Summary Of I Just Wanna Be Average By Mike Rose

In Mike Rose’s “I Just Wanna Be Average,” he argues that educational placements stereotypes negatively affect one’s performance. Rose was placed in the vocational program in school, thereby his attitude towards his education was to just get by. He was later placed in a higher level class where he struggled to keep up with, until a professor helped him see the amount of potential Rose had and that’s where his confidence went up, along with his grades. Rose supported his argument with techniques such as ethos, pathos, and attention to detail.

In the article “The New Normal” by David Brooks, he states that there are many issues involving the national budget that need to be addressed. Brooks first exclaims that in order to begin to solve the issues, the citizens of the nation need to make it so that everyone is affected by the different cuts. Not just one group of people. The author also states that we need to trim from the elderly to invest in the young considering many schools and their programs are experiencing sizable budget cuts due to lack of funding. The final law that Brooks discussed was that government officials should, under no condition, cut without an evaluation process.

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.

“I Just Wanna Be Average”, is a book written by Mike Rose, which goes into detail about how he went through an education system that wasn’t designed for himself, but more so for the students that we’re not so smart. In this environment he was with both teachers and students that didn’t care much about school. He went to describe how even though the students wasn’t very educated many of them was special in their own ways, while others just never tried in school. One of the students he meet was Ken Harvey, who when asked about their opinion on working hard to reach their goals said, “I just wanted to be average”. Rose questioned why Harvey would settle for less than he had potential for. During Rose’s sophomore year his teacher checked his school

This essay “Me Talk Pretty One Day” about the author David Sedaris stands one of his phenomenal pieces that he got us used to. He indicated several techniques throughout his essay that included more meaning and humor to his selection. It’s much easier to be anything other than being humorous and comedic on paper, however David Sedaris continues to be a brilliant author in his selection for the language techniques that he uses to deliver the smile upon our faces; the extensive imagination to the scenes of his story. David develops his thesis through delicate humor and entertaining anecdote of his French course and his “know-it-all” professor who finds enjoyment of belittling her students.

Leading a meaningful life meant breaking away from the fear of criticism or rejection; conforming to society limits Illgunas’ definition of life. Illgunas’ suburban upbringing makes the danger of social conformity clear to him. Surrendering to society would consequently cause him to completely lose himself. After graduating from high school, Illgunas and his classmates follow the conventional path towards a higher education. Illgunas explains, “My high school class and I moved like a school of fish: we graduates were capable of going off on our own, in whatever direction we chose, but something demanded we all swim as one…” (6-7). Parallel to the claim Illgunas makes, graduates that do not attend college are stigmatized. Society has created a paradigm: after graduating high school, students should attend a traditional four year university, and then enter the “career world.” In Illgunas’ perspective, people in

Education has always been an important part of our sustainable society in which everyone plays a role. The purpose of the education system is to provide a way for students to learn and gain knowledge. The current education system focuses more on evaluations rather than teaching, which creates a stressful and unpleasant high school experience. Alfie Kohn’s essay, How Not to Get into College: The Preoccupation with Preparation describes the difficulties and purposeless school practices students face when preparing themselves for life beyond high school.

Murray applies the rhetorical appeals of pathos, ethos, and logos throughout the essay. His rhetorical appeal on pathos is used to help promote his view on society’s misalignment of understanding that all youth should be prepared to attend college. He argues that a student who has the natural abilities for liking the stringent work it takes to complete a college education, and whose SAT scores meets the threshold for college readiness, is more likely to succeed than a student that does not have those same abilities. Because these student s are grouped as one and are all given one option the students who do not have those abilities are being set up to fail ( Murray 227). Murray’s ethos appeal propose that guidance counselors and others with a vested interest in a student’s should take heed to the student’s strengths and they may realize college is not the best option. Murray argues, “Guidance counselors and parents who automatically encourage young people to go to college straight out of high school regardless of their skills and interests are being thoughtless about the best interests of young people in

In addition, schools are like assemblies that are require to follow procedures. Assemblies follow ideas or rules to have organize the people, for this reason schools due the same thing. However, those who don’t follow the procedures would show a low progress in class. For example, in the article “Kid, I’m sorry, but You’re Just Not College Material” by Michael J. Petrilli shows how students perform low in their academics’ level, and instead they decide to work because its less challengeable. As a result, not every college student is capable of attending and graduation from college because of their education level. However, everything leads back to when the college students were children. Their academic preface in college show a negative path

A lot people work very hard and struggle through life trying to be the very best at every single thing they do; this is a good trait to have but, sadly not everyone has this type of work ethic or motivation. Some people just try to get by and go through the motions, often not getting the education they they are rightfully entitled to. This is the type of mentality that Mike Rose discusses in his narrative “I Just Wanna Be Average.” Throughout the narrative, Rose shares personal experiences of mistakenly being set on the wrong track of his educational career due to a mix up with test results. Rose gets placed into the vocational education track, which is where the person he was mixed up with, with the exact same last name was supposed

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.

In ‘Abolish high school’ by Rebecca solnit, she writes “High school is often considered a definitive American experience, in two senses: an experience that nearly everyone shares, and one that can define who you are, for better or worse, for the rest of your life.” which means high school isn’t wonderful for many people, it has a lot of challenges for teens, maybe some of them ‘kill’ by pressure and challenges, it would affect their rest of life. The high school is not a wonderful place for everyone. People should skip it and escaped it that you would don’t be suffered by it. However I disagree with her, because I believe high school is a indispensable place for students. It is a place for students, they can find a great relationship and an unexceptionable place to learn. On the other hand, I believe the high school is the key to definitive teens who they are in an great way. For example, Teachers would shape everyone’s identity, make you strong to face challenges, and open child’s heart. For example, in my childhood, when I lived with my parents, I was happy to learn, because my parents always encourage me to learn. Also, they want me learn from mistake, because It is a way to learn. They want me to be someone. However my parents left me at 12 age, they have to work more hard to support this home. I can’t focus on learning, I was playing video games every day, because I think I was ‘release’ from my parents. I have no ideas about my future. There is no one like my parents to guide me , I feel alone and confuses. Until I was be a part of high school.The high school make me stronger and hopeful. Teachers guide me walk on the right way again, they talk to me about future and how wonderful thing would happen in high school. I

In the story “I Just Wanna Be Average” the author Mike Rose argues that society very often neglects and doesn’t see the full value and potential of students.

Murray employs the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos throughout the essay. The pathos, or pathetic appeal, of the argument is based on what Murray believes is society’s misalignment of understanding when it comes to propelling that all youth prepare to attend college. He makes the claim that a student with a natural liking for the rigorous abilities that it takes to complete a college education, and whose test scores indicate the threshold for college readiness, is more likely to succeed than an individual who doesn’t enjoy the work and who also tests low (PARAGRAPH 11). And because of this misalignment, those low testing, students are being set up to fail. The essay’s ethical appeal suggests that guidance counselors, teacher, political figures and others with a vested interest in a student’s progress, should do more to help students understand what their strengths are and that college is not always the best route for them to take (PARAGRAPH 41). Lastly, the appeal to logos, or the logical appeal is the basis of

Alfie Kohn’s Article “How Not to get into College” analyses many key factors of how the current school system does not work and how we as members of society need to work together extensively to remodel the system to ensure the success of future students by valuing education over grades. By looking at how students only join clubs and and worship numerical grades only to impress colleges; students facing pressure from parents, teachers, and society to get good grades and succeed in life; and how students live through many mental health implications due to a multitude of factors surrounding their educational life, we can determine that systemic factors of this society have turned students of this generation into grade grubbers.