“otherness” in this case = illiteracy and ignorance
Celebrate “otherness”.
I think most Americans have simply not looked at the effect of schooling in metropolitan or urban areas. Probably half the population coming out of these schools...are this way. I would not call is ignorance....it’s just that teachers can only carry the class a certain distance....you graduate with a 4th grade reading ability, and probably a sixth-grade speaking ability. If you can add and subtract...that’s it.
For jobs, the best you can hope for is a clerk at a grocery, or a beauty-shop job.
She’s just one of probably five million Americans that is fairly limited by age 18. I don’t think it’s her fault....we made the system like it is...and allowing substandard teachers to walk in and stay for thirty years.
Any time I see an author instructing us on “otherness” or “the other”, I know I don’t need to read any more.