Talk about separate and unequal: Great Faith Elementary and Secondary School (the African-American school) is lacking all of the necessary things that Jefferson Davis County School (the white school) seems to have. Despite this, the Logan family takes education seriously: it's a way for the Logan children to have a better future. "Be Cool...Stay in School" is definitely one of the Logan family's mottos.
Questions About Education
- Cassie appears to check out at school. She's clearly pretty bored. Why do you think that is? What are some clues that she's quite intelligent?
- Can you always tell a character's education level in the novel by the way he or she speaks? What are some examples of how this might be difficult to determine?
- Does the Avery family appear to value education? What are some clues?
- What clues are given that each generation of the Logan family becomes more educated than the one before?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Education doesn't seem to be the magic bullet for getting ahead. For example, Mrs. Logan is an educated teacher, but the family is still very poor.
Taylor shows us that some of the most important lessons in life cannot be learned in a classroom.