Mike Rose and Richard Rodriguez expose the weaknesses in the American educational system. In "I Just Wanna Be Average," Rose talks about his experience being accidentally placed into the vocational tract at school, when he was actually an advanced student. When he is eventually shifted to the college prep level, Rose notes that he lost all motivation to learn and it was a struggle to find inspiration in education. In "The Achievement of Desire," Richard Rodriguez describes how his education made him to feel superior to his working-class parents. Education changed him and made him smarter, but it did not necessarily make him a better person. Therefore, both Rose and Rodriguez explore different problems associated with being a working-class student. Being from a working-class background affects how other people view the student, and affects how the student views himself or herself.

In "I Just Wanna Be Average," Mike Rose describes...
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