Membrerhn_rhona

Rhona Ferguson was raised by a single parent along with her 3 sisters. There was little opportunity for higher learning. She grew up during the time discrimination was prevalent. The year she stayed with her grandmother, she attended an elementary school in Copiague New York, where her school teacher constantly singled her out by taunting her in front of her classmates. She promoted the subsequent bullying among Rhona’s peers and other children on the school grounds who dubbed Rhona the dumbest in her class. As a result, she grew up with a fear of being in any classroom setting, which led to truancy throughout her remaining school years. This same school segregated African American children that following year. One day in high school, Rhona decided to attend her economics class on a day they were being tested. When the teacher passed out the test results, she singled out one particular student who had gotten a zero on the test, but who had gotten the highest mark on the essay. She addressed this student as a potential writer in the midst of the entire classroom. She mentioned that student should take going to school more seriously and that student could go on to become a journalist. She continued talking for what seemed like a half hour while Rhona sat daydreaming looking out the window. But nothing could have prepared her for that moment the teacher placed the essay down on her desk which had a 100%. Rhona once again heard the laughter of her classmates but in a far better way. She never forgot the new life that was breathed inside her heart the day she learned what a true teacher really meant.