Isaiah Swann
Mrs. Thompson
AP Lang, Block 1, Skinny B
31 January 2015
Publish-Ready Copy
IJWBA (Paper Focus)
The Many Fallacies of Vocational Education
“It's fairly obvious that American education is a cultural flop. Americans are not a well-educated people culturally, and their vocational education often has to be learned all over again after they leave school and college” (Chandler). What Raymond Chandler says regarding vocational education holds true in the mind of both Mike Rose and James Baldwin. Rose believes that the vocational track is simply sub-par in its education of its students because it is in place only to occupy the students and turn them into, at the very least, uniform citizens of society. This is similar to James Baldwin’s view in “A Talk to Teachers”; he says that “The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself…” (Baldwin). While this is a similar perspective to that of Rose, Baldwin insists that it is a flagrant and egregious mistake that society is making in trying to make each individual fit one standard, uniform mold, which he does not believe is particularly beneficial for many of the students, who have their own unique styles, personalities, and thought processes. Thus, Rose is likely to agree with most aspects of Baldwin’s passage due to his background as a teenager growing up within the confines of a sub-par education system.
Vocational education, with its many different names, is deemed by many as the lowest level of education within a school system. Its goal is to provide the technical skills that one may need to be a functional member of society. That is why “I Just Wanna Be Average” is so unusual; Mike Rose proved that, while the vocational track is not necessarily auspicious in many respects, it still plays an important role in the reclamation of many of the lives of students across the country. Rose’s characterization of the faculty and students within the vocational track, along with his descriptions of the vocational track itself, complements Baldwin’s opinion that societies really only want to produce obedient citizens: “During my time in Voc. Ed., I developed further into a mediocre student and a somnambulant problem solver…” (Rose).
Secondly, Rose would reject the idea that society is entirely successful in producing obedient “robots”. He substantiates this argument by conveying his opinion that each school environment is different for each student and that each student experiences things totally different from what he or she is used to: “No matter how bad the school, you’re going to encounter notions that don't fit with the assumptions and beliefs that you grew up with...You’ll also be thrown in with all kinds of kids from all kinds of backgrounds…” (Rose 3). He goes on to say that the vocational track was built to train its students for non-esteemed work / jobs: “if you’re a working-class kid in the vocational track; ... other students are picking up cues from your school and your curriculum and interacting with you in particular ways” (Rose 3).
Finally, Rose believes that the vocational track is simply a place where all of the academic “rejects” are dumped to flounder. “Entrance to school brings with it forms and releases and assessments. Mercy relied on a series of tests...for placement…” (Rose 1). This statement suggests that students are placed into classes based on their performance on a standardized test, which is unfair for students who are more abstract thinkers, etc. These tests place the students on tracks that are hard to escape. Rose says that “kids at [the vocational level] rarely cross tracks” (Rose 4). Rose also discusses how his sophomore English class was taught by a man, Mr. Mitropetros, who had little training in English and had the students read Julius Caesar over and over again because it was the only required text chosen by the district (Rose 2). He says that “students will float to the mark that you set…”, and that due to the fact that the standards and curriculum were loose and relatively unstructured, the vocational track has become “a dumping ground for the disaffected” (Rose 2).
In conclusion, both men grew up in an era and an area in which they felt was not adequate for the development of the teens within the high schools. Mike Rose and James Baldwin seem to be aligned in their thoughts on education in America, which are of disappointment towards the school system and society, although Baldwin’s statement was a statement directed at society, specifically, and Rose’s passage focused on the school system and how societal pressures directly affected education. The “vocational” education that teens were receiving was, as it turns out, not so didactic in their eyes.
Bibliography
Baldwin, James. ""A Talk to Teachers"" "A Talk to Teachers" James Baldwin, 1963. N.p., 1963. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.
Chandler, Raymond, Tom Hiney, and Frank MacShane. The Raymond Chandler Papers: Selected Letters and Nonfiction. New York: Atlantic Monthly, 2000. Print.
Rose, Mike. I Just Wanna Be Average. Print.
Mrs. Thompson
AP Lang, Block 1, Skinny B
31 January 2015
Publish-Ready Copy
IJWBA (Paper Focus)
The Many Fallacies of Vocational Education
“It's fairly obvious that American education is a cultural flop. Americans are not a well-educated people culturally, and their vocational education often has to be learned all over again after they leave school and college” (Chandler). What Raymond Chandler says regarding vocational education holds true in the mind of both Mike Rose and James Baldwin. Rose believes that the vocational track is simply sub-par in its education of its students because it is in place only to occupy the students and turn them into, at the very least, uniform citizens of society. This is similar to James Baldwin’s view in “A Talk to Teachers”; he says that “The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself…” (Baldwin). While this is a similar perspective to that of Rose, Baldwin insists that it is a flagrant and egregious mistake that society is making in trying to make each individual fit one standard, uniform mold, which he does not believe is particularly beneficial for many of the students, who have their own unique styles, personalities, and thought processes. Thus, Rose is likely to agree with most aspects of Baldwin’s passage due to his background as a teenager growing up within the confines of a sub-par education system.
Vocational education, with its many different names, is deemed by many as the lowest level of education within a school system. Its goal is to provide the technical skills that one may need to be a functional member of society. That is why “I Just Wanna Be Average” is so unusual; Mike Rose proved that, while the vocational track is not necessarily auspicious in many respects, it still plays an important role in the reclamation of many of the lives of students across the country. Rose’s characterization of the faculty and students within the vocational track, along with his descriptions of the vocational track itself, complements Baldwin’s opinion that societies really only want to produce obedient citizens: “During my time in Voc. Ed., I developed further into a mediocre student and a somnambulant problem solver…” (Rose).
Secondly, Rose would reject the idea that society is entirely successful in producing obedient “robots”. He substantiates this argument by conveying his opinion that each school environment is different for each student and that each student experiences things totally different from what he or she is used to: “No matter how bad the school, you’re going to encounter notions that don't fit with the assumptions and beliefs that you grew up with...You’ll also be thrown in with all kinds of kids from all kinds of backgrounds…” (Rose 3). He goes on to say that the vocational track was built to train its students for non-esteemed work / jobs: “if you’re a working-class kid in the vocational track; ... other students are picking up cues from your school and your curriculum and interacting with you in particular ways” (Rose 3).
Finally, Rose believes that the vocational track is simply a place where all of the academic “rejects” are dumped to flounder. “Entrance to school brings with it forms and releases and assessments. Mercy relied on a series of tests...for placement…” (Rose 1). This statement suggests that students are placed into classes based on their performance on a standardized test, which is unfair for students who are more abstract thinkers, etc. These tests place the students on tracks that are hard to escape. Rose says that “kids at [the vocational level] rarely cross tracks” (Rose 4). Rose also discusses how his sophomore English class was taught by a man, Mr. Mitropetros, who had little training in English and had the students read Julius Caesar over and over again because it was the only required text chosen by the district (Rose 2). He says that “students will float to the mark that you set…”, and that due to the fact that the standards and curriculum were loose and relatively unstructured, the vocational track has become “a dumping ground for the disaffected” (Rose 2).
In conclusion, both men grew up in an era and an area in which they felt was not adequate for the development of the teens within the high schools. Mike Rose and James Baldwin seem to be aligned in their thoughts on education in America, which are of disappointment towards the school system and society, although Baldwin’s statement was a statement directed at society, specifically, and Rose’s passage focused on the school system and how societal pressures directly affected education. The “vocational” education that teens were receiving was, as it turns out, not so didactic in their eyes.
Bibliography
Baldwin, James. ""A Talk to Teachers"" "A Talk to Teachers" James Baldwin, 1963. N.p., 1963. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.
Chandler, Raymond, Tom Hiney, and Frank MacShane. The Raymond Chandler Papers: Selected Letters and Nonfiction. New York: Atlantic Monthly, 2000. Print.
Rose, Mike. I Just Wanna Be Average. Print.