Recently in one of my classes, we read an article about vocational education written by Mike Rose, a professor in the School of Education at UCLA, entitled “I Just Wanna Be Average.” Through many first hand experiences, Rose explains how vocational education institutions do not encourage their students to be ambitious. When reading this article, I thought of Burke and how he would love the standards vocational education schools hold for their students because he also did not encourage ambition.
The main point of Rose’s article is that people can only float to, and not surpass, the mark that is set for them and that vocational education systems set the bar very low. Rose tells the story about how he tested into the vocational track of high school where he was not encouraged to succeed. In this poor learning environment, he “did what he had to do to get by, and did it with half a mind” (Rose 177). The article is composed of many anecdotes about the poor learning environment in a vocational education school. For example, one day in class the teacher asked one of the students their opinion about working hard and doing the best that one can do to achieve great things; the boy answered, “I just wanna be average” (Rose 178). The students in this education system were being taught to be content with mediocrity and to not even try to become something they might have once dreamed of being.
Burke would highly support an education system like the one Rose attended. In his “Reflections on the Revolution in France,” Burke expresses his belief that ambition is impractical; some people are naturally born unequal to others and unless they are an exceptional person (like himself and Rose) then they can’t change. According to Burke, ambition only applies to people like “distinguished magistrates,” and there are a limited amount of those exemplary people (Burke 507). Burke says that people need to be “taught to seek and recognize the happiness that is to be found by virtue in all conditions; in which consists the true moral equality of mankind” (Burke 504). In this statement he basically says that people need to be satisfied with what they are given and if they aren’t then they should be taught to be. He also says that “inspiring false ideas and vain expectations into men destined to travel in the obscure walk of laborious life, serves only to aggravate and embitter that real inequality which it can never remove” (Burke 505). Burke implies that regardless of ambition most people are destined to fail in their endeavors.
The education system that Mike Rose was enrolled in put into action what Burke believed. Burke thinks that ambition doesn’t apply to the average person so it shouldn’t be encouraged, and the students in the system that Rose attended were not encouraged. The system had very low expectations for its students, so the students could only rise to a certain mark and (with the exception of Rose) no further. Even if they wanted to surpass the low standard, they were at a loss of where to start. The students eventually took on the mindset that being average is fine. Burke would admire people like the boy who said “I just wanna be average,” and would encourage more people to think like that. He would give two thumbs up, three if he could, to vocational education standards.
When reading this article, I was not only struck by the similarities between vocational education standards and Burke’s ideas, but I also realized how I disagree with both of them. People can aspire to be anything that they set their mind to and they should not be discouraged in their efforts. Like Mill, I believe that autonomy should be encouraged. Although Mill believes, like Burke, that some people are smarter than others, he also believes that people learn something from the experience of failing.
Works Cited
Burke, Edmund. “Burke: Reflections on the Revolution in France.” Modern Political Thought: Readings from Machiavelli to Nietzsche. By David Wootton. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Hackett publishing Company Inc., 2008. 502-21. Print.
Rose, Mike. “I Just Wanna Be Average.” Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. By Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. 7th ed. Bedford Books, 2007. 174-85. Print.
I think that the philosophy of just trying to be average will prevent people from discovering if they can reach greatness. When Mill advocates for the equality of women, he calls for each woman to have the opportunity to achieve above average success. Therefore, I think that Mill wants everyone to seek greatness because this will give society the maximum benefit. I agree with this philosophy because each person and society as a whole benefit when people strive to fulfill their potential.
In order for society to follow this philosophy, education must challenge students and reward those who strive for success. This will cause students to work hard and learn as much as possible. As a result, students will gain a work ethic that will help them achieve success in the future.
As with any type of education institution, vocational schools have examples that are mediocre, but also examples that excel, and surpass the “average”.
However, the argument this post draws from are very in-concrete. After all, what is average really? And how do we declare whether it’s bad or not?
In America, if you do find the mathematical average wage, you’re looking at a very comfortable life. So when a student says he wants to be average, is that a bad thing? Average in America is still successful, and perhaps average is better than anything that student has ever known.
While some people are always more ambitious than others, there may be different levels types of goals too. If you’re below average, average may look very good to you, and it could be your goal to reach that level, something that may be very ambitious for you personally. To scorn someone for having a dream that may not be as grand as your own really isn’t respecting their personal freedom to choose the life they want.
The notion that Landith put forward is interesing; is being average really a BAD thing? In order to maintain any society, there are a specific set of jobs that need to be fulfilled. Some are obviously more difficult than others, and we reward people accordingly. Nevertheless, each and every job is important in itself. Who are we to tell others which ones are “honorable” and which are not?
This post made me wonder if these vocational schools would be supported by Burke or if they validate his argument. On the one hand, these schools do not promote ambition or effort in learning, which Burke says are entirely unnecessary qualities for the masses. On the other hand, I personally look at these kind of vocational schools as support for the ignorance of the general population and the sense of disinterest that pervades from society as a whole. If these sorts of institutions allow students to get by without much effort and stigmatize them to believe that ambition will serve them no good, then obviously society begins to stagnate as a result.
Burke’s arguments about the ignorance of society definitely seem to hold true, I just wonder whether ambition can’t really bring about an enlightenment of the masses.