Monday, October 19, 2009

Mike Rose Summary

"I Just Wanna Be Average" by Mike Rose tells the story about some of his experiences throughout high school. When he was a freshman he accidentally got placed into the vocational program. Instead of putting up a fight to try to get out, he made the best of his situation. Rose goes into detail describing specific events and different types of people he meets, ranging from jocks and rebels to bullies and "hodads". He illustrates for the reader the personalities of certain teachers he came across, while in the vocational program, who were unenthusiastic about their job and didn't believe in the capability of their students. Rose shows through personal experience how this lack of faith from the teachers causes the students to slack off and not care about their schoolwork. During Rose's sophomore year he really enjoyed and did well in his biology class with Brother Clint. Clint was shocked by Rose's success in the class and checked the records only to find the school's mistake concerning his placement. Switching into the college prep program was a difficult transition, however Rose was able to overcome this challenge. As a senior, Rose had an English teacher, Mr. MacFarland, who he really looked up to. MacFarland and Rose became close, MacFarland even persuaded and then helped Rose get into college. One can tell by the way Rose describes his relationship with MacFarland that he had a positive impact on Rose's life. In the middle of portraying these events, Rose mentions the death of his father which seemed a little irrelevant in my opinion. The purpose of this writing is to show how someone can impact your life when you least expect it. The title of this writing is "I Just Wanna Be Average", a quote from a classmate Rose met, while in the vocational program, that stuck with him his whole life. The purpose is also to touch on the stereotypes of certain students based of the classes they take, and some of the flaws within the school system. Taking a look at Mike Rose's blog, his passion with education and his faith in people are undoubtedly apparent. Rose has chosen to dedicate his life to this cause.

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