"I Just Wanna Be Average" By Mike Rose (Summary)

"I Just Wanna Be Average" by Mike Rose is about his experience in a vocational track at Our Lady of Mercy, his school.  Many considered that it was "for those who are not making it, a dumping ground for the disaffected". He was placed in the vocational track by accident and he mentions how many of his friends and classmates believe that school is not for them. His classmates don't show any interest in changing since his teachers don't make an effort to understand them. His teachers believed that intelligence was going to be contagious, so the classrooms were organized in rows with smart people and dumb people each row. In my perspective, categorizing a student as smart or dumb doesn't help the student to believe that they can do better, but it discourages them to try harder. This causes the students to show lack of interest in studying. Rose might have felt the same. He gets out of the vocational track because Brother Clint, his biology teacher, recommended to start his junior year in the College Prep program. He has difficulties understanding the concepts; therefore, he gets frustrated and struggles in school. He would "scribble on paper for a while, but the tension wins out and your attention filts elsewhere" and "begin daydreaming to ease the frustration". He has a hard time getting through his classes, but manages to focus with the help of a new member at school. This was not the only conflict  in his life; his father had passed away as well. He overcomes every challenge with the help of Jack MacFarland, a new English teacher, who changes the attitudes of every student about school. The students were more knowledgeable, and most importantly they had someone that believed in them. For the students, it was important to have someone that supported and guided them instead of being categorized without a reason. In Rose's family, no one had attended a four-year university before, so he did not believe that he was going to. MacFarland believed that Rose had the skills to attend a four-year university; however, Rose didn't have the grades for it. MacFarland helped Rose and ends up attending Loyola University. From his experience, Rose"realized how layered and important that knowledge was".