"I Just want to be Average" by Mike Rose

9/29/2009

This is article is kind of the complete opposite of the article I last blogged about but it was just as provacative. "I Just Want to be Average" by Mike Rose provides a compelling look at the "average" kids in education and what they deal with. It details the defense mechanisms these kids set up for themselves just to get by in school. "What Ken and so many others do is protect themeselves from suffocating madness by taking on with a vengence the identity implied in the vocational track." I believe Rose wrote this article to tell that a student just needs to become inspired by a great teacher to escape mediocrity and become truly great in the world of academia. Rose himself was but an average student before he was inspired by his english teacher Mr. Macfarland. "I worked very hard for Macfarland had hooked me. He tapped my interest in reading and creating stories. He gave me a way to feel special by using my mind." I believe this is essential to a good education to be a teacher that inspires his/her students to become truly immeresed and interested in their studies. This is something I as a future teacher hope to achive for my students.

The Achievment of Desire

9/22/09

WOW! This essay was one of the most fascinating articles on education I have ever read! This article was so much different then all the other educational essays. This is the only one i have have to discuss the problems of the other side of the educated. Some lines in this passage really stood out to me. Like "The scholarship boy is a very bad student. He is a great mimic, a collector of thoughts not a thinker." This struck my becuase usualll we think of a scholarship student to be the greatest thinkers of all but Rodrieguez argues that there are what I call "BSers". It also struck me of how he felt isolated from his parents and used books as a way to escape. A very interesting article and I am eager to discuss it in class!

Engaged Pedagogy

9/21/09

After reading bell hooks' article "Engaged Pedegogy" some things that were discussed in the text really caught my attention. This article was particularly engaging as an education major. The first thing that struck me was how she argued that for a teacher to truly be good at teaching they themselves must be happy and healthy. I also agree with hooks' argument that engaged pedagogy is a terrfic teaching method and would help students much more than just unpassionate lectures by stuffy professors.

A re-read of Bartholomae

9/16/2009

After discussing it in class and re-reading "Inventing the University" i got a totally different look at this compelling essay. After first reading it I thought it was about how students have to qrite to thier professors and have to use their discourse. But after discussing in class I could see how Bartholomae believes that education is a politcial machine to maintain or somehow change the staus quo. It could alos be used to give certain dissource to different people.

On bullshit

9/07/09
On Bull Shit by Frankfurt and "A Few Kind Words for Bullshit" by Eubanks and Schaeffer

Unfortunately everytime I went to Panther bookstore they were out of On Bullshit by Frankfurt but I did "A Few Kind Words for Bullshit" By Eubanks and Schaeffer. They argue that the term academic bullshit puts teachers in a tough spot because they study, teach and produce adademic writing. they are open to the accusation that they both tolerate and advance academic bullshit. They argue that confronting this problem must begin with a careful definition of "bullshit" and "academic bullshit." They suggest that academic bullshit is unavoiable but could also be beneficial to the students