Audre Lorde's perception of her teachers

Audre Lorde reveals her school experiences in her book Zami, a New Spelling of My Name. While she has some positive experiences with teachers, she also finds high school to be a judgmental place. She illustrates her first impression of school by admitting that, "But in high school, my real sisters were strangers; my teachers were racists; (58)" this reveals her perception of her teachers, but as she also states earlier, "If you can't change reality, change your perceptions of it." (18) so Lorde makes a tough situation into a opportunity. She makes friends and becomes an editor of the school newspaper and writes poetry. Even though this situation eventually crumbles following tragedies, Lorde is forever inspired by learning, spurred on by her very first yearning, "I want to read." (23). I think this reveals that the character had a deeper sense of the world and a greater intelligence and understanding of herself and others. I think one of my favorite passages by Audre Lorde, from other parts of her works, is “I was going to die, sooner or later, whether or not I had even spoken myself. My silences had not protected me. Your silences will not protect you.... What are the words you do not yet have? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day and attempt to make your own, until you will sicken and die of them, still in silence? We have been socialized to respect fear more than our own need for language." I think its beautifully written and I believe its true.