Do I Affect You

Do I Affect You

Justin McDowell
Brock-Cancellieri
English 101
14 March 2001
Do I Affect You?
It is amazing how people never seem to realize the affect that they have on one another. Every day, there is a mother who abandons her child, a father who neglects his family, and siblings that disdain one another. Parents split apart and each take a piece of a young heart with them. Have we lost compassion and empathy for one another? Censorship in the media is becoming scarce and children are being exposed to things that will hinder their growth and development. Does no one see the affect that it has on society? Children go to school raving about the rubbish that they saw on television that night, but can not list one step of the scientific method. Some teachers do not care enough to encourage students to learn more about things that are relevant. It turns into a cycle. Students get pushed from grade to grade without understanding or even an impetus to learn. Mike Rose, a professor at UCLA, believes that academic success can be limited by factors beyond the student’s control. I agree with Rose on the idea that environment and teachers greatly influence the education of students.
According to Rose’s essay, “I Just Wanna Be Average” school, “can be unsettling“ when being exposed to, “all kinds of kids from all kinds of backgrounds” (Rose, 166). My personal experience typifies this statement. I attended a middle school with a majority of African Americans students. Every day, I saw a different way of interaction that I was unaccustomed to. I was raised in a much more settled environment. Before I knew it, I began to transform into the people I saw walking through the halls. I became slightly aggressive and insubordinate. I gained confidence and even walked differently. I left middle school a completely different person. I high school, I got a shock. I went to a predominately Caucasian school. There were other ethnicities, but I would not call it a melting pot. It was a...

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