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While many people in America learn through the standard schooling system there are some that come into an education on their own, in their own way. Here I am going to compare the similarities and differences between the ways that Mike Rose, an award winning writer and professor in the School of Education at UCLA and Malcolm X, an African American activist who was a renowned speaker and ideologist, were motivated to start taking their education seriously, and how they went about getting that education.
Mike Rose was placed in the vocational track at his high school due to a mix up of his test results with another student named Rose. (Rose 152). He unwittingly found himself heading towards an educational dead end due to the nature of the vocational program at his school. The goal of the curriculum was to improve the economic advantages of children who were poor students. These already disinterested students were matched with mostly poor teachers. That is unlikely to have been an accident. The administrations thinking was probably “why place a strong teacher with students unlikely to benefit from being taught well?” As a sophomore the placement error was corrected by a Brother Clint who noticed that his student was doing better than expected and researched why this student who was testing so well was on the vocational track. Now in College Prep classes Rose still did not have the interest or motivation to absorb nor enjoy the things presented to him to learn. However Jack McFarland would change that for him and in a big way. McFarland who taught English at Our Lady of Mercy ignited a love of literature and writing in a young Mike Rose with his gravitas and enthusiasm for the subject. Malcom X was a well-known civil rights leader ...
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...helped ignite that passion, for Rose it was Mr. McFarland who would push him to learn and enjoy that learning. Similarly, Malcolm X had his prophet Elijah Muhammad and Bimbi to catalyze his desire to be a better communicator. Either man could have ended up being nothing more than the average Joe had they not had someone to bring forth a desire to become stronger readers, writers and communicators. Both men, while going about achieving their goals differently, one in more or less the regular high school to collage path and the other in a decidedly nonstandard way, did end up achieving those educational goals.
Works Cited
Rose, Mike. "I Just Want to Be Average." Rereading America. 9th ed. Boston/NewYork: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 152-62. Print.
X, Malcolm. "Learning to Read." Rereading America. 9th ed. Boston/NewYork: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 189-97. Print.
Early in my life, there was a time where I struggled greatly with my education; there are times in life where we can feel lost when it comes to education or in our careers and it really is acceptable to feel this way. Malcolm X’s story really shows how we can always continue to improve on
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In conclusion, I would like to say that this book is worthwhile reading although it is a quite thick and might take longer time to finish reading it. I might not good in reviewing a book or giving criticism for something. Reading this autobiography can benefit people in many fields. Different people will see things differently. So does when reading this book, certain people might take the lessons differently and it might benefit differently. For example, as a sociological study, it could provide fascinating insights into ghetto life and the ways which an individual learned to survive in the ghetto. Meanwhile as a religious work, it does tell about how an individual is struggling in order to find his God. And it cannot be denied as it is clear that in political work is the book has had its strongest impact.
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As Malcolm X began to write more letters to a wide variety of people he became frustrated with the fact that he could not communicate with them as he wanted to. "It was because of these letters that I happened to stumble upon starting to acquire some kind of homemade education." He hated it because he had been the most articulate hustler on the streets of Harlem, and could get anyone's attention with his words. He was admired for the eloquent words he spoke and was not used to being ignored. For now even the simplest English was hard for him to write.
Malcolm X should be everyone’s hero, someone people like myself should look up to as a human being. Anyone who thinks otherwise is either a racist or is extremely ignorant. Malcolm X wore his heart on his sleeve and whether right or wrong he was never afraid to say what was on his mind to anyone who cared to listen. I personally believe Malcolm X’s beliefs give me strength to do what's right and carry myself with dignity. I remember, as a kid, my parents had tons of books about Black History books. The first book I read was a Malcolm X biography. I realized Malcolm X was truly a powerful, significant, and essential work for all time.
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Before the civil rights movement gained momentum around 1955, the African-American community was looked upon by many as a group of second-class citizens who were undeserving of rights enjoyed by white Americans. This started to change when men like Malcolm Little (Malcolm X) stood up for the cause and fought back against segregation. He was a man from humble beginnings and who dealt with racism and hatred from a young age, all of which shaped his activism. Malcolm, after his death, was recognized as one of the most important people of the 20th century by TIME Magazine. He watched from a young age as white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) terrorized African-Americans by lynching and torturing them because of their skin color (“Malcolm X”). This among many other racists acts witnessed by Malcolm shaped his philosophical and political views. Malcolm was a controversial figure because he initially supported a violent revolution against whites, but he had many supporters in the African-American community. One of them was Manning Marable, who wrote a biography about Malcolm, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, in 2011. This book brings Malcolm’s story to life through research of his experiences and interviews with his close family and friends. Michiko Kakutani, a New York Times book critic, emphasizes in her review that though the biography is not as intense in details and philosophical views as is Malcolm X’s own autobiography, Marable “manages to situate Malcolm X within the context of 20th-century racial politics in America without losing focus on his...
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