I Just Wanna Be Average By Mike Rose Summary

In “I Just Wanna Be Average”, Mike Rose tells the story of his high school experience and how his Stanford-Binet IQ test score got mixed up with another guy with the same Sir name; he was subsequently placed on a vocational track; which was the lowest class placement you could be assigned. We hear about a few of the classes he took over the four years, English, PE, Spanish, and Voc. Ed. Rose tells us about one teacher in particular, Mr. MacFarland, his senior year college prep English class, and how he insured Rose that he was great and to do anything he desired. With the encouragement of one teacher, Rose was able to break out of the dead-end education and excel in college. Mike Rose was placed into a vocational education program for those performing below average. He states, ” The vocational track, however, is most often a place for those who are just not making it, a dumping ground for the disaffected” (126). The school would often place the blame of students on the parents for their lack of involvement in their child’s education. However, most teachers played a passive role in the education of the students in this program. Some would be stern and administer weekly quizzes, hoping the students would learn something; while others had no idea how to stir any desire in their students. Rose states,
MacFarland, who had a master degree from Columbia. Mr. MacFarland was the most influential person he had in his life, he encouraged him to write, read, and do what he wanted to do. He couldn’t have come to Rose at a better time, his father had recently passed away and Rose was feeling very low. Roses’ reincarnated desire to learn awoke his interest in reading and creating stories. MacFarland had given him a desire to open his mind and find what interested him. He further encouraged him to go to college; he even attempted to find him a college loan to pursue his dream. Mr. MacFarland gave him the