Summary Of I Just Wanna Be Average By Mike Rose

Rethinking Normal is a coming-of-age story about transcending physical appearances and redefining the parameters of “normalcy” to embody one’s true self. Katie Rain Hill memoir on her transition discussed what normal is and how she came to understand that normalcy was completely based on what each person individually makes of it.

The context of this definition implies that people in American society today have aquired such a demonstrative way to define those who choose to apply themselves in and out of the classroom. The writer illustrates the statement that even at the prestigious institute Harvard University, the concept of being academically superior to others is not only frowned upon, but is hidden. With its notorious success and respect from all over, a feeling of shock is taken in a sense that students are known for their great attitude and drive for greatness. However, students at Harvard have adopedt the sense of being “ashamed” for their success and passion. Following the claim, the phrase “Nerds are ostracized while athletes are idolized” is expressed to provoke awareness from the reader of this harsh characterization of those who put academics first. Within the opening paragraphs, the writer values getting the concept across that people today have a problem of looking down upon those who are intelligent, resulting in these certain individuals being penitent in regard of their talents and aspirations, regardless of the school or academic

Every high school has its cliques and because of those cliques, high school students face stereotypes based on the clique they are a part of. There are the straight A students, the jocks, and the druggies. That is just naming a few. For each of those cliques, there are certain stereotypes that associate with each one. For example, the straight A students stereotype is that they always do their work ahead of time, are goody-two shoes, and always worry about school. However, that is not always the case. The same also goes for the stereotypes of the jocks and druggies. This can be related to “Blue Collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose. In this article, the key concept is that working class level does not define intelligence level. The druggies, and even the jocks, could be considered to have a low intelligence level. Rose says, “Intelligence is closely associated with formal education – the type of schooling a person has, how much and how long – and most people seem to move comfortably from that notion to a belief that work requiring less schooling requires less intelligence” (264).

The majority of the “Freaks” do not always feel that they are worth much in the eyes of their teachers. Professors are more inclined to illicit discipline and less likely to offer guidance to those they wrongly feel are doomed for failure. Lindsay, although considered part of the Freak crowd, is an exception to this characteristic because she in fact feels like a big fish in a little pond. She has always received high marks on tests and was once a part of her school’s mathletes club. As a result she has been treated in a pleasanter way by facility at the school then some of her underachieving friends. Even the school’s guidance counselor makes a point to be involved in Lindsay’s life. Lindsay’s younger brother Sam encounters similar experiences in the school system. Because of Sam’s reputation as a nerd teachers offer him more guidance then other students. He is given more privileges within the school, such as access to the school’s tech room without an adult chaperone because of his role of being an academic “big fish.” Lindsay and Sam’s reputations within the school builds on teachers treating them with more respect, which creates a cycle of them continuing to outperform

This is my book. It’s by Matthew J. Kirby. It is about 3 children named Giuseppe, Hannah, and Frederick. Giuseppe is an orphaned street musician, who earns money each day to give to his master by playing his violin. Giuseppe thinks that he will never be able to go back to his home in Italy until one day he finds a green violin. When Giuseppe plays the green violin, he can earn more money in 2 songs than a whole day of playing with his normal violin. But his hopes are shattered when his master finds the green violin. Hannah, a strong willed girl, is a maid in a grand hotel. With a sick father, Hannah struggles to earn enough money for her whole family to survive on. Her life is one of the constant struggles until she meets a new guest at the hotel and learns of a mysterious treasure. The new guest “Mme. Pomeroy” hires Hannah to become her personal maid as she was on the verge of being fired. But Hannah steals a diamond necklace in order to pay for her father’s

Dominance, confidence, and empowerment are a few aspects that we value most in a leader, but unfortunately forgiveness is often overlooked when it’s compared to dominate characteristics. In today’s societies, we view this trait as a sign of weakness because we believe that dominance and self-sufficiency are more of a powerful asset in being a leader than forgiveness. In fact, Susan Cain, the author of Quiet, stated that in today’s Western society we desire leaders that obtain the “Extrovert Ideal”. She defines it as the “omnipotent belief that the ideal self is gregarious, alpha, and comfortable in the spotlight.”[4] However in her argument The Power of Introverts, she outlines it as an issue in our society because we value this idea more than

“The average man is a conformist, accepting miseries and disasters with the stoicism of a cow standing the rain.” This is a famous quote by Colin Wilson. When you think about a cow standing in the rain, it generally gives a negative mood. The cow can’t do anything; their used to having no shelter when it rains. Colin Wilson was sending a message about the average men and women. His message is that people accept their challenges too easily, get used to dealing with negative situations, and don’t try and fix them or make it better.

What we see on the outside is not always what is felt or endured on the inside. The real truth about a person can be hidden, manipulated, sometimes even forgotten in the back of the person’s mind. This truth is masked, and it is not always easy to be unearthed. This is ordinary. There is not one person on this planet that does not have a sort of mask obscuring a truth or secret that is unknown to the people around them. People living before our generation, like the Himmlers, had secrets. People living now have secrets. I have secrets.

Ms. Carol S. Dweck believes that children with a big ego, or a fixed mind-set, will not excel in school as well as someone who has a smaller ego, or a growth mind-set. According to Ms. Dweck on lines 16-20, “The result plays out in children link Jonathan, who coast through the early grades under the dangerous notion that no-effort academic achievement defines them as smart or gifted. Such children hold an implicit belief that intelligence is innate and fixed, making striving to learn seem far less important than being (or looking) smart.” As previously stated in the text, Jonathan’s grades plummeted after he started to work at higher levels of education. The author believes that over praising parents are to blame.

In Chapter 3, Mike Rose attends Loyola University to pursue a career in teaching. At first, he is placed into remedial classes because of his previous grades in high school. His high school teacher, Mr. MacFarland, wants Rose to test his capabilities in Loyola’s basic classes to ensure that he will be able to keep up with everyone else. Unfortunately, Rose struggles to pass his classes during his first year in Loyola. Averaging around a C in all of his classes, it seemed grim that Rose would be able to keep pursuing his teaching career. The causation for his endeavor is due to his inadequate study habits he developed in high school; he was able to get through high school by only engaging in subjects that he was committed to. Fortunately enough,

Advertisements, magazines, and billboards come into our everyday lives without our consent. One cannot go a single day without catching even the smallest glimpse of the beautiful, thin girls that pass you as you drive on the crowded hallway and cover the shelves of grocery store registers. The images women see every day affect the way they perceive themselves, causing them mental and sometimes physical pain. Maureen Connor calls this idea to attention as an exhibition. In this paper, I will discuss Thinner Than You by Maureen Connor (1990, Stretch net over stainless steel dress rack, 60” X 16” x 8”) and how it discusses the pressures on women to be desirable in today’s society.

“We meet no ordinary people in our lives. If you give them a chance, everyone has something amazing to offer.” In the story “the Girl who was born with only Two Arms and Two Legs” by stuart Baum, Quarta the main character, is anything but ordinary. The thing is she only has two arms and two legs while everyone else in the story has four arms and four legs. She feels left out throughout the whole story and can not find a way to fit in until the very end when she sees people just like her at the beach and recreates the game they were playing. So give everyone a chance so that they can feel like they fit in, because we have all had times where we don’t fit in and you know how that feels. So don’t be the person like the people who didn’t give Quarta a chance be like the ones that did.

School is a melting pot of people. Everyone is different, which means that everyone has different ways of learning. Although different, there are similarities among students which leads them to fit into three different classifications. These three classifications are the overachievers, academically average students, and the underachievers or slackers. Admittedly, these categories are heavily influenced by media’s portrayal of different students but can still be useful when evaluating what kind of person each student is.

The student liked being in class because he was in class with his friends, but was bored because he already learned the material the class was covering that day. The social aspect of school is what he enjoys the most. He doesn’t care too much if he doesn’t seem as though he is paying attention in class because he knows he will get a good grade, regardless. “This class is stupid,” he said. Perhaps for him, it is.

The author starts off his article by introducing his two young sons, Fin and Rye, who have never attended traditional school. He states that his sons give no sign of interest to a bus passing them on its way to school. Instead of spending their