I Just Wanna Be Average

                                                          I Just want to be Average

First off I want to say I enjoyed this piece a lot more than I thought I was going to. The title gave me the idea that I was going to like it. I strive for better than average. I strive for top tier so the title gave me a sour taste. That being said, I liked it!! Author Mike Rose informs the reader that he carried around the grades he earned from Jack MacFarland's class "like a club emblem". The main reason he is doing this is because he is proud of his work. He was in the vocational track prior. He had minimal if any guidance from his teachers. He now has someone he looks up to, someone that has stoked that cerebral fire, he is finally interested in a subject, and he is doing well. The grades that he receives are his visual evidence that his hard work is paying off. Rose is so proud that he wants to show them off as if they were a "club emblem".

I have had a few Jack Macfarland's in my day. In grade school it was Mrs. Tuller, in high school Ms. Roach, the first time through college Dr. Petrova, and most recently and possibly the best Professor Gregoire. Rose writes "but I worked very hard, For MacFarland had hooked me" This is 100% the truth when it comes to professor Gregoire. Her Anatomy and Physiology class is difficult. There is a lot of information and what seems like not enough time before the next time, whether that be Lab or Lecture. But there is something about the way that she presents the information to you. She makes the material fun. She can almost read the students mind when things are becoming convoluted and confusing; you can undoubablty count on her to notice that and make one of the corniest a and p jokes to lighten the mood. The material captivated me, but it was the teacher that projected it to me in the correct way to make me love it. The first semester I did just alright in my book. This drove me even more to do well in her class. I would find myself in open lab for 3 hours at a time if not more. I would then go home and read through the text book. I enjoyed the class so much that I wanted to further my knowledge on it so I decided to TA the class. I still read the text book refreshing my mind on the material that as already been presented to me. Its a great class that is true. But without her presence the class would have been just that, only as class.