Index IntroductionMike Rose's Collaborative ExperienceThe Importance of Personal Growth ConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionSchool, while often taken for granted by the privileged, can be a gateway to 'grass is greener for those who have had a hard life. Mike Rose in his excerpt from “Why School? A Student in a Community College Basic Skills Program” (2009), recounts a moment at a community college with Anthony, a brain-damaged man and former prisoner. So it shows through this moment how people can lose sight of what they are doing, working with people can be humbling, and the purpose of education and how it can improve people's lives. Education is transformative for those who receive an education, especially for those who have had a difficult life because it allows people to get a better job and become a more enlightened person. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Mike Rose's Collaborative Experience The excerpt begins with Rose describing the empty lot and library she was in with Anthony. He then helps Anthony read a drug poster so Anthony can share it with his daughter. They leave the library and Anthony meets his former parole officer. After Anthony has a conversation with his former parole officer, he tells Rose how much he likes college. At this point, the song moves from recounting this experience to the lessons he believes can be learned from it. His conclusion is that working with people is humiliating and that everyday life can take your attention away from the goal of what you are doing. In the last paragraph, he uses the experience to reveal the purpose of education which, according to him, is to improve oneself. The song talks about how working with people can be humbling and everyday life can take your focus away from the goal of what you are doing. I learned this when he volunteered at a camp for people with special needs. Even though my life has had its ups and downs, like everyone else, my life is pretty good in the scheme of things. A little while before I had to work in the camp, my life was in one of the dark moments, so my mind was occupied with my own problems instead of how I was going to help the campers. Then the campers started arriving and my priorities started to change. In that moment, the painful thoughts were replaced by thoughts of why I had come there in the first place, to make these people happy and to give those who cared for them a moment to relax. With that in mind, I accepted that while there are good times and bad times in life, my problems weren't the absolute worst thing. By helping people, I felt humbled and focused on why I was doing what I was doing, like Mike Rose with his experience with Anthony. Importance of Personal Growth Rose talks about how education can improve one's life by being able to raise one's children, improve one's job and become more knowledgeable. The life of my father, Dr. Paul Westmoreland, proves this point to be true. He grew up in a family where no one had a college education. Wanting to improve, he studied hard and was eventually accepted into college and, later, medical school. He met his future wife and my mother, Veronica Westmoreland, and became a well-paid family doctor. They had me and my little sister and raised us well with what they learned in their lives and at college. My father built a beautiful one, 2009.