Response to Rose

Mike Rose's article has been the most entertaining reading thus far. I even considered sharing it with someone who may or may not appreciate it! So many circumstances he mentions make me think of my own life... My grandparents were Italian, came to this country around the same age as his, and lived an extremely hard life. Their grandchildren turned out completely different, though. I'm positively spoiled in comparison to Mr. Rose. But we share some of the same literacies like reading, drawing, and astronomy. The vocational classes and love of chemistry are things we do not have in common, though.

He also talks about the slacker attitude, which I have encountered just about everywhere. I can name quite a few close friends and family members who "just wanna be average" and it drives me insane. I just don't understand. Like Katie D commented below, I was labeled the "smart overachiever" of the family too. This article helped me to understand how and why a person could arrive at this situation. When Rose says that he kept seeing material he should've already learned, I just felt so horrible for students who believes they are not smart and stop trying in school. I can definitely imagine this scenario and I know which of my relatives have experienced this situation. Who hasn't observed those stereotypical slackers (who are really not slackers at all)?

A few things he mentioned in the article struck me as unusual. Namely Lester the Molester and the vocational classes. I would definitely have questioned my placement in those classes. And why include the toothless molester? Ugh, such a gruesome image... That's just sick.

His brilliant new English teacher made me think of the Dead Poets Society, starring Robin Williams. The genius, messy professor crosses the line but helps his students learn more than they ever have before. And he turns them on to reading and poetry, magically flipping their creativity switch on... I only wish I had experienced such a professor. Actually, Michelle and I have both experienced a similar professor - senior year, same English teacher, probably best class I've ever had. I think almost everyone's had a teacher like that.

I've been all over the place in this post, so here's a summary for all you skimmers out there: Me and Mike Rose should pretty much be best friends. "I Just Wanna Be Average" was my favorite reading so far. At this rate, I may even buy the book it's excerpted from.