Troublemakers

The book Troublemakers by Carla Shalaby was overall a good read. The novel touches upon four different students with different backgrounds and their individual interactions at school. Although most of these families are struggling, they can tend to their children's needs and take care of their own. Unfortunately, there is a common misconception that children with parents in a lower class don't care and cannot provide but they are just like every other person struggling just with mouths to feed. Adults, specifically mothers, take care of their own no matter their situation. There are many stereotypes about poor minoritized families not doing enough and she brings that to light. 

    Marcus is a student with a very apparent and disruptive disability in the classroom. Although his teachers were managing him, they let his mother know his status in the classroom. Marcus’s “... mother was diligent about following these recommendations” given to her by the teachers and practiced this at home. While reading you can really tell how much he and his siblings are loved and protected by his mother. Even though Marcus’s mother is the only provider she still allows him to see his father. His mother went as far as to give him out-of-school support as “the school counselor referred the family to an outside therapist” outside of all her other responsibilities as a mother . Marcus’s mom is a good example of how to be a mother under those circumstances.