It's My Life • Shawn Hunter

26| Me and Mr. Joad

In English, Zoey slumped against her seat as she tapped her pencil lightly onto her notepad, whilst Mr. Turner was talking about the book - The Grapes of Wrath.

"Okay, we're talking about The Grapes of wrath. Who can give us an overview of what we've read so far?" Mr. Turner asked the class and Cory immediately shot his arm up. "Muscle spasm, Matthews?"

"No, sir. I'd like to take a shot." Cory said.

"Okay, everybody, give him room." Mr. Turner told the class. Zoey smirked slightly.

"All right. I think the conclusion of the book shows the Joad family's been pretty much destroyed by the greedy farm bosses, but the author's telling us they still have their dignity, and they're gonna fight on." Cory simply explained.

Everyone in the room went silent. Zoey turned to face her friend, mouth slightly parted in shock.

"What just happened?" Mr. Turner asked in confusion.

"You're a disgrace to the entire back row." Shawn told Cory in disgust.

"Okay, this story about migrant farm workers in the 1930s shows us that powerful people will exploit the powerless until they organize and stand up for their rights." Mr. Turner informed, walking around the classroom. Cory raised his hand. "Yes."

"Yeah, the thing about the 1930s... will we have to know dates for the test?" Cory asked.

"The date is not as important as understanding the historical context of the whole struggle for workers' rights." Mr. Turner responded.

Shawn raised his hand. "Excuse me. What page is the historical context on?"

Zoey blinked a couple times. "Okay... what is happening?"

"Are you kidding me?" Mr. Turner questioned, looking at Shawn like an idiot.

"We need to know that for the test, right?" Shawn said.

"No, forget about the test." Mr. Turner told the class. "I want you to learn about this book to add to your personal knowledge, not to just pass a test. I don't wanna hear anymore about the test." Cory raised his hand. "What?"

"Uh, when is the test?" Cory wondered.

"What did I just say?" Mr. Turner questioned.

"Okay, could I just ask one more question about the.... you know, the written thing you put a grade on that tells our parents we're idiots. There won't be any essays, will there?" Cory asked.

"Matthews, as long as you read the book and open your yap during the class discussion, no test. Okay?" Mr. Turner responded. "Now can we possibly return to what is important here?"

The bell rung throughout the school.

"No test!" Everyone said. Zoey gathered her things and rushed out of the classroom.

••••

During the next day at School, Zoey sat at her desk, happy. She read the book last night that Mr. Turner assigned them to so she didn't have to do the test instead.

"All right, class. In The Grapes of Wrath, we see that the struggle to organize, to get justice for the migrant farm workers, was long and difficult. Heads were broken. People were killed. A lot of blood." Mr. Turner told the class.

"Sounds like Bingo night in my trailer park." Shawn commented with a smirk.

"Now, like the Joads, we also find ourselves in the middle of a little struggle." Mr. Turner said as he began passing pieces of paper to people. "We don't want tests. We think we can learn the material without 'em."