No matter what you do with Black Misery , it works. There s room for teachers and students to improvise. For example, some students make it their own by substituting other words for Misery, such as Joy, Happiness, or even Responsibility. Being a child is when you have no worries, you can play all day and sleep all night and you don t have to pay bills. Being a friend is when you care for someone, but not in that way.
Misery is fun.
One of the challenges of teaching in an after-school program is getting the students involved after a long school day. Hughes makes it fun. Misery is universal. Because the text deals so openly with racism, this assignment provides a much-needed opportunity to talk about what really happens and the troubles people have, to tell the stories that are not always welcome in regular conversation. There is room for everyone and every experience of pain.