their own life. Therefore, who am I to sensor the students from reading PUSH just because it made me uncomfortable. Before teaching this text, I would be sure to discuss with students what they would be reading since some of the topics may be new to them.
One possible activity to do in a classroom after reading PUSH is a class autobiography similar to the one written at the end of PUSH. Many students today have a story to tell but no one to tell it to. Through some type of writer's workshop, students could work to craft their story. However, students should have the opportunity to keep their story private from the rest of the class if they feel uncomfortable sharing it with everyone.
There are multiple themes that run throughout the text including poverty, failing public schools, racism, neglect, abuse, incest and welfare reform. The text could be used to look at these themes in literature, while they're also being discussed in a social studies classroom. This text could also be part of a text set on any of these themes as well.
Sapphire leaves us wondering what happens to Precious since the novel ends with Precious wondering what will happen in the future. Students can write the next "chapter" of Precious' life and what will happen. Rather than having to re-write the ending to an already written story, they are given the ability to create their own.
This would be a great text to critically analyze from multiple perspectives since the only one we really get is from Precious. Students could take part in looking at some of the events that took place from another character's perspective. They could write dialogue, a journal entry, or come up with additional story line from that perspective. Students could also look at this text from different critical stances: disability, race, class, gender, sexuality.
I also think it might be possible to pair the book with the movie to see how hearing the dialogue of the text changes the story. Students can discuss how they felt after reading the text and how they felt after seeing/hearing the movie.
*I had a lot of trouble coming up with possible uses in the classroom since I typically only go up to the sixth grade level and I could not see using this in anything below 10th grade. If anyone has any insight, please share!
Essential Questions:
1. PUSH is written in a different vernacular than most texts today are. How do you think the language and writing affect the reader’s experience with the text? Do you think it helps or hinders the reading of the text and the message it is portraying? Do you think it would have had a different impact if parts of it had it been written in Standard English?
2.One journalist discussed the text as reinforcing a lot of stereotypes about the African American population. Do you think this is the case, or do you agree with Sapphire who says the text actually helps readers to “crack them open” and look at the human being behind the stereotype? What stance do you take and why?
3."One of the myths we've been taught," Sapphire has said, "is that oppression creates moral superiority. I'm here to tell you that the more oppressed a person is, the more oppressive they will be". How does the text illustrate this concept of the cycle of abuse? How does Precious break that cycle?
4. Precious talks about teachers who paint her as dumb and invisible. They talk about teaching the ones that can learn. In what way are Precious, her family and her classmates invisible to the schools? To the community around them?
Precious' greatest struggle is building her identity as a literate woman- and from that she finds confidence and self worth. Teachers could use this aspect of the book in the classroom. I think a lot of students would relate to Precious' struggles as a student and admire her perseverance. Too often, as teachers, we focus on the uncomfortable and overlook the valuable. This book is about much more than a sexual abused young mother- but a strong and vulnerable adolescent creating a new life through education.
ReplyDeleteI particularly liked the idea of students writing their own stories after reading "Push". What a powerful way to affirm the value of each student's life.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated Precious work to improve her life situations in contrast to "Winter" who seemed to allow learning opportunities to slip by her.
My views through our classroom discussions, interactions, and blogging have influenced my understanding of how text like "Push" and "The Coldest Winter Ever" can be used in the classroom. The value of encouraging students to read and engage with their text in meaningful ways has a power to influence their lives in ways that they construct them. For example, the negative situations that continued to bombard both Precious and Winter would have made me hesitate to bring these texts into the classroom and make a space for them. Now, I have a better understanding that students can take the negative encounters and construct a positive understanding of what to avoid in their lives. I am finding more ways to think about using texts that I otherwise would not have used. For me, their has been a great deal of growth or change.
With the mature content in Push, I would be cautious of teaching the story to an entire group of students. However, this book could be used in an 11th or 12th grade classroom as a text set where students were given a choice about reading the book. What I think would be a neat classroom application is to take the journaling part of the book and do that with a group of students. Instead of talking about the book, have students journal their thoughts and ideas and allow the students to respond to one another.
ReplyDeleteWhether or not the book is used in the classroom, this is a beneficial text for all educators. I think that is relevant to any teacher because it reinforces, in a very vivid way, that we do not always know what is happening to our students outside of school. If nothing else this book may make educators step back and rethink their conduct with students who may be disruptive, defiant, or appear uninterested.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Michael that this book should be a required read for at least all urban educators. I, for one, grew up in an environment that was very different from that of Precious and as I read I almost couldn't fathom that life like that exists. It opened my eyes to different ideas of what is "normal" and what a "family" is. I believe that when educators can look outside of their own lense and see the world from the viewpoint of his or her students, a stronger connection will be created as well as a more powerful classroom.
ReplyDeleteI could never imagine myself using this text in the classroom - not to say I wouldn't, but because I am at the elementary level. There are other issues in this text besides the sexual and physical abuse that Precious endures that are important. She must deal with being a pregnant teenager, the questioning of her self-worth, her independence, and body image. I think that it depends on the class you are using this text with. The teacher must set up a trusting and mature environment so that students may share what they are thinking comfortably. I struggled with trying to relate this book to any aspect of my life, however, that could have been what made the book so fascinating to me.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this book has value for educators, not just in urban, but in all middle schools and high schools. Abuse, violence, rape, and parental abandonment affect many teenage lives. For those of us who did not experience these things, awareness of what some students struggle with outside of school can only enhance our effectiveness as educators and mentors. An aspect of PUSH that fascinated and shamed me was her illiteracy (though she was getting good grades in school). One of the essential questions involved Sapphire's use of the vernacular. I can't imagine the novel without it as it illustrated so clearly the disservice schools do to young people in passing them on without basic skills. I would have said that Precious wasn't a motivated student...teachers who reached out (math teacher, principal; Ms. Rain--a lot or even a little) gave her an opportunity to express her experience in words and develop as a literate, responsible adult against long odds. I think this aspect of the novel might speak to students who "put in seat time" but don't "get" the value of education. Precious' struggle shows that literacy can be vital, precious, and worth the struggle.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of creating a classroom wide book detailing the students "stories" is a great idea. Being able to help students express themselves freely while practicing their writing skills is fantastic and would certainley promote an active and open classroom culture. I guess my only concern with a creating a book (similar to that created in Push) is how to approach possible content within the stories. To "censor" what students can write would be unfair to their creative process and would also stifle certain students, but at the same time, it could be very difficult to handle a story like Precious's within the classroom. Obviously these atrocities happen to people all over the world and unfortunately to our students. Their stories are important and need to be heard, but is a classroom book, a public book, the venue to share such tales? Are we as teachers the appropriate people to advise in these situations?
ReplyDeleteAmanda - your comment about self-censoring hit a note with me. Very often we are reading books as a whole class regardless of whether the student wants to or not. I have an "urban" education and this book was still very troublesome to read. That being said, I can see it being used as a whole class text. If the teacher has a clear purpose and involves the parents as well as the students, then I can see this being a successful class text. I almost feel like sometimes Lit Circles are used to teach the "dangerous" books, when they can be used in an approach with the whole class (although with a lot of caution!).
ReplyDeleteThe issues presented in this book could be relevant regardless of where you teach. I do agree that this a book that needs to be cautiously approached and may not be for all classrooms or students. It might be helpful to find other teachers who have used this in their classroom (or even had it in their classroom library) and have them share their thoughts on how to use and not use the book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kaleen--I would not feel comfortable teaching PUSH as a full class novel, but I do think it would work well as part of a battery of choices for independent reading. I have also seen this used by guidance counselors as a tool to prompt discussion about difficult home situations, which seems to work well for the students who are able to make personal connections to the text. I don't necessarily think that it's inappropriate, even for some of the younger grades, because I think they are seeing most of this subject matter in movies and online, if not in their own lives--I just think it would be really difficult to offer the kind of support necessary in a whole-class setting. I think it would be more effective to let those students who really want to work with this text do an outside reading in conjunction with some kind of student-teacher correspondence, so that they are able to have a dialogue with the text and so that they can get the feedback and support they need from an adult on a one-on-one basis.
ReplyDeleteI thought your author bio was very insightful and I found it interesting where she drew her name's inspirations from.
ReplyDeletePrecious is a good example of a modern-day hero for some students, and I think that needs to be explored closely. Using parts of this novel as opposed to the whole thing might be a good idea for those who are uncomfortable using the whole thing, just to supplement a text like we discussed in class (i.e.) The Color Purple