A key stereotype that Junior faced was the generalization that Native Americans were stupid. One example is when Junior corrected his science teacher and he quickly assumed Junior was wrong. Until Reardon's smartest student, Gordy, informed the teacher that Junior was right and he was wrong. Native American youth also faced heavy discrimination. The schools opened on the reserves were not there to educate the natives, but to weaken their cultural ties and better assimilate them in order to dominate society. Junior and his classmates used the textbooks used by their parents. Mr. P, a geometry teacher on the reservation, was the one who told the junior to go to Reardon. He did it because he knew Junior was a brilliant student. He also knew that Junior wouldn't amount to much if he stayed on the reservation.