Essay About Mike Rose And Astounding Challenge

Lives on the Boundary
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To begin, the quote from “Lives on the Boundary,” by Mike Rose reads “More often than we admit a failed education is social more than intellectual in origin.” To me when Rose states this he gives examples of people like Caroline and Thuy Anh. They came from two different social backgrounds and their in the same class for the same reason. Its not because they dont have the intellectual knowledge to read and write. Its because of there childhood. They had to put other things first rather than theyre education. Another example is of the dark-skinned boy, who perhaps is Guatemalan. So much has happened from his past that he now is causing trouble. His name is Mario. He paints these pictures about negative things (beggars, eyes on billboards, skeletal homeboys, etc) because thats what he remembers from the place he was born. Hes not able to learn because thats whats in his head. Socially things have happened to him has affected his learning abilities. “It is an astounding challenge: the complex and wrenching struggle to actualize the potential not only of the privileged but, too of those who have. . . . .” What I get from this is that people who struggle no matter from what theyre background is can overcome. Also sometimes with the help of a teacher/teachers encouragement you can strive to do better. Thats exactly what Chin did. One of his elementary school teachers told him that his writing was poor, and that he didnt know many words. Chin didnt take that as a negative thing and quit school. He encouraged his self to do better not only for him but his family. He kept going to school, entered himself in a literacy program at a community college and began making progress. “This painful but generative mix of language, and story can result in clash and dislocation in our communities, but it also gives rise to new speech, new stories, and once we appreciate the richness of it, new invitations to literacy.” What I get from this quote is best illustrated by Rose when he talks about Frank Marell, his oldest uncle. He was eight when he entered an American school. He didnt understand the teacher or reading and writing. He asked other Italian kids to tell him what was going on. He learned to develop his own way of learning English. He listened to the radio to mimic what they were saying in English. Hed copy words from his boss Pete