What Is The Theme Of I Just Want To Be Average

Jose Gonzalez

ENGL 1010 - 47

2-23-23

The Education System Needs Change

The school system creates an environment where students’ academic identities are shifted to think that they aren’t allowed to make mistakes or that making mistakes is bad.

Ashley comes from a broken home, and like in Mike Rose’s “I Just Want To Be Average” she gained mentors that weren’t family. She looks towards teacher guidance and help when confused or in need of support and like in Anzaldúa's “ How to Tame a Wild Tongue “she went through many struggles on her journey to get a higher education. At an early age, she was set on wanting to get higher education, from what she viewed, she was set on wanting to have a successful future. Her major is sociology

Ashley is influenced by her family, future, and drive to obtain higher education. Therefore education is a big part of her identity. There are areas in the educational system where it isn’t as fair for others. Especially for Ashley, school isn’t accommodating to the student's personal lives, and is centered mostly on what’s in a textbook. Ashley enjoys reading but mentioned that some teachers suck the joy out of it, making it so she would only read to complete an assignment. This sort of influence is what reassures students that they don't have any power and gives teachers authority over students which creates a relationship that is unhealthy for both student and teacher. The teacher only expects the students to work as told, and students don’t enjoy the work which causes some students to disregard pursuing higher education. In the majority of cases, Teachers lack the passion to teach. For example, Rio Vista Elementry school is a school that Ashley attended, and a review left by a parent exuberates

Ashley's first language is English and she didn’t face many problems with diverse people in school. College is a whole different ball game compared to public schools the way teachers teach and connect with students is different. In Ashley’s past schooling teachers weren’t always caring about her or her education. In School, she couldn’t sit still and did cause a little trouble in class but few teachers took the time to check up on her, instead of punishing her with detention or time out. A teacher has a great impact on students whether it's their future aspirations or giving counseling for at-home help. The problem is that most teachers take the job for a paycheck and do not inspire future generations. In short, most teachers don't have the passion to teach and that creates a negative view of students and education. For example, what I recall from my schooling experience most teachers would read off a book get, off track, and talk about their personal life, Not that it wasn’t interesting but it felt like we weren’t learning anything. There was a similar experience in rose “Parking cars