In Richard Rodriguez essay “Scholarship Boy,” he explores his past, now as a thirty year old man, and gives his readers a very well painted picture of what a scholarship boy truly is. Rodriguez mentions that from an early age he had put a boundary between his school and home life. However, it is worth mentioning that in his younger years he almost seemed to attempt to force both lives together. He mentions how he would constantly correct his parent’s grammatical errors, or tell them what he had learned in an effort to hurt their feelings. In this way he had taken on a superior attitude towards his parents and did his best to shame them into becoming the type of parents he had yearned for; the parental figures he had come to find in his teachers.
Simmons uses senior high school student Isabella, as well as other students repeatedly as a foundation for his main arguments. By using Isabella’s essay Simmons is able to paint a picture as to the education system and how it impacted the outlook of higher education on students. Instead of emphasizing the impact of a good education, there was emphasis on economic status and what a
When Rodriguez is in London, he reads Richard Hoggart’s The Uses of Literacy, and is able to see himself in the essay. We see that he gains a “sociological imagination” and that he realizes that he fits the definition of the “scholarship boy” when he says that he “realized that there were other students” (517) like him. Hoggart says that this type of student must be “more and more alone” (517) in order to succeed, and that this student must “cut himself off mentally, so as to do his homework, as well as he can” (517). Rodriguez shows us that he not only grasps what the “scholarship boy” is, but he also understands what the “scholarship boy” goes through because of personal experience. Although he agrees with Hoggart’s definition, Rodriguez also adds to the meaning of the “scholarship boy” by giving his readers the insight of exactly what they go through, how they think, and why they do what they do. For example, he shows readers that he is forced to be “more and more alone” (517) by writing about how his relationship with his parents is weakened, and how the books he reads makes him feel lonelier. This insight not only asserts Hoggart’s definition of the “scholarship boy,” but also lengthens and specifies it.
Mike Rose in his piece I Just Wanna be Average and Richard Rodriguez in Achievement of Desire approach the subject of education from the view point of the uninspired and highly motivated student respectively. Both authors examine the importance of teacher expectations on achievement, and the role school and home environment plays in academic success.
In “The Shock of Education: How College Corrupts” Alfred Lubrano uses his personal experience with college education and his parents to come up with the statement that “Every bit of learning takes you further from your parents". In his writing, he goes over how his eyes were first opened to the idea that school could bring you further from your parents, when he read a book titled “Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez”, where the writer was quoted as saying “Home life is in the now, school life exists on an altogether different lane, with an eye towards the future.” Alfred’s belief throughout his article is that school brings you to a reality that separates and distances you from your parents and home-life.
Children tend to be a reflection of their parents, picking up on their parents habits and using them into adulthood. Nicolas Christakis, a professor and leading researcher at Yale University on socially contagious behaviors agrees. In his research he has found that “habits are contagious; passed from parents to children, such as if parents value education and learning, their children will value education and learning” (Corley). In Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, the author Jamie Ford showcases how the protagonist, Henry Lee, struggles with not being a reflection of his family, both in his childhood and in his adulthood.
Thank you for the existence of the Richard and Susan DiBartolomeo Student Scholarship. Getting a scholarship award was a critical objective for me to attend Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration. I am a transfer student from Macomb Community College where my grant award from FAFSA would cover my tuition and books.
Hello I’m telling a story about a kid named Spencer Rodriguez you probably have no idea who this is and wondering why this person would interest you, well you will have to take my word on it. Spencer Rodriguez was born in Santa Fe but if I’m going to tell the story right I must start from the beginning; Well his parents were no better than blue collar middle class people. his father worked at a hotel as did his mother he father was a cook he would work dinner which was the best job to have in the kitchen, that was the job everyone wanted. Spencer’s dad was named Tim, his mother was sally where the story will begin Tim was 20 and sally was 18. Spencer’s his mom was a waiter she loved her job but it was not a job everyone would dream of doing.
President Barack Obama said “My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too.”, during his speech on national immigration.What Barack Obama means by this is that the foundation of the United States is immigration and the pursuit for a better life for us and our families. I think that a lot of people get confused when the word immigrant is brought up. The definition of an immigrant is, a person who comes to live permanently in another country. There is also illegal immigration, but regardless immigration affects many lives and causes many issues in politics.
What this means is that the “scholarship boy” feels that due to the lack of education of his parents, he did not appreciate them for who they are, but instead admire his teachers because they can better educate him. Many might disagree with the fact that this boy feels this way of his parents and believe that he should admire his parents even if they are not capable of teaching him.
I am in this building who habitants are insistent that I learn, fulfilling my role as a student undertaking a challenge presented to me. To this 14 year old, education is my chance. I can’t play sports and get a scholarship. This 14 year old would be compelled say that school is an opportunity that tests my logic, my mental capacity, capabilities, and sometimes my sanity. The thought of being challenged
I am aware that there are better and worse high schools out there than Fremont High School. And yet, reading Kozol's account of the terrible conditions that are endured by these students made me feel more aware of the severity of improper or inadequate education that poorly funded schools provide. All of these problems, alongside my awareness of my fortunate years of education, make me wonder, just as Mireya did, as to why, "...[students] who need it so much more get so much less?" (Kozol 648). Interestingly, I have little to comment on Kozol's actual writing style, even though he wrote this account of his. I was just so attached to the characters within that school that I wanted to be able to reach out somehow; Kozol definitely achieved something very touching here.
Though this problem not only affects the students but also their families and the community, it is significant to address the issue as a whole. Male students at the middle school are labeled as troublesome and often regarded as incompetent when unable to perform academically well. Unfortunately, these boys come disadvantaged homes and lack emotional and academic support because many live in one parent household or both parents may be away from home trying to earn a living to provide for their families. Some of these families have few resources, speak little or no English, and possess limited time to supervise their children after school is released. Many of the students encountered at RMMS mentioned that their parents leave their home as early
Education is an ongoing process that one can never escape form. Whether if it is in an educational institution, exploring a new topic in the news, or hearing about different cultures, global or local, education fails at being able to completely leave someone alone. However, an end of education also depends on how someone defines it. Rodriguez defines learning as a desire to escape. It is an escape from family by abstracting himself from normal family/home habits - “he takes his first step toward academic success, away from his family,” (page 341). It is an escape from the life everyone expects of him especially being from a working class family to excel beyond the primary education his parents have had set for him, “He cannot afford to admire his parents,” (page 341). This “habit of abstracting from immediate experience” encloses Rodriguez in his lonely environment that he once craved into a community where communication between a reader and writer is nonexistent. By doing so he makes education and learning a chore or a task to strain to be
Public school systems need to be more sensitive to their students. Parents play the major role in determining a child’s academic outcome, but the school system needs to notice children who don’t necessarily acknowledge their gift. These children need guidance -- I believe it is the schools’ responsibility to provide it to them. I have been through a situation that makes me feel strongly about the subject. My example is an indisputable case in point.
The primary value of my scholarship in aiding my academic and professional development has been in assisting in the payment of college fees, reducing the financial burden for myself and my parents. Being able to attend college has assisted me academically through access to college tutorials and activities offered by the Scholar’s Group. Attending events hosted by Sydney Ideas and the Festival of Dangerous Ideas offered an opportunity to be educated through exposure to a wide range of ideas, including debates surrounding access to education, the power of free speech and politics. This exposure and insight into debates that are at the heart of society supplemented my formal university education, exposing me to ideas that aren’t usually discussed within a classroom setting.