"I just want to be average" Q's

1. Rose's life in Voc. Ed. was very different the experiences I had with my teachers. Because of a lack of creativity, drive and desire to improve their students lives, the teachers were unable to control their students. Some teachers were violent and abusive towards their students as a way to create a sense of fear in them I suppose. Other teachers were passive and uninterested in creating that fear, or obedience in their students.

2. Voc. Ed. made these students feel like they were at the height of their potential. They developed ways of just barely getting by through high school. Teachers did not challenge these students, therefore students did not challenge themselves either. Many students lost interest and were simply just "there". Rose could inevitably never catch up in math because he was never taught to properly understand math, and to properly compute numbers. Poor teachings resulted in poor student performance, coming back to the loss of interest as a majority.

3. Ken Harvey struggled with school, he was just like many students who knew they had been labeled "slow". They chose to blend in, and yearned to be "average". He had other interests outside of school, like cars, that proved to him more rewarding than being in school and struggling with the curriculum. Ive seen students use many coping skills to survive their high school years. Some might bully, get depressed, suffer from total exclusion, or submerse themselves in something like sports. I think it would be difficult to be labeled as "slow" and find the drive to prove everyone wrong.

4. Sometimes I find the credit system a bit disorientating. At first I didn't understand at all how my credits would transfer from an out of state college, some did not transfer at all. I have found choosing the right degree path to be a bit disorientating as well, but once I did the research about what i wanted to know, and got to know staff and advisers on campus, I felt very much in control.

5. My experience with education contrasts with that of Mike Rose. I was able to attend school up until 10th grade in a larger community. I was involved in Running Start before I moved to Oregon with almost enough high school credits to graduate early. Upon arriving in Willamina Oregon, I found that their 2A high school was unable to place me properly in their 12th grade class. They allowed me to get my GED and start as a student at the local Community College. So at age 16 I had been given much more substantial opportunities than that given to Mike Rose.