The Professor Is A Dropout By Beth Johnson

The professor is a dropout by Beth Johnson is an interesting biography depicting the life of Lupe Quintanilla. Lupe is currently an assistant professor at the University of Houston. Despite being called a retard and humiliated by her teachers after dropping out of first grade, she struggled to read and learn English to become the respected person that she is in the society today. She disproved all her teachers who mocked her including her children for being slow learners. The achievement that Lupe attained in the academic world is quite astonishing considering the fact that she was a first grade dropout; the story is just unbelievable. Lupe started her journey of success in Mexico, where she lived with her grandparents. She had been living …show more content…
The school that she had enrolled in required her to undergo an IQ test, which she failed terribly and was later labelled a retard. Therefore, she had to be put in first grade with six year old children. She would often take care of these six year old children, but then again she would be humiliated by these children since she didn’t understand any English. Additionally, she would be further humiliated by her class teachers for not knowing any English language. Her experience in her first grade class was really horrific because there was no day that she ever enjoyed in school. Her bad experience in first grade prompted her to beg her grandfather not to return her back to school. Fortunately, her grandfather agreed to let her stay home and help him with any household …show more content…
However, the journey was not an easy one as she had to struggle several times to understand English language and it’s her determination that drew the attention of Gabito (Johnson 429). The more she read books, the more she continued to discover herself. In fact, she got so fluent in English that she discovered that she was not really a retard as her first grade teachers had labelled her. Her fluency in English language made her graduate with a doctoral degree, making her secure a job as the director of Mexican-American studies. Her success opened several opportunities for her including those of her children. She became a very busy woman in the academic world. In fact, she had the advantage of speaking both Spanish and English language fluently. Now she could switch to both languages without having any problems. With her academic achievement and position, she could not support and guide her children. Today, Lupe is a teacher at the University of Houston, where she has been serving for over thirty years. She has managed to develop an array of courses that relate to Hispanic culture and literature. Additionally, she has also served in the White House as an informant. It is quite clear from this story that anything is achievable despite the huddles that one may face in