"Average? Who wants to be average?" (Rose 186)
The article by Rose comes across as a narrative making it harder to get into as a reader because of the extensive detail with no interesting points that really grasped my attention. However, it does achieve a similar purpose in relation to the trajectory that I created in class. Rose commences to revisit his days in Voc. Ed and to document the going on's of the program and of his peers how they caused him to question aspects of the word around him and its possibilities. Similarly, I created a schooling trajectory outlining the most significant people and events in my life that influenced me in school and also led me to discover and question things about the world such as what I would want to become when I got older. Although the premise for the trajectories were similar, Rose and I clearly went about it in two different ways. I illustrated my schooling trajectory, whereas, his was in the format of an academic narrative. Also, Rose's trajectory was much more in-depth than mines, hence the detailed descriptions of Ken, Ted, Billy and many of the other guys that he knew, whereas, my trajectory was much more quaint- short and simple. The reason behind the differences in our presentation of trajectory could be based upon the purpose for creating the trajectory. It was clear from the very beginning that Rose was using his as a background story to prove that children that are written off by the schooling system can indeed become something- he had a genuine interest and purpose for telling his story. I, on the other hand, just approached the trajectory as any other assignment without much desire to tell my whole life story to my peers which reflected in my work and very brief descriptions. From reading his article, one can tell that Rose really took something with him from his experience at their "Lady of Mercy" by learning from his peers and personal experiences what it was to grow and that everyone has a say in what they choose to become in life no matter the past circumstances. However, to me, the most significant area in the article was Rose's statement "Average? Who wants to be average?" (Rose 186). This quote resonated in my mind from the time that I read it because, to me, in his article Rose was referring to the Voc. Ed program as a way to help the "bottom dwellers" of the schooling system just "survive", "occupy" and "get through" school with the expectation that they would just become average human beings at the very least. The teachers were not innovative in the classroom nor did they push the students to be innovative in their schoolwork because in a sense the school had given up on them already. However, to me, thus far, in his life Rose has achieved goals "above average" which implies that he had a innate desire to want to be something greater than "average"- this quote made that very clear- average just wasn't good enough for Mike Rose and neither is it for me.
4 Comments
Allen Robertson
1/21/2013 10:04:21 am
I agree with you in the sense that the narrative is very boring at first. In my opinion, the climax of the story does not even happen until the last two pages of the story. I am curious as to what you think of Mr. MacFarland, and the impact that he had on the students. I feel as if everyone has a figure in their life like Mr. Macfarland. I think that if you had discussed an influential figure in your life to help your trajectory it would make the reader feel closer to you; just as I felt much closer with Rose when he shared his experiences with Mr. MacFarland.
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Chez Tarleton
1/22/2013 02:01:10 am
I do like how Rose went into detail about his trajectory in certain points. Though yours may have been short and simple they both hit the major points needed. I like how you saw what Rose got out of his days in Vocational School, that everyone has a say in what they can achieve. Even though he was placed in a path that was made to basically take him to be a McDonald's worker he become a famous author. I can see how some people might not get the point to his article due to his enormous use of detail.
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Kendall Kerr
1/22/2013 05:25:06 am
I really like the way you answered the blog post especially your last line. "Average wasn't good enough for Mike Rose and neither is it for me" should be what every person that read the Rose article should be thinking. Your reply has great detail in it and took the route that I took by mostly using this reply to compare trajectories between ours and Rose's. I agree with your response especially about how Rose goes into great detail with his trajectory some of which to me seems unnecessary like describing all of his friends in voc. ed.
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Devin Berrio
1/22/2013 11:51:19 am
I really liked how you mentioned the fact that he does bring to light the fact that students with a not so perfect background can still succeed through the schooling system because I believe this to be so true. Determination within ourselves is a very powerful tool. As long as you have your eyes set on a goal, we can do it. These kids were dedicated to finishing school, no matter the challenges. I also liked your comparison of trajectory paths.
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