Education

Richard Rodriguez and Mike Rose both write about their education. In "I Just Wanna Be Average," Mike Rose recounts his experience in Catholic school as an Italian-American from a working class family background. Because of a school error, he was placed in the vocational tract at school. The experience taught Rose a lot about the low expectations place on students, the lack of effective role models in the classroom, and the inability of teachers to inspire their students. These problems are especially evident in the vocational tracking programs, because once Rose moves to the college prep courses, he realizes that he was being encouraged and challenged more. In "The Achievement of Desire," Rodriguez also writes about his experience in Catholic school, from a Latino-American working class family background. Unlike Rose, Rodriguez was somewhat of an over-achiever. He worked hard, and earned good grades until he was able to secure...
[ View Full Essay]