Comparing and Contrasting Backgrounds of Authors Mike Rose and Richard Rodriguez
The biggest similarity between Mike Rose and Richard Rodriguez is they both love books and reading. Personally, I enjoy reading. Reading soothes the mind; it also reduces stress by distracting you from over thinking. From my experience I also came to realize reading increased my vocabulary and spelling. It forced me to come across new words, consequently improving my writing skills and analytical thinking. Rose and Rodriguez became writers mostly because they read all kinds of texts and became critical thinkers and at the same time motivated to pursue higher education. Their stories have common messages about literacy. Mike Rose’s “Lives on the Boundary” and
His parents were somewhat educated, but worked hard to make a living. His siblings were also smart, but Richard always felt like he was by himself. He had great parents but hints that there was never that special bond between them, that his family and school were two different worlds he had to learn to live with. He states “But withheld from my mother and father was any mention of what most mattered to me: the extraordinary experience of first learning,” (Rodriguez p. 66) and he shows how he would not just open up to his parents when they asked what was new. He would just reply with the “same old stuff” answer. His education had culturally separated him from his parents, the same education that has made him realize this fact and speak out about it.
In my opinion, Rose focused more on solving issues faced by students and teachers. According to Rose, the teaching system at his school was not appropriate for the students because it did not take in consideration the individual culture of each student, nor critical thinking was encouraged. However, in his senior year, Rose experienced an excellent professor who motivated him to be involved in learning process and also to read all kind of texts. Then Rose became a critical thinker and at the same time was motivated to pursue higher education (Rose p.11-37).
Rodriguez focuses more on struggles with loss of identity from home in pursuit of education. I felt that