When people come home from prison with felony charges they are no longer eligible for government subsidies like public housing, food assistance, even financial aid for college. This tends to affect children when women who are mothers come home from prison and don’t have the means to support their family or even get their children back. What do you believe should be done about this situation or these laws? What types of assistance should be offered to women who re-enter society after they have served their time? Should they be punished further after they come home? Should your criminal record really matter after your time is served? Why or why not?

Read the excerpt from the poem "growing up italian" by maria mazziotti gillan and answer the question that follows. when i was a little girl, i thought everyone was italian, and that was good. we visted our aunts and uncles, and they visted us. the italian language smooth and sweet in my mouth. in kindergarten, english words fell on me, thick and sharp as hail. i grew silent, the italian word balanced on the edge of my tongue and the english word, lost during the first moment of every question. source: gillan, maria mazziotti. "growing up italian." poetrymagazine.com. poetry magazine, n.d. web. 30 mar. 2011. what is the tone of this poem? what does the tone reveal about the speaker of the poem and the conflict she faces? based on this excerpt, what can you predict about the theme of the poem?