Education
Richard Rodriguez and Mike Rose both write about their education. In "I Just Wanna Be Average," Mike Rose recounts his experience in Catholic school as an Italian-American from a working class family background. Because of a school error, he was placed in the vocational tract at school. The experience taught Rose a lot about the low expectations place on students, the lack of effective role models in the classroom, and the inability of teachers to inspire their students. These problems are especially evident in the vocational tracking programs, because once Rose moves to the college prep courses, he realizes that he was being encouraged and challenged more. In "The Achievement of Desire," Rodriguez also writes about his experience in Catholic school, from a Latino-American working class family background. Unlike Rose, Rodriguez was somewhat of an over-achiever. He worked hard, and earned good grades until he was able to secure a…...

Mike Rose and Richard Rodriguez expose the weaknesses in the American educational system. In "I Just Wanna Be Average," Rose talks about his experience being accidentally placed into the vocational tract at school, when he was actually an advanced student. When he is eventually shifted to the college prep level, Rose notes that he lost all motivation to learn and it was a struggle to find inspiration in education. In "The Achievement of Desire," Richard Rodriguez describes how his education made him to feel superior to his working-class parents. Education changed him and made him smarter, but it did not necessarily make him a better person. Therefore, both Rose and Rodriguez explore different problems associated with being a working-class student. Being from a working-class background affects how other people view the student, and affects how the student views himself or herself.
In "I Just Wanna Be Average," Mike Rose describes…...

Hispanic-American Culture'
Richard Rodriguez' article "Hispanic-American Culture' is about not only the experiences that he dealt with, but the way that the Hispanic Culture meets the American culture and how the two work together. Those that are Hispanic-American want to remember their Hispanic heritage, but they also want the benefits that they get from America. The way that Rodriguez tells the story it is clear that he is very proud of his culture, and he believes that Hispanics have a lot to offer Americans if they let the two cultures come together. This lets the best of both cultures be seen so that Hispanics can recognize the benefits that they get from living in American, and Americans can see what kinds of values and gifts Hispanics bring with them.

Rodriguez approaches the article from a calm tone of voice but the passion for his culture and its worth can be seen…...

Language
Both Malcolm X and ichard odriguez frame language in terms of political and social power. Malcolm X and ichard odriguez both comment on the power of language to demark social status. Language is also a form of empowerment, both personal and political.

odriguez focuses on the social and political implications of bilingualism. The author shows that in the United States, English is the language of the dominant culture and all other languages including Spanish are segregated as private languages. odriguez states, "As a socially disadvantaged child, I considered Spanish to be a private language." Proponents of bilingual education do not understand the political implications of bilingual education, claims odriguez. A monolingual education in English would equalize the playing field, by allowing English Language Learners to assume the language of the dominant culture as their own. The situation would be different if all students in the United States had access to bilingual…...

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References

Malcolm X (1965). Coming to an awareness of language. Excerpt online:  http://www.blesok.com.mk/tekst_print.asp?lang=eng&tekst=351 

Rodriguez, R. (2004). Hunger of memory. Random House. Retrieved online:  http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780553382518&view=excerpt

Aria
Rodriguez, Richard. "Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood," an excerpt from. Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez: an Autobiography. Boston, Mass: D.R. Godine, 1982. Print.

Bilingual education is one of the issues that have been hotly debated in the last few decades. Though proposed by Hispanic-Americans in the 1970s and '80s, many second- and third-generation immigrants from the south of the United States now have mixed feelings about bilingualism. Some support it as a policy that would help Spanish-speaking and other ethnic American children maintain their cultural heritage and individualism, while others criticize it as something that may block their assimilation and integration into the American mainstream. Richard Rodriguez, the son of Mexican immigrants to the United States, is among the latter group, arguing that children of Spanish-speaking and ethnic immigrants must opt for education in English only; for that is the best way of becoming a full-fledged…...

Wanna Be Average," written by Mike Rose. Although each of these writers has a very different writing style, both essays deal with similar issues about the educational experiences of young boys growing into men. Five main areas will be discussed: assimilation; the power of academic reading; identity crisis; self-awareness; and cultural conflict.
Assimilation

Blending into a new and different culture from the one you are accustomed to can be a challenging and frightening process for people of any age. For young people who are still in their formative years, it can be even more confusing and intimidating. They have not yet developed the coping skills that adults have, and they often do not understand the strange, exciting, and sometimes uncomfortable feelings they experience in the process. Writers of both of these essays go through experiences of assimilation in their childhood years. The experiences are similar in that they both are centered…...

pain when it comes to being different. In both Zora Neale Hurston's essay "How It Feels to Be Colored Me" and Richard Rodriguez's " Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood" the two writers discuss the differences they come upon that molded their principles and sentiments as they grew older. For Hurston hers was about being of a dissimilar race than her environment. For Rodriguez, his was about being different by communicating in another language. Both felt the effect it had on not just their lives, but also their thoughts as they matured into adulthood.
Rodriguez and Hurston viewed their differences as some sort of handicap. Each author imagined themselves in some way as being handicapped in life, of either not comprehending the language or not comprehending being of a different race. However, both authors found a way to overcome their personal struggles through turning these thoughts and struggles into growing…...

acial Identity: Blessing or Curse?
Today, in the United States, cultural and ethnic and racial sensitivity are all approached from the perspective of inclusiveness and equality. In that sort of social climate, the notion of racial identity has more positive connotations than negative ones, as everyone is encouraged to celebrate his or her heritage and to respect and value those of others. In that respect, racial identity is a positive thing that allows all of us to maintain a psychological familial connection to our ancestors and to our heritage in a positive way that adds value to our lives. However, racial identity is only beneficial when it is something of our own choosing and when we live in a society that values all people equally in that respect. It is quite another thing entirely when our racial identity is something that is foisted upon us, as members of a racial or…...

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References

Hurston, Zora. (1928). "How It Feels To Be Colored Me." Retrieved Online:

http://www.mrisakson.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/How_It_Feels_to_be_Colored_Me.pdf

Rodriquez, Richard "Aria: A Memoir of A Bilingual Childhood." Occasions for Writing: Evidence, Idea, Essay. Eds. Robert DiYanni & Pat C. Hoy II. Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle, 2007. 501-508. Print.

Clash of Identities
Is a private identity a curse or a blessing? Is it necessary or valid to hide who you really are? According to "Aria: Memoir of a bilingual childhood" by Richard Rodriguez and "How it feels to be colored me" by Zora Hurston, creating a private identity and leaving your public identity behind, may be necessary, especially living, growing or entering an environment where it is not that accepting to cultural differences, there is probably not other culture during these times such as the exchange students from the Islam culture from the Azerbaijan State that can relate. "You need to study abroad! In the United States!" are two sentences many high school seniors, that do not live in the United States, hear from their mothers, fathers and counselors. There is a current obsession for children to get educated in the United States. The Azerbaijan State has gone as far…...

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Works Cited

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Thomas Szasz's the Myth of Psychotherapy and Bilingual Education in Richard Rodriguez's Hunger for Memory
How can psychotherapy be a myth? How can the internal speculation in regards to the soul be wrong? However, both Richard Rodriguez's Hunger for Memory and Thomas Szasz's The Myth of Psychotherapy say that the current cultural obsession with self-reflection and the idea that reconstituting, reliving, and recapturing memory, at least in an idealized and primal 'perfect' form is impossible, a lie, and would be dangerous to the psyche and soul's self-development and sense of efficacy in the world, if this were possible. Szasz critiques modern psychotherapy as an attempt to make morality a mental and medical issue. Rodriguez critiques modern moral educators within the educational establishment whom would excuse poor performance by minority students, and students from non-English speaking homes. Both suggest objective, external standards to live up to, rather than internal reflection is…...

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Works Cited

Rodriguez, Richard. Hunger Of Memory. New York: Bantam Books, 1983

Szasz, Thomas. The Myth of Psychotherapy: Mental Healing As Religion, Rhetoric, and Repression. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1988.

This is my old bar. Everything about it, from the broken dartboard on the wall to the waitress with the cigarette voice who knows what I want to drink before I even open my mouth, is the same as I've ever known it to be. My buddies have only aged a year since I've last seen them. They're holding an impromptu party for my return. it's basically just a few beers and a discussion of old times. A few of them have changed jobs or gotten new girlfriends. Some have packed on a few extra pounds or grown a beard. Not that much has outwardly changed. it's no different than if I'd gone away to college or gotten a job transfer cross-country. I know that I'm just supposed to act like "long time no see."

I can't really talk about what I've been up to. No one wants to hear me…...

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Works Cited

Rodriguez, Richard. Hunger of Memory: the Education of Richard Rodriguez: an Autobiography. New York: Dial, 2004.

speak the word of peace and write to enable to establish the end of racism, poverty, and everything seems wrote wrong with the world. People such as Malcolm X, Richard Rodriguez and others wrote beautiful pieces on the importance on peace and harmony surrounding everyone in the world. Through the written word and the methods of the Contact Zone, these writers tried to accomplish their goal of making a difference in today's society, which the changes were for the better. Along with that, these writers have a great impact on how people view the world today on issues such as racism and harmony. Therefore, people like Malcolm X and Richard Rodriguez made a difference through their writings and speeches of peace.
Intelligent and articulate, Malcolm was appointed a minister and national spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad also charged him with establishing new mosques in cities such as…...

Huckleberry Finn is the closest we have to a national hero. We trust the story of a boy with no home and who is restless as the river -- The genius of America is that it permits children to leave home; it permits us to be different from our parents. But the sadness, the loneliness, of America is clear too.
What is odriguez telling us about a central feature of the American Character, and about tensions within our core values? What reasons, what causes, might contribute to this national tendency? Which authors and/or other course materials support your ideas?

There is a tension within the American character. On the one hand, we pride ourselves so our individuality. On the other, we seek to conform, fit in, be a part of the 'melting pot'; but we are forever lonely.

Individualism has been an intrinsic part of the American myth. It is seen in the…...

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References

Ole Rolvaag, Giants in the Earth, Harper & Bros., 2002

Anzia Yezierska, Bread Givers New York: Persea Books, 1979

Lawrence Levine, Black Culture and Black Consciousness

Gene Yang, American Born Chinese

While his loss of accent brought himself and his teachers a sense of pride, it brought sorrow to his parents, who saw the change, however gradual, in their child. The author furthermore admits that for children like him, from a non-white American background, the home and school environment are at cultural extremes. This creates conflict that the young Rodriguez handled by conforming to his school environment. In effect he replaced the importance and roles of his parents in his life with those of his teachers, and as such became an academic success.
The author however admits that this is a shameful and lonely type of success. Nonetheless, it is a success that the author has chosen to conform to. Instead of therefore being successful because he has been educated, Rodriguez emphasizes that his success was chosen. He worked towards academic success with great passion, because this is what he wanted.…...

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Bibliography

Cremin, Lawrence a. (1957). Horace Mann and the 19th century Education Reform movement. http://www-scf.usc.edu/~clarkjen/Horace%20Mann.htm

Gatto, John Taylor. (2003). Against School. http://www.spinninglobe.net/againstschool.htm

Malcolm X Learning to Read. http://www-scf.usc.edu/~clarkjen/Malcolm%20X.doc

Rodriguez, Richard. The Achievement of Desire. http://www-scf.usc.edu/~clarkjen/Richard%20Rodriguez.doc

Language and Culture in Autobiography
Language, Culture and Identity in the writings of Maxine Hong Kingston, Richard Rodriguez and Alfred Kazin: degradation of culture, family and self"

Through the three autobiographical works, "Talk," by Maxine Hong Kingston, "Hunger of Memory," by Richard Rodriguez and "Brownsville School Days," by Alfred Kazin a reader can plainly comprehend the difficulties associated with immigration and language learning and how those difficulties interact with a developing child's mind. Though the cultures and languages of all three of these authors are vastly different and the severity of internal and external reactions they have to the circumstances their emotional and intellectual responses to their challenges are strikingly similar.

The simple voices of these three children of different cultures become complex words and ideas issued forth through the phenomena of growing up as an outsider and immigrant and most importantly a non-native English speaker. In these three works it is…...