This week's questions:
1. Why does Mike Rose want to be average? And what does he mean by "students will float to the mark you set?"
2. What are the implications of Mike Rose's educational trajectory, given the contrasts between vocational education and college prep content?
3. Imagine Gloria Anzaldua and Richard Rodriguez are at a language, literacy, and education conference. They find themselves at the same reception and have a few too many drinks. What kind of conversation do you think they would have about bilingual education and education in general? What, exactly, would they say to each other?
4. Now imagine that Amy Tan cruises into the reception at the end of the night, when the conversation's especially sloppy, and joins Anzaldua and Rodriguez. What does Tan have to contribute to the discussion?
5. What themes, if any, emerge throughout the literacy autobiographies? How are the papers alike? Different? How, if at all, do they inspire your own narrative?
6. In Eva Lam's article, how does Willis demonstrate Pratt's ideas about the contact zone? And how do these contact zones compare to your own?
7. Like last week's readings, many of this week's articles deal with normative notions of language, literacy, education, and identity. From where do these ideas originate and what impact do they have on individual lives, as illustrated by this week's authors? Address this theme and show how assimilation impacts at least one of this week's authors, as evidenced by their work. (And, yes, you may use one of the literacy autobiographies to address this question...)
1. Mike Rose wants to be average so he does not have to conform to the way the educational system is designed. He does not want to navigate through the “suffocating madness” so if he becomes “the Common Joe” then he will not have to bear the burdens associated with academia. Becoming average is a defense mechanism that forces one “to shut down” and “cultivate stupidity” (pg. 29 of article). He would want this because being average is a lot easier than figuring out where you belong in school. Rose’s statement that “students will float to the mark you set” means that students are scattered throughout the “water” and will eventually make their way towards the goal that has been set. Some students will be like Rose, who “did what [he] had to do to get by…and…with half a mind” (pg. 27 of the article). Students are all at different levels so some will “float to the mark” at a faster pace than others, but some will lazily float and others may unfortunately drown.
ReplyDelete5. The themes that emerge throughout the literacy autobiographies are: the students’ definitions of literacy, the chronology of how they became literate, and what else is left for them to acquire as a literate person. These papers contained deep self-reflections that forced the students to disclose information about themselves that they had suppressed, let alone write a paper about. The papers constantly discuss education and what it means to be literate. Many of them ended with the notion that the journey just began and that they had much more left to cover in the field of literacy. The papers contrast in how the students became literate and their methods of expressing their concerns, findings, desires, and shortcomings. The literacy autobiographies that I read inspire me to reflect back on what I have gone through to reach this level of literacy and also to ponder what else I am lacking in being literate. Most importantly, I have to find a definition of literacy that works for me and understand that there is more than just the academic route to reach full literary potential.
1. Being average by Mike Rose’s definition seems to be a defense mechanism as many students in the vocational track take on the identity implied by being on that track. It is a defense against the feeling of frustration for being defined to be the Common Joe, by openly embracing it and cultivating “stupidity” and using boredom as a way of confronting the world. By floating to the mark that is set, students are implied to just wander and lazily float to the mark, without actually moving faster toward that mark. Some may simply drown, as Poonam B. states in his/her reading blog. Much of this relates to the students in the vocational track. However, while I find this concept of “being average” an interesting definition that I agree with, doesn’t being on the vocational track seem to imply that some of these students are “below average?” Rose states that being on the vocational track implies that the students are “slow,” and are placed in a limiting curriculum. Perhaps being “average” can mean just being able to be on a regular track, and not be deemed as “slow” or on a bottom-level track. What then, is the definition of average, to these students who are on this track? These are just different interpretations to consider.
ReplyDelete2. Mike Rose’s educational trajectory illustrates just how much tracking can affect a student’s trajectory in education, and his/her future. Mike Rose was fortunate to be able to excel in a sophomore biology class, which conveniently bridged the gap for him between the vocational track and the college prep track—an event that is difficult to do in regular tracking. Once a student is on the vocational track, it is hard for that student to get out. He/she is placed in different courses than the college prep track. He/she will have teachers that are either younger, less experienced, or simply not the greatest teachers to have. Thus, the student is stuck in that path throughout his/her years, and is limited to his/her options, especially if he/she wants to pursue college. Overall, tracking plays a huge role in where students end up after high school, and Mike Rose’s experience in both tracks illustrates this.
2. There are much profound implications in the trajectories between the vocational trade school and the college prep content. Each of the two provided for guidance and a sense of direction as to where the student will end up after the student graduates. Mike Rose had the pleasure to experience both types of schools. He soon learn the difference between had a deep impact in his life. The vocational school limited the student to grasp knowledge and continue further his/her education in the future. Meanwhile, the college prep content offered challenging courses with experience professors who encourages and sharpens the knowledge os students. The college prep really prepares you go eventually pursue college. This is what Mike Rose did and attended Layola University through the assistance and influence of his English teacher Mr. MacFarland.
ReplyDelete3.Gloria Anzaldua is very well connected with her culture and completely embraces it proudly. In her article she was able to describe the life of growing up with many different languages and many ways of classifying her identity. On the other hand, Richard Rodriguez had a different childhood. This man was always interested in reading and achieving higher education. However he was always separated from his parents. He was embarrassed by their lack of education. Richard was locked and living in his own world. A closet filled with reading and developing knowledge, which indirectly separating himself from his family. As a result, distancing from his family he distance himself from his culture and focus on his academic. As a child he never really appreciated the support the parent provided because he always had a negative view that the parent don't fully value education.
The education Gloria Azaldua refers too is more cultural bound and more focus on learning about history and how Latinos/Hispanics evolved. While Richard would focus on the meaning of education and lose the importance of family and culture.
Mike Rose wants to be average so he can defend himself from the “suffocating madness,” confusion, and fear that surrounds you when you’re at school and at this confusing age (Rose 29). Being average means having pride in being the sort of person who uses only their “good sense” and doesn’t care or interact with things that you “fear is beyond you: books essays, tests, academic scrambling, complexity…” (29). It means protection from confusion and fear without letting anyone know that you are scared and drowning. When he talks about students floating to the mark you set, the mark is the goal and the expectations that the teacher sets for his or her students. Students will float to it if they set reasonable expectations and encourage them. I actually thought that this use of “floating” metaphor didn’t quite convey what I thought Rose was trying to convey. Floating entails passivity; you don’t have to do much. On the other hand, swimming actually requires motion and action. I imagined the expectations that teachers set would be deeper underwater and so a student would have to dive and swim to reach that mark. But maybe that isn’t quite what Rose meant. Though these vocational education students were floating to a very shallow mark in terms of academics, wanting to be average shows that they were really drowning when it came to the rest of life.
ReplyDeleteSome themes included juggling ethnicity with an American identity, education in the family, and hobbies that are included or developed one’s literacy. The papers weren’t often very similar, except perhaps in the themes, sources they used, the notion of discovery in literacy. But they were different in a lot of ways: the number of sources they used, the different inspirations they had for the literacies they have developed or have now, how affected they were by family, teachers, books, this class, and other classes. I loved the different voices each piece had in their stories. They were digging deep into their history, experiences, and emotions to present this narrative to their readers. I really admired how much they were willing to share and they inspire me to not be afraid to delve a little more into my emotions and personal feelings than I would have liked to otherwise. These autobiographies inspire me to trace back my history with my own literacy, my experience with books, writing, school, and even music. The last one was definitely not something I would’ve thought to include in my autobiography for various reasons, but after reading “Beyond the Notes” by Taryn Jang, I could definitely see me making that a big topic in my narrative considering how it’s such an integral part of my life.
1. The “I Just Wanna be Average” reading parallels the Ambe reading in regards to labeling students as low-achieving or average. Mike Rose and his peers, particularly Ken Harvey, are labeled as underachieving, therefore they are well aware of the way teachers and students on the college preparatory path view them. The vocational education track directly indicates that these students aren’t very capable of achieving much more in school. Although Mike is much smarter than the stigma placed on him through vocational education, he wants to embrace the average. By doing so, he will put on a front and pretend to be exactly what others have assumed him to be because this is the easiest path to take. Students that are deemed average will aim to succeed at a mediocre level. According to Mike Rose, vocational education is “a dumping ground for the disaffected” therefore students on this track have no desire to work hard or compete to be an above average student if they are constantly faced with the idea that they are “scuttling along at the bottom of the pond.”
ReplyDelete4. Anzaldua, Rodriguez, and Tan represent three diverse backgrounds and cultures, but all three express the importance of language. If the three writers attended the same reception, I believe Anzaldua would contribute to the conversation the balance of the different types of languages that one culture can have. I think Tan would agree with Anzaldua and discuss a lot about the influence her mother has had on the way she looks at language and how it has affected her writing. When discussing the influence of family and the home environment, I think Tan and Anzaldua would agree on many issues, but would find themselves in a good discussion with Rodriguez. In “Mother Tongue,” Tan expresses how “simple” or “broken” English has influenced her life and career and evokes a sense of admiration for her mother. However, when describing his reading of Richard Hogart’s The Uses of Literacy, Rodriguez explains how the scholarship boy must not admire his parents, “he permits himself embarrassment at their lack of education.” The contrast between the thoughts that Rodriguez and Tan have about family life and the influence their parents had on their future career and language would cause disagreement in discussion about language.
2. The difference between vocational education and a college prep track is the difference in what a student will achieve in their future. The tracking system definitely sets boundaries for students in the vocational track. Mike Rose noted that his parents did not know what to do and therefore didn’t complain to teachers as to why he was placed in the vocational track. Because of situations where the parents are not involved, this seems to be the case. Just like Fernando said, Rose experienced both types of schools and was able to grasp the differences of each and how his life could have gone a different way had he stayed in the vocational track. Once he was noticed by his biology teacher, Rose saw how much harder the college prep courses really were. Where he was easily getting A’s in his vocational education, he was struggling in the college prep courses.
ReplyDelete7. This week’s readings and authors indicate how everyone’s backgrounds are different and that they found their identity through their education and language. Every author this week came from a different family background, with a different method of overcoming their differences to find their identity. Amy Tan shows us in her educational trajectory that because she was Asian, she was recommended to lean towards math and science courses rather than English, which she preferred. Because she had good math skills, but couldn’t fill in the blank on English tests, she stayed towards math/science classes. This way of assimilation impacted her choices in education until in college she decided to switch majors to English.
1.)
ReplyDeleteTo me, average means getting a B in an honors/AP class. Those are the standards my parents set for me, and because I am a dutiful daughter, I got straight A’s. My transcript was (please excuse my language) every Asian parents’ wet dream.
Then I got into my fourth semester here at Berkeley, and I failed my first class. Not a B+ fail, or even a C fail, but a big fat F fail. So, believe it or not, I get what Mike Rose is saying – I just wanted to be average, too.
Mike Rose articulates perfectly the sense of disillusionment, apathy, and quiet despair that comes from being labeled as a failure. The daydreams and fantasies are particularly real, a coping mechanism for when your own inadequacies are staring you in the face. And if society thinks it’s because you have a mental deficiency, what motivation do you have to prove them wrong? Average is safer than taking intellectual risks, and Rose didn’t – couldn’t – place himself in another vulnerable situation, not when his personal life was already so bleak. I know my own potential, so for me failure was a large stumbling block, but a block nonetheless; Rose had a wall of stumbling blocks, and perhaps the most he was expected to do was vandalize it.
5.)
After reading through the literacy biographies, I was struck by how much of each individual person went into defining his or her concept of literacy. Their memories, their insecurities, their hopes and dreams – all of these somehow got tied up in their development of literacy.
Something that I keep coming back to while I re-read the autobiographies is the use of literacy as a weapon, whether it be directed at the author’s concept of self-worth, or to hurt other people. Lisa Marie Aldabe talks about how the literacy of being told all her life by her stepfather that she was not literate (I see this as literacy because it involves taking the words, tone, mood, body language of another individual and internalizing it) resulted in a crippling surge of anger and doubt, and Justin Chou openly admits that the special niche of Internet/forum languages quickly developed unique insults for the illiterate. We’ve often discussed how words can have a negative impact (ex. “dysfunctional”), but the extent to which that negativity permeates our literacy was a surprising revelation.
1. Mike Rose and his peers from the vocational track of Our Lady of Mercy just want to be average- which almost seems counterintuitive. However, being placed on a vocational track those students know that they are marked as ‘failures’ based on their grades on their transcripts. And once they are placed in a vocational track, a track which Rose refers to as a “dead end” they have to continuously fight against the stigma and branding. Thus, Ken’s response seems to be a defense mechanism to protect himself and his own intelligence from the branding that the school and society created. It also indicates Ken’s frustration of being a vocational kid. To Ken, being average may mean not having to be branded as a ‘troublemaker’ or ‘failure’ but just be a regular student. Rose’s statement “students will float to the mark you set” implies that different opportunities, different place to perform. Vocational kids were placed in‘shallow’ water, teachers did not have much expectations and the students were not given ample opportunities to shine.
ReplyDelete2. Rose’s educational trajectory implies how different vocational education and college prep are and how such difference has a profound impact on a student. Those two tracks are aimed for very different purpose. However, the problem is that it seems that it is a grade that determines whether a student is placed in a voc. Track or college prep track. From Rose’s writing, it is apparent that voc. Kids also hunger for quality education— or at least a good input from a teacher that they can look up or relate to. Since students in voc. Ed are receptive of Jack MacFarland’s teachings. However, from Rose’s recollection, voc. Ed students often get unqualified teachers that are not at all passionate or inspiring. Note that it was a biology teacher who taught both voc. Ed and college prep who actually did something to fix Rose’s record and pulled him out of voc. Ed track. Voc. Ed kids are definitely getting not as much attention and quality from the kids who are placed in the college track although they all belong to the same academic institution.
3.“Buenas noches,” Rodriguez says. Anzaldua knows who he is. “I really enjoyed reading your work in Borderlands.”
ReplyDelete“And I, yours in Hunger of Memory. When did you realize you were without a people?” She goads.
He laughed, “In third grade, when my father couldn't help me with my studies.
“So you traded your people for some books? Why?” She pried.
“Not for the books. For what the books meant. The books meant freedom, just like English, and university, and a good job.” He retorted politely. He was never a rebel, “I wonder why I was never allowed to speak Spanish in school, and why my parents never protested my ambition to, as you would put it, agringarme. I guess they wanted that.”
“Why would anyone sensible not want to whitewash themself? That's how you get ahead. Everyone is subject to that moda de opresion. Your parents knew that, even if it meant you would become a pocho agringado.”
“If only there were some way to empower the Chicano way of life here.” He rused.
“Que lastima, no? Even with Spanish taught in schools, it's just used as another way to get ahead. The whole sistema is set up to suppress the oppressed culture. Bilingual education is just a scam to pacify the masses and tell them it's okay to be different, as long as they don't make any noise.” She argued.
“Sounds a bit defeatist.” He replied logically.
“No, we wait just for now. History marches forward, balance is achieved. It's entropy. Meanwhile the system is the only bastion of comfort for the oppressed. It may stifle their humanity, but at least they can get a lot of stuff to distract from their soulless existence.” She growled.
“Sounds like my ex-wife.” He joked. She was not amused.
1. Rose means by average that he wanted to be like the other kids in the non-vocational track with more affluent parents and better life opportunities. “Students will float to the mark you set” is a reference to the tracking system, a reflection of our society. The kids in the top tracks will likely achieve greater success than the kids in the bottom tracks due to the nature of the classes and teachers involved with each track. Rose wanted to be average, or, not in the bottom rung of the society as he perceives it.
1. To put it simply, average is an escape. The kids in Mike’s position are “gasping for air.” The fact that drowning is used as imagery is a sad statement on contemporary education. These kids are not born underachievers; they are systematically frustrated to the point of apathy by teaching plans that put simply ignore a students zone of proximal development to the point where they lose all inspiration. Mike Rose had no incentive to struggle and reach his full potential because he was not receiving the stimulus he needed, and him and his peers were considered a subclass of students, with a lower target. The students didn’t push themselves because when they did they received no positive reinforcement, but if they sank to the lower expectations everyone had for them they could float by.
ReplyDelete2. The clear implication is that students are strongly influenced by the goals that are set for them. It’s interesting to think of the zone of proximal development not in the dry academic context of the earlier readings but in an engaging narrative from the point of view of a student immersed in it. Rose was literally placed in the wrong zone, and it had a dramatic effect on his development. In my own high school there was a distinct difference between the honors track and the “regular” track. Those on the regular track had seemingly resigned to the fact that they were not the higher-level students, with little upward mobility. Additionally, Mike Rose’s story implies that the damaging effects of the “vocational education” can be reversed, at least for some individuals, as when Rose was moved up his outlook on education changed direction dramatically.
-Victor Lymar
1. According to Mike Rose, Ken Harvey just wanted to be average because based on the classes he was in and the material he was learning, this was the most that was expected of him. Harvey is protecting himself from disappointment and failure by embracing this identity rather than rejecting it at the price of personal growth. When he says “students will float to the mark you set,” Rose argues that if you expect more from your students and create an environment that challenges the classroom, they will be challenged and rise to meet those expectations.
ReplyDelete2. Mike Rose’s educational trajectory and his experiences in the education system support this argument. He was set up to fail when he was wrongly entered into the vocational education track, yet when he was put into college prep, he was able not only to keep up, but to stand out and pursue higher education with the guidance and encouragement of his teacher and role model. The power of grades was especially interesting because Rose was able to redefine his own view of his self and his abilities when he began receiving higher marks. When he was presented a subject that captivated him and a teacher with a strong presence in the classroom, Rose was able to pay attention and succeed, even when in vocational education. This is significant because even with financial stresses and family troubles, Rose was able to stay attentive to this particular subject. A combination of involved teachers, presentation of material in a way that will hold a student’s attention, and high expectations and standards can lead to a brighter future for students like Mike Rose and Ken Harvey.
In Eva Lam's article, how does Willis demonstrate Pratt's ideas about the contact zone? And how do these contact zones compare to your own?
ReplyDeleteWillis demonstrates Pratt’s ideas about the contact zone through his collection of Japanese comic-books translated in Chinese. Along with his friends, they collect comics for entertainment and try to compare Japanese comics to American comics. My own contact zones are similar to Willis’, but I prefer music to printed text (or drawings). I always listen to Filipino-American artists such as apl.de.ap of Black Eyed Peas and Nicole Scherzinger of Pussycat Dolls.
What themes, if any, emerge throughout the literacy autobiographies? How are the papers alike? Different? How, if at all, do they inspire your own narrative?
There are different themes that emerged throughout the literary autobiographies during my reading. For example Nakagawa’s “Literacy Autobiography: Then What Are You Doing in America” and Wu’s “Becoming Literate: Growing Up as a Chinese-America” both talked about their experience as Asian-American in the United States and their struggle to reclaim their identity. Another theme that emerged in the literary autobiography is their journey towards literacy awakening before and after they took Education 140AC. They inspire me to write my own narrative because I want to share my own experience as others did. All the papers are alike, the only difference in these biographies is in the first encounter with literacy either when they were a child or something significant event happened in their life.
1. Mike Rose wants to be average, as the teachers expect that from him. He was placed in the vocational track and these students are labeled as “slow”. These students are assigned work that will “occupy” instead of “liberate” them. As a result, they claim a non-caring identity that they believe will make them feel less “slow” and marginalized. He describes his teachers and most could not “engage the imaginations of us kids who were scuttling along at the bottom of the pond” (209). In other words, the teachers’ inefficiency and lack of preparation prevented a healthy teacher-student relationship. The vocational track is a “dumping ground” for the students that are not “making it”. It is a marginal and disenfranchised space, a forgotten area. The students understand their marginality and react with a non-caring attitude, which reinforces the many labels placed on this group—slow, unmotivated, and careless. Yet, these labels do not correspond with the students’ actual thoughts and feelings.
ReplyDelete2. In the vocational track, “a euphemism for the bottom level,” Rose would not be able to enroll in the necessary college preparation courses. He frequently day dreamed to escape the classroom environment. His teachers were unprepared and lacked the skills that would engage the students. As a result, Rose “shut down,” he “convert[ed] boredom from a malady into a way of confronting the world” (210). This comforted him because if he did not try, he knew he could not fail. On the other hand, in the college prep track Rose struggled in the math area. He realized that he could not keep up, as he did not understand the basic material. His frustration with math caused him to return to his day dreaming tactic. Even though he continued to encounter challenges, Jack MacFarland, the English teacher, rekindled his reading interest. MacFarland engaged the students with his “crafted” and “well delivered” lectures. His character and interesting personality made him a respectable individual, a person that made college possible for Rose.
1. Mike Rose wants to be average because after he was accidentally placed on the vocational track, by mistake, and his whole education took a downward turn which restrained him from excelling in school. Being grouped with the “slow” students made him feel like and eventually become a mediocre student and teachers in these classes did not know how to “engage the imagination of us kids who were scuttling along at the bottom of the pond. (26)” He does not want to be slow as he was angry and frustrated at himself and at his teachers who dumped him at the vocational track nor above average as his family had little to no expectations for higher education. It implied to me that being average gave him access and ability to be and do the things he wanted to do – to be immersed in language under Jack MacFarland and taking pleasure in getting good grades from his role model. Being free from low or high expectations in the different tracks allowed him to pursue what he wanted and “float to the mark” - expectations of the teacher and the students naturally. This contrasts with the low expectations of the vocational track where Rose was frustrated at his dull school work which caused him to daydream, unmotivated teachers, and classmates who were increasingly falling behind.
ReplyDelete2. Rose's fortunate opportunity to experience both educational tracks shows how students are not less able or hopeless because they are in the vocational track – his experience shows that anyone can flourish with the right teachers and environment. The passion and contributions that MacFarland had made for the class seemed to motivate all the students – Rose especially – to fall in love with language, “tapping his old interest in reading and creating stories,” “feel special for using my own mind,” and “provided a role model” for him (34). Rose's story shows the striking effects of tracking on students' futures – a simple decision can set up students of similar ability for failure or success. Every student should get the opportunity to be in an environment in which he or she may flourish.
1. Mike Rose wants to be average because he believes that there is too much pressure in the education system to find out where each student belongs (average, above average, etc). For Rose, being average means that he was able to be himself and only do what he needed to get by rather than having to worry about the stress of tests and pertaining the imagine of being an above average student. Rose calls the educational system a “dead end” because he believes that once students are labeled as average or below average then those students will not have any motivation or inspiration to excel in school, so to Rose the best label was being an average student. Being an average student simply means you don’t have to live up to any expectations: exceling if he was an above average student, getting in trouble if he was a troublemaker, etc.
ReplyDelete7. Many of these weeks readings deal with normative notions of language, literacy, education, and identity; Amy Tan shared her very interesting and insightful backgrounds. Tan, told how she was more inclined to take math and science courses because she was Asian. This idea originates from a popular stereotype in the educational setting and living up to the stereotype was what Amy Tan did because she wanted to assimilate within the educational setting because Tan’s strengths became the math and science courses even though she wanted to take English. Tan’s story is an important reflection on the normative notions of education because she was almost unknowingly forced to take classes that the stereotype fit rather than what she wanted to take. Now imagine if your race has the stereotype of being below-average, trouble-making students, what do you think is going to happen?
3. Anzaldua would vehemently disagree with Richard Rodriguez’s assertion that there is something inherent in the process of becoming “educated” which severs one from one’s roots. Instead, she would argue, it is a result of a particular system of education that delegitimizes the language of the home for that of “academic” discourse. Anzaldua would label Rodriguez both a victim and a perpetuator of that system, because he has internalized “how our language has been used against us by the dominant culture.” Rodriguez would acknowledge her accusations against him as an “agringado Chicano” but would counter that it was only possible to develop a discourse with which to reflect on and discuss his experience once he was detached from it. The role of the academic, he would argue, is always one of spectator rather than participant. Anzaldua would counter with a Frierian notion of the scholar that is actively transforming his/her environment rather than simply letting it transform him/her. In this way, Anzaldua appropriates the various languages that have shaped her own experience, including the “literary” language of the dominant discourse, and created a dynamic, living tongue that defies attempts to “tame” it.
ReplyDelete4. Amy Tan, on entering the conversation, would have much to say in agreement with Anzaldua, as well as contributing a few points unique to her own experience. She would equate Anzaldua’s “bastard tongue” with her own mother’s “broken” or “fractured” English, and would agree that such labels fail to encompass the “wholeness and soundness” of her mother tongue. She could no doubt empathize with Rodriguez’s shame in his parents’ inability to function appropriately in American society due to language barriers, but she never let that shame transform her. She has remained constantly in dialogue with this mother tongue and even slips into it occasionally in more intimate conversations, because for her it remains her primary mode of expression. Tan might bring up, specifically, the impact of achievement tests on bilingual students, and how they often serve as a gatekeeping mechanism to direct Asian Americans and other ethnic groups for whom English is often a second language into the math and science routes. She and Anzaldua might end the discussion by advocating for more bilingual education programs that recognize the distinct contributions of these languages to English, and vice versa.
Being average is a way of living up to the standard set by the remedial classes; in such classes students who are performing below par are encouraged to look as the average as being set for life. An “average Joe” can earn his keep and float through life relatively undisturbed, and instead of encouraging innovation and leadership, remedial classes encourage basic survival. These students will naturally hope to be average because all they are taught relates to basic monetary survival. Maintaining average standards is also a defense mechanism; blending in to the normative protects one from the hardships of attaining goals considered to be above average. Rose is on the mark when he says that remedial classes are meant to “occupy you,” thus the average Joe spends his whole life being occupied by tasks that ensure survival but not dignity. Ken Harvey’s desire to be average is not solely based on his lack of desire to work hard, but it is a result of the suffocating and restrained atmosphere of the remedial classroom.
ReplyDeleteStudents in advanced classes are encouraged to think of the future in grandiose terms, whereas those on the vocational path are told to buckle down and learn how to narrowly pass the next test. Rose was lucky enough to be noticed by the biology teacher and to have Mr. MacFarland support him and help him with a path to college. However, the students in remedial classes are lucky if they trained for the low wage jobs most are channeled towards. The students in remedial classes are indoctrinated to follow a path that has few opportunities other than jobs with low-paying wages. Rose himself mentions that as a teacher he sees his students “walking around with Stanford catalogues,” but it is evident that college was not an option for those in remedial classes. Perhaps the most striking difference between college prep and remedial classes is the fact that though children in remedial classes struggle through the curriculum material the teachers are either under qualified or under-resourced to deal with the problem. Teachers for college prep classes are trained to aid problem areas for students, and in turn help them learn the subject instead of the student feigning disinterest to mask frustration.
Stephanie H. Nguyen, Blog Week#5
ReplyDelete1) In spite of any intellectual potential they may possess, students in the vocational track at Our Lady of Mercy “want to be average.” But they do not actually want to be average, they simply believe that that is the best that they can hope to achieve. The students that Rose mentioned in “I Just Wanna Be Average” are placed in the vocational track very early on in their educational careers without truly understanding what that means for their educational trajectories. Once they are placed in the Voc. Ed. track, there is little hope for them to ever truly leave it, as Rose had experienced first-hand. The vocational track was envisioned as a way to allow students who did not demonstrate as much scholastic promise to learn skills in order to increase their “economic opportunities” (Rose 2). Unfortunately, at many schools with such tracking practices, these programs become a “dumping ground” of sorts, where the students who score poorly receive poor instruction that teaches them skills that are of little use (Rose 2). Even the students with the greatest thirst for knowledge experience difficulty thriving in an environment that “champion[s] the average” (Rose 3). The defense mechanism of choice then is to accept mediocrity and to strive to be the “Common Joe” (Rose 3). Because the mark is set so low, as Rose states, students will indeed float to wherever it is at. Education is in large part one self-fulfilling prophecy-- students will take note of the expectations placed on them and rise or fall to wherever those expectations may lie, many never realizing their true potential.
2) To say the least, Mike Rose was a very fortunate student. Although he was not the brightest, he was placed in the vocational track early on in high school by mistake. Most students in the vocational track remain in the vocational track, taking rudimentary classes taught by incompetent and inadequate instructors and never really given the chance to intellectually thrive. Rose caught the attention of one of his instructors who noticed that he was mistakenly placed in the vocational track and was given the opportunity to join the his peers in the college preparatory track after two years at Our Lady of Mercy. His final two years in the college preparatory track blessed him with many opportunities but were also rife with difficulties in no small part related to the immense sense of frustration he felt at how far behind he was in his curriculum. If it hadn't been for the efforts of a very motivated and inspirational English instructor, there was very little chance that Rose would have gone to become who he is today. The vocational track left him behind, so far behind that it would have been difficult for Rose to succeed even after entering the college preparatory track without the aid of engaging instructors. The institution of public education as a whole, as evidenced by these tracking practices, is largely based on the principles of social reproduction. Once students are tracked, it is difficult to leave and even after accomplishing the near-impossible task of leaving, the marks left by poor instruction and support are too deep to really, fully recover from.
Questions 3&4
ReplyDeleteI think that given their backgrounds and the issues they discuss in their articles Anzaldua would argue to Rodriguez that being ashamed by his parents and the fact that they could not pronounce everything correctly in English, he only becomes part of the society that forces people like her, a Chicana, to hate their language or their background. She states, “ I am my language. Until I take pride in my language I can not take pride in myself” (59). She would argue, that while he tried to become educated, he forgot to educate himself in the aspects of his culture and life.
While teachers would argue that his ambition to be educated was good and he became the role model student it can be argued that he failed to accomplish the one thing teaching is meant to really do to truly educate and not simply make a machine that would regurgitate everything back to someone. Anzaldua would argue that this is not an education, that it does not empower him. Rodriguez states, “I read in order to acquire a point of view. I vacuumed books for epigrams, scraps of information, ideas, themes, -anything to fill the hollow within me and make me feel educated” (64) Wanting to feel educated Rodriguez does states, “What I did see in my books? I had the idea that they were crucial for my academics success thou I couldn’t have said exactly how or why” (64) Rodriguez lived a youth wanting to be educated because his teachers made him feel that the knowledge he did have was not good. This is what Tan’s article discusses. She argues against the idea that the language used at home does not count, is not valid, or does not make sense because its not proper, but in reality that its not proper doesn’t give the opinions shared by those speaking less. She mentions that while writing “[she] wanted to capture what language ability tests can never reveal: The intent her passions her imagery the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts” (30). Tan would argue that while students like Rodriguez wanted to get educated and their teachers educate them they forgot that in order to be able to continuously write and comprehend the reading the students must be able to truly analyze what they read and be able to organize and express their thoughts.
5. The main theme of all of the autobiographies would have to be discovery. The main idea behind the paper seems to be the search for the exact root of where one’s literacy developed. All of them followed the pattern of synopsis then explanation of process. A lot of them focused on their culture, whether or not they were directly engaged in it through linguistic literacy. The main difference has to be the way in which they found it. One student finds it from robot fighting while the other one explains the journey to literacy in reading music. So while a lot of the papers read the same in format, they touched on different forms of literacy.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this, I believe the best direction for me when it comes to writing this essay is to go with something unique. While I enjoyed reading the passages on English literacy, I feel that the most interesting and valuable autobiographies were those that dealt with a different facet of the multi-dimensional term of literacy.
1. Mark Rose is simply getting at the plight of socioeconomic disadvantage of immigrant families. As the son of Italian immigrants, he dealt with discrimination for the presumed literacy of his origins. Rose “just wants to be average” for many reasons. What he, or Ken Harvey, means by this is simply a statement to the education track Harvey and Rose were placed on: the vocational track. This track is simply the lowest at Our Mother Mercy High School that Rose went to. There was a college prep route that was also available that was not given to him at his time of entry. These students simply did not want to be looked down upon. They simply wanted to be able to establish identity through their own means and not categorize themselves around this low ranking.
What Rose means by “floating to the mark set” is simply that if you expect the least from a student, they’re going to give you the least they can. By being put in the vocational track at his school, he was placed in a position where the school did not happen to care whether or not these students were later on successful or on a higher education route. How can a student achieve the most when you give them the lowest watermark?
The comment posted at 2:47 am is mine. I am sorry for this error!
ReplyDelete3. I think Anzaldua and Rodriguez would get into a heated argument if they found themselves at a literacy conference and had a few drinks. Anzaldua's piece emphasizes the importance of hanging on to language and culture whereas Rodriguez puts for the idea that the scholarship kid must abandon one aspect of their life in order to pursue their education. Anzaldua's piece is written from someone who presents themselves as being part of the community. In the "Chicano Spanish" section, Anzaldua writes from the perspective of "we"- Chicanos. She says, "we collapse," "we leave out," "we use," when talking about Chicanos. In this sense she is emphasizing how she is a part of the community. Aside from that, in her piece, she integrates spanish and does not translate it for the reader, but instead credits it as being important enough as it is. Rodriguez on the other hand, writes from a more individualistic perspective. For example, he talks about how he was proud of loosing his accent and how he teachers could make him an educated man. He doesn't focus on a community or not even looking to help his parents learn. I feel that these two opposing perspectives would lead to an argument between the two authors.
ReplyDelete4. I think Tan would come in and focus on the power of language. She would acknowledge that there is importance in culture and in variations of one language. She would distinguish between different dialects. I think she would agree with Rodriguez in some areas because she knows that her mother was excluded from some opportunities because of the way she spoke. This would lead her to side with the idea of the "scholarship kid" who uses the dominant language to communicate. At the same time however, since she did decide to incorporate different types of language into her books, I think this tells us that she would advocate for bringing in more voices to the classroom in order to change the power dynamics among languages and dialects.