Be Above Average
James Coleman once said, “In a high school, the norms act to hold down the achievements of those who are above average, so that the school's demands will be at a level easily maintained by the majority” (Coleman). Mike Rose, a professor at UCLA, shares his experiences in the vocational education program in order to explain several reasons why students who go through high school are bored with the material, discouraged to try better, or just are not motivated for school. From my previous experiences I can agree with Rose’s critique of the school system because a student’s success for the future depends on an instructor or mentor’s guidance for achievement, how an instructor educates the material, and a student’s desire to be better.
In Rose’s essay he states, “Students will float to the mark you set” (Rose 160). In April I enlisted into the Maryland Army National Guard. From my experiences at the School of Infantry located in Fort Benning, GA I agree with Rose due to the high standards my Drill Sergeants set for my company. The military has a set standard that all soldiers must abide by. During Basic Combat Training, the Drill Sergeants pushed us to our limits. Hard work and dedication was key to success. The biggest misconception of Drill Sergeants is they are paid to be cruel, which is not true. It is more of a tough-love type story. Yes, they may have yelled at us and made us preform rigorous exercises and training at odd times of the day, but I can look back at Basic Training and look at my Drill Sergeants as role models. During the times when they were not hostile and intimidating they shared real-life combat experiences and life lessons. Drill Sergeants are examples of how all soldiers should keep a professional military barring. The military sets standards high because they only want the finest. It is the same concept when it comes to the school environment. Students will float to the mark you set because they recognize in the future it...