Mike Rose Why School Summary

Mike Rose had a difficult experience when his test scores got mixed up with another student named Rose. The Rose whose score that he got did not do well, so he got sent to vocational school for two years. He describes his experience during this time and the people and teachers that he meets. He illustrates how the teachers do not really take an interest in actually teaching the students or making sure that they learn the material they are trying to get across. Along with the teachers not caring, more than half the time the students would not even care for what the teachers have to say because they have their minds on anything other than learning. Rose found himself getting the same learning habits as his fellow students in vocational classes.

In Chapter 6 Mike Rose accepts a full-time position at the Veterans Program to teach English and reading. After accepting the position, Mike again begins to doubt himself, realizing that he will have to design his own curriculum in addition to other heightened responsibilities. However, instead of giving up and retreating like he did with grad school, Mike takes the month he has to plan his curriculum to design a class that will truly serve the students. Mike draws upon his own experiences in school and his experiences working with the children in El Monte, and the veterans to plan a curriculum that is sensitive to student’s individual situations and provides relevant techniques and valuable content.

Summary excerpt called “Why School” written by Mike Rose. In this story, Rose explains a specific situation that happens between two friends. School is not for everybody, but it does help even those who have a disability or a hard time comprehending information. In this excerpt, Rose writes about one person’s point of view and their experience in the situation. Anthony, Rose’s friend, has brain damage from a childhood accident that has slowed him down from excelling in his education, but not from wanting to learn. Anthony is enrolled into a community college, and a basic skills program. He can barely read or write, but he is a very smart guy, and not being able to read or right did not stop him form getting an education. A lot of Anthony’s knowledge comes from everyday things, like listening to the radio, and watching television. Here is a rundown on what is going on in the situation. This is a summary of what happens in the story (320).

Many countries around the world are striving to reach the top of the academic heap surrounded by a fast-paced, swiftly evolving technological upheaval and economic culture. And why wouldn’t they want to be at the top of that pile? Recognition as having some of the brightest in the world and the ability to pave the way for the future is certainly a goal for any country that wants to better the community or forward an agenda. This issue is addressed in the essay Why School? by Mike Rose. Rose examines the idea that the current learning environment maintained by American schools is fueled by political agendas and a bias to teach to be the best. This is opposed to the idea of teaching to learn, and experience, and grow as a populace. Rose

Differently than some other countries, the United States has no national educational system since each state in the country has its own. However, some research from 1999 and 2006 shows that the American educational system is falling in a national scale. Experts argues that the system is ignoring cognitive and social aspects that are important for children’s development which would further help them for adult life. Studies indicates that the educational system is not achieving the real purpose of education: prepare kids for their personal and professional life. As a result, what could be worse than a school system that limits creativity and fails to develop kids with critical thinking and diverse social skills needed for adult life?

Many are quick to disregard education’s role outside of the classroom. According to Mike Rose, “a good education helps us make sense of the world and find our way in it” (Rose 33). Rose emphasizes the value in the experience of education beyond the value of education for the purpose of custom or intelligence; he explores the purpose of going to school in terms of how he defines himself and his personal growth in the stages of his academic career. By reflecting on his personal experiences and how those gave him the tools applicable to his daily life, he emphasizes why education should never be overlooked. Rose’s use of referencing relatable experiences in a logical manner makes his argument persuasive to the readers and he succeeds in making the readers reconsider why education matters to them. Mike Rose’s Why School?: Reclaiming Education for All of Us effectively persuades his audience of the importance of education beyond the classroom, which proves true in our everyday lives because the essential aspect of education is what we do with it and how it helps develop one’s personal growth.

There was a time when America’s education system was top-notch according to the culture and society. With time, a myriad of things has changed, but unfortunately what has not evolved is the American education system. The country is still following a system which was not designed for the current global economic climate. Equality, as positive as it sounds is not as sufficient when it comes to education. The system treats students equally yet expect a similar culmination and outcome. Every child has his individuality and distinct abilities; one cannot judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. Conversely, a few of the prominent reasons why the education system is failing are overcrowded schools, the rise of technology, and following the same old school hours.

Economics is the branch of knowledge concerned with the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth. In the readings Why College Shower Their Students with As, Staples and The Sanctuary of Schools, Barry we learn how economics influence educational environments. Staples argue the inflation of grades and how they will affect the value of diplomas. Barry’s argument is based on the lack of finance given to public schools. Barry states that the “people who live in this country believe that cutting the budgets for public schools is necessary.” Giving teacher poor salaries is all that is manageable, and that all fine art programs should be cut when times are lean. Along with the cancelation of before and after school programs, public schools

In “A Matter of Degrees” columnist Clive Crook begins by explaining how many Americans believe that education is the cure-all solution to the nation’s economic issues, but offer no rational explanation as to how more education would actually benefit society. Not everyone agrees on how the improvement of education would interact with society economically, but no matter where someone’s political opinions lay, it is generally agreed upon that education somehow plays a role in the economy. Crook declares that the relationship between education and economics is not as it seems, and it would be a mistake to make educational decisions based solely on economic grounds.

Education has been the subject of some of the most heated discussions in American history. It is a key point in political platforms. It has been subject to countless attempts at reform, most recently No Child Left Behind and Common Core. Ardent supporters of institutional schools say that schools provide access to quality education that will allow the youth of our country to gain necessary skills to succeed in life. Critics take a far more cynical view. The book Rereading America poses the question, “Does education empower us? Or does it stifle personal growth by squeezing us into prefabricated cultural molds?” The authors of this question miss a key distinction between education and schooling that leaves the answer far from clear-cut. While education empowers, the one-size-fits-all compulsory delivery system is stifling personal growth by squeezing us into prefabricated cultural molds.

Creativity is equally as important as literacy, and we need to start treating it that way in schools around the world. According to Ken Robinson’s claim in his, “How Schools Kill Creativity” speech, he believes this to be exceptionally true. All children are creative and talented, however, we have grown up in a world where we believe that it’s wrong to exemplify our creativity. Robinson uses both, pathos, and ethos to help make his claim. He arises emotion in you; he causes you to really think, to trust him, and to question ultimately, how things are being done in the educational system. We as a world have become so consumed with the idea of putting each child into a category of what they’re going to be successful in, regardless of their creativity or passions. You’re either good at math, science, or English; everything is based on your academic ability. What happens then to the people who aren’t academically smart, but are more creative? They are then made to feel that what they have to offer the world simply isn’t good enough, but the truth is, it is good enough. Over time however, we are taught out of our creativity. Schools around the world kill creativity by instilling a sense of fear in the child that what they are doing, and how they feel is wrong, this ultimately discourages them, and they fall victim to the industrialized educational system that we have present day. Robinson believes now more than

Education means something different for everyone. According to Mike Rose, “a good education helps us make sense of the world and find our way in it” (33). The truth to this is that education affects us in every aspect of our lives. Rose emphasizes the value in the experience of education beyond the value of education for the purpose of custom or intelligence; he explores the purpose of going to school in terms of how he defines himself and his personal growth in the stages of his academic career. In Rose’s exploration of the purpose of school, he also reflects on his personal experiences and how those experiences gave him tools that are applicable to his daily life. Mike Rose’s Why School?: Reclaiming Education for All of Us persuades his audience of the importance of education beyond the classroom, emphasizing how those experiences become crucial to one’s personal growth and potential.

The human mind is perhaps the greatest object on the earth, animate or inanimate, but without the proper training, the mind is a relatively useless tool. Through the development of formal education systems, humans as a whole have tried to ensure the training of all minds so as to continue prosperity for the world. Most of the time, though, education systems do not realize the harm they are doing to developing minds and the subsequent negative consequences. Among the largest of these inadequate education systems is the American primary schooling system. The American education system is in fact failing; it continues to deplete children of their natural creativity and thirst for knowledge while preaching conformity, which in turn creates an

    Russell Baker, who has a Bachelor’s degree in English, demonstrates his views on how schools fluctuate from different skill levels in his 1975 New York times column “school vs. Education”. Bakers idea about learning is to truly get educated one must experience life lessons; while, school is training for even more school. The ideas for His article suggest that education begins once someone wants to learn for their own knowledge, not just because they have too. Baker also mentions that children who told they are good test takers do better than kids who aren't told they are good test takers.

Children are no longer encouraged to be creative in the test prep environment. Instead, they are being taught to perform well on standardized tests and are labeled as unintelligent if they don’t. Young children are born with creativity and we see that when they are playing and pretending. According to Sir Ken Robinson, in Slon’s (2013) article, “by the time they get to be adults, most kids have lost that capacity” to be creative. The fundamentals of creation and experimentation are not part of the standardized testing mechanism.