Your Choice
Excerpt from the Mike Rose’s Lives On the Boundary:
What is the nature of Marita’s problem, according to Rose? What about Lucia? How are their problems related to each other, if they are?
One interesting difference between this selection and the “Stories from the Front” is that Rose offers descriptions of Marita’s and Lucia’s life situation outside of school. Why is this important to do (if it is important to do)? By contrast, McGrath and Spear are completely silent on these sorts of details. Why is that?
Students frequently report finding Rose’s description of Marita and Lucia “sympathetic” while finding McGrath and Spear’s “stories” unsympathetic and demeaning to students. Is that fair? To what do you attribute that response?
If Rose has the problem right, what’s his solution? Does he have one?
