variety of multiple choice pre-G.E.D. and G.E.D.
workbooks available at low cost to JPTA programs.
"Precious is capable of going to work now. In January of 1990 her son will be two years old. In keeping with the new initiative on welfare reform I feel Precious would benefit from any of the various workfare programs in existence. Despite her obvious intellectual limitations she is quite capable of working as a home attendant." ("A home attendant? I don't wanna be no mutherfucking home attendant! I wanna be—"
"HUSH!" Jermaine say.)
"My rapport with Precious is minimal. Although I am not sure with whom, she evidently has access to counseling services provided by Each One Teach One.
She has a history of sexual abuse and is HIV
positive." ("She say she not put that in my file!
Bitch!" "If you told it to her it's in there. That's that bitch's job, to get the goods on you!" Jermaine say.) "The client seems to view the social service system and its proponents as her enemies, and yet while she mentions independent living, seems to envision social services, AFDC, as taking care of her forever."
Jermaine hand me the file. "No way!" I scream.
"I'm getting my G.E.D., a job, and a place for me and Abdul, then I go to college. I don't wanna
'home attend' nobody."
"Be quiet!" Jermaine hiss. "And put this shit back before you get in trouble!" I just sit there. She push the file at me again. "Put this away. We'll talk about it with Ms Rain in the morning."
"Let's put our chairs in a circle class," Ms Rain say, "and do a little writing in our journals, then we'll talk. If you want to focus on the topic introduced by Precious—"
"What topic?" Aisha, loud India girl from Guyana.
"Workfare and education."
"What about it?" Bunny, real skinny girl wif broke teeth, say.
"Anything about it or nothing at all; if you want to focus on the topic fine but you don't have to if you don't want to. You have twenty minutes to write in your journal." She look at her watch, then say, "GO."
5/3/89
It's not like I in no big state of shock. I knew white bitch had something up her sleeve. Ms Weiss.
Fuck her. I don't need her if all she see for me is wiping ol white people's ass. I ain been going threw all this learning to read and write so I be no mutherfucking home attendint. Rhonda usta hafta go all the way out to Brighton Beech wher she work for them mutherfuckers.
If I'm working twelve hours a day, sleeping in peoples houses like what Rhonda usta do, who will take care of Abdul? The ol white peoples had her there all day and night, "on call," they call it.
But you only get pay for 8 hours (is the other 16
hours slavry?) so that's 8 x $3.35 = $26.80
dollars a day, but then you is not really getting that much cause you is working more than eight hours a day. You is working 24 hours a day and $26.80 divided by 24 is $1.12. Rhonda say ol bitch would ring a bell when she want Rhonda in the night. Home attendints usually work six days a week. I would only see Abdul on Sundays?
When would I go to school? Why I gotta change white woman's diaper and then take money from that and go pay a baby sitter to change my baby's diaper? And what about school? How would I keep up with my reading and writing if I can't keep going to school?
I got to work it out before Abdul's birthday. Thas when the letters start coming. Letter say, you wish to keep receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children report to XYZ place by such and such a date or your money will be cut. I mean I don't know exactly what it say but I got the drift, so many girls done told me what happen to them.
"OK," Ms Rain say. "Time is up for now, does anyone want to share?"
I'm only one raise my hand.
"OK Precious, go for it," she say.
"I don't really wanna read all I wrote, I jus' wanna kinda say what it is I'm writing about and how it came about. And how I'm really upset—"
"What happened?" Aisha say.
"Well to make a long story short the counselor at Advancement House pumping me
workbooks available at low cost to JPTA programs.
"Precious is capable of going to work now. In January of 1990 her son will be two years old. In keeping with the new initiative on welfare reform I feel Precious would benefit from any of the various workfare programs in existence. Despite her obvious intellectual limitations she is quite capable of working as a home attendant." ("A home attendant? I don't wanna be no mutherfucking home attendant! I wanna be—"
"HUSH!" Jermaine say.)
"My rapport with Precious is minimal. Although I am not sure with whom, she evidently has access to counseling services provided by Each One Teach One.
She has a history of sexual abuse and is HIV
positive." ("She say she not put that in my file!
Bitch!" "If you told it to her it's in there. That's that bitch's job, to get the goods on you!" Jermaine say.) "The client seems to view the social service system and its proponents as her enemies, and yet while she mentions independent living, seems to envision social services, AFDC, as taking care of her forever."
Jermaine hand me the file. "No way!" I scream.
"I'm getting my G.E.D., a job, and a place for me and Abdul, then I go to college. I don't wanna
'home attend' nobody."
"Be quiet!" Jermaine hiss. "And put this shit back before you get in trouble!" I just sit there. She push the file at me again. "Put this away. We'll talk about it with Ms Rain in the morning."
"Let's put our chairs in a circle class," Ms Rain say, "and do a little writing in our journals, then we'll talk. If you want to focus on the topic introduced by Precious—"
"What topic?" Aisha, loud India girl from Guyana.
"Workfare and education."
"What about it?" Bunny, real skinny girl wif broke teeth, say.
"Anything about it or nothing at all; if you want to focus on the topic fine but you don't have to if you don't want to. You have twenty minutes to write in your journal." She look at her watch, then say, "GO."
5/3/89
It's not like I in no big state of shock. I knew white bitch had something up her sleeve. Ms Weiss.
Fuck her. I don't need her if all she see for me is wiping ol white people's ass. I ain been going threw all this learning to read and write so I be no mutherfucking home attendint. Rhonda usta hafta go all the way out to Brighton Beech wher she work for them mutherfuckers.
If I'm working twelve hours a day, sleeping in peoples houses like what Rhonda usta do, who will take care of Abdul? The ol white peoples had her there all day and night, "on call," they call it.
But you only get pay for 8 hours (is the other 16
hours slavry?) so that's 8 x $3.35 = $26.80
dollars a day, but then you is not really getting that much cause you is working more than eight hours a day. You is working 24 hours a day and $26.80 divided by 24 is $1.12. Rhonda say ol bitch would ring a bell when she want Rhonda in the night. Home attendints usually work six days a week. I would only see Abdul on Sundays?
When would I go to school? Why I gotta change white woman's diaper and then take money from that and go pay a baby sitter to change my baby's diaper? And what about school? How would I keep up with my reading and writing if I can't keep going to school?
I got to work it out before Abdul's birthday. Thas when the letters start coming. Letter say, you wish to keep receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children report to XYZ place by such and such a date or your money will be cut. I mean I don't know exactly what it say but I got the drift, so many girls done told me what happen to them.
"OK," Ms Rain say. "Time is up for now, does anyone want to share?"
I'm only one raise my hand.
"OK Precious, go for it," she say.
"I don't really wanna read all I wrote, I jus' wanna kinda say what it is I'm writing about and how it came about. And how I'm really upset—"
"What happened?" Aisha say.
"Well to make a long story short the counselor at Advancement House pumping me
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