Lodh 1

Kriti Lodh
Ms. Thompson
AP Lang Block 2 Skinny A
November 7, 2014
Draft #2
Great Minds Think Alike
We all have similar thoughts that run through our minds, and as these ideas are passed on
to broader audiences, the notions are shared but the way they are conveyed differ, making each
individual message stronger and more convoluted. After analyzing and comparing the memoir, I
Just Wanna Be Average by Mike Rose and the passage, A Talk to Teachers by James Baldwin,
it can be seen that the two share quite similar thoughts. Rose goes about a more personal account
as he discusses pressing issues with the education system, particularly the vocation education
system, and how they affected him in life. On the other hand, there is Baldwin whose views are
all based off of observation and how he sees the students in society being affected by the system.
It is seen that both have a negative view on the system as it doesnt call for students to achieve
their full potential unless they are quite exceptional at academics on their own. From Baldwins
statement, The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the
world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to
decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not. To ask questions of the universe, and
then learn to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his own identity, (page 1) it can
be noted that the initial purpose of education is to transform students into confident people with
individualized identities. Although the initial intent of the education system is one of positive
regard, as it attempts in making students different and unique, it does not follow through as

Lodh 2
society influences it to create those that will simply abide by the rules. Mike Rose would concur
with this idea from James Baldwin as he has had personal experience with this pressing issue.
From the passage A Talk to Teachers by James Baldwin, it can be concluded that the
purpose of the education system is merely an illusion.When we think of education, we think of
the enhancing of the minds that will lead our future. Initially, the intention is to create a distinct
community that could broaden the horizons of what is known into the deeper chasms of what is
unknown. Our expectation as people is to gain from the system. The idea is to create students
that know what they want with complete decisiveness that can be the future leaders of our
society. As much as all this is wished for, and even though this is what schools want to do, it
doesnt actually happen. Students are not thoroughly cared for and after schooling they are then
just passed away to move on to the real world. Society is just trying to achieve the bare
minimum, and except for the excelling students, most are only provided with the bare necessities
to help them move on even though they wont be prepared, placing them on the opposite side of
the spectrum. Society just wants people to follow the rules and not speak up or be different. With
the idea of just getting good citizens that abide by the rules, students are falling short of
receiving a proper education with teachers that tend to their needs at all costs.
In Roses memoir, I Just Wanna Be Average, Rose discusses an ongoing problem that
the education system is flawed as it doesnt have concern to aid the students to find their identity,
but it simply seems as if the system is trying to pass them to get rid of them.Throughout Roses
years in the vocational education program at Our Lady of Mercy, Rose felt as if the teachers did
not care about the students. As a result, he gained no knowledge and lost the interest to acquire
knowledge. The futile teachers here had no passion to teach or help the students, and no actual
qualifications. It was as if they had a great disdain for the education system itself. A key example

Lodh 3
from the memoir would be Mr. Mitropetros who ...had little training in English, so his lesson
plan for his day work had us reading the districts required text, Julius Caesar, aloud for the
semester, (page 2). Since he had no evident knowledge in the field of English, he was incapable
of sparking passion in the students to enjoy learning the material of the class. As the years went
by, the students were never challenged, hence making them feel as if there was no reason to try
or aspire. Without rigor and something to look forward to, the students lacked motivation. Since
Rose was once in an education system that catered to his needs, he was able to sense a significant
difference in the two. He once aspired to learn and loved to learn, and after being placed with
teachers that didnt care, he began to lose interest and school started to seem obscure and
unimportant. This is just a vicious cycle. Not only did the teachers not care, but they were also
abusive and patronizing. Not caring is one thing, but actual abuse is much too far. If a student is
beaten up by one of higher power that is teaching them, of course they would have no intention
to learn. Rose didnt believe that there was any point in achieving a better education or to try to
find out who he was and what he wanted in life. All his peers around him lacked motivation
which caused him to lose any perseverance to try. In addition, students were never challenged, so
there was no need to study and try on tests and assessments. Since they never studied and lacked
motivation, many students would cheat their way through and many a times, the teachers did not
care because they just wished for the students to pass and leave. Overall, Rose had a very bad
experience with the education system, as he saw it as an unjust way to get rid of all the students
that werent able to excel in the academic field with ease. Rose discusses how it is unfair that the
students at the bottom receive the teachers that are at the bottom, so they have no chance of
getting to the top, while those that are at the top get the best of teachers and have passion to
teaching, only making the excelling students even better. Furthermore, this only widens the gap

Lodh 4
between the excelling and the vocational education students. After leaving the program, it was
difficult for him to adjust to college and that level of thinking and learning, so the vocational
education program negatively affected the opportunities and capabilities that Rose could have
had if he had been with teachers that cared in an education system that was not flawed. All in all,
people have this disfigured notion that education is there to better and to help, when in reality all
it does is passes along the students in order for them to be good, ideal citizens, rather than
actually helping and forming a society filled with diverse minds.
Based on all the points addressed, it is clear as day that Rose does agree with Baldwins
interesting statement. From Roses personal experiences, he can support what Baldwin has to
say based off of his observations of society. The education system is flawed, and students arent
being able to reach their full potential. If the student is not exceptional by his or herself, it seems
that there is no point to provide them with equal opportunities. Those that are lower level
students are graded easily just to be passed so they can go on a fulfill societies wish for them to
stick to the norm and be model citizens. In conclusion, individualized and different thought is
frowned upon.
From deciphering both excerpts, it is safe to say that the thoughts on the education system
do integrate with one another. By analyzing the tone and the personal accounts of Roses journey
through the vocational education system, it is lucid that Rose agrees with Baldwins statements
from his observations. The fact of the matter is, the education system is corrupt, and this is
represented through the great minds of Rose and Baldwin.