The past is a place of reference, not of residence; it is meant to be just the foundation that pushes you forward. That being said, it is common for educators to retrace the steps of their own education to isolate where they excelled and where they suffered as an attempt to better themselves and education. While looking back on their experiences, this time with nostalgia, the individual reflects on them with a different mindset than when they first encountered them. Richard Rodriguez did just this throughout his autobiography, The Hunger or Memory: The Achievement of Desire, as did Lucille McCarthy’s in her study, A Stanger in Strange Lands. Rodriguez reflects upon his experiences in education whereas McCarthy documents her approach of questioning a student’s ability to constitute appropriate ways of speaking and writing. Both of these authors have received similar educations and similar degrees, yet their …show more content…
It is through that process that Rodriguez allows other students the opportunity to find themselves through his experiences. Although they might not meet the scholarship boy criterion completely, there are going to be some aspects of their experiences that will align. McCarthy’s piece is also an easy comparison for most students. Rather than finding themselves in McCarthy’s position, they find themselves in the student’s. Rodriguez pointed out that most of his education consisted of memorization, both textbooks and ideals. One of his aims of education is to eliminate memorization, as memorization and learning are two completely different things. Although McCarthy does not suggest this, it can be implied from her interpretation. McCarthy points out that Dave needs to determine what works on an individual basis but once he nails down his style he must keep it consistent; the way he writes his poetry is not the way he writes his research