Lives on the boundary

Jorge Fernandez
LLD 96s
4-11-2011
Critical Reading Reflection

Lives on the Boundary is a nonfiction book by Mike Rose that talks about some of the challenges and successes associated with literacy at the margins of America’s education system. Therefore most of his work is autobiographical and explores Rose’s own challenges about learning and teaching as well as reading and writing.
Let usbegin by defining what boundaries are. These are guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify him/her self. Boundaries can also include the physical, mental, and spiritual environments. Therefore boundary is a border that divides two things from getting together.
According to Mike Rose in one of his passage he says that: “Desire depends on the opportunity to be realized” (pg247). In other words he is trying to explain that when a person has an opportunity open in life they need to have the strength and the will in order to overcome any obstacle they might face in their life. I remember that when my parents decided to come to United States it was a big decision and sacrifice for them because they had to leave their families, culture, their life style to give me to giveme and my siblings a better life, a better future. The good thing is that my parents had the courage to do it and the desire to give us a better future. Thanks to them we are here in this country and I am about to graduate from San Jose State University. Thanks to my parent’s desire to give us a better future, they were able to face many obstacles on their way and now I am about to graduatefrom SJSU with a major on Aviation, concentration on business.
Mike Rose talks about boundaries as a border wall that won’t let students cross it, because of the fact that they are from a foreign country, trying to learn new things and at the same time trying to adapt to a new society, new language and new life style. All those are boundaries make it difficult for a foreign person to pursue his/herdreams. It is not impossible, but it is a struggle that he/she needs to overcome. I can relate to this because when I arrive to this country I was about 8 years old. It was a different environment for me and the language barrier has always been a problem since my first language is Spanish. Coming from a different country I always felt that I did not fit in the classrooms, and I could not relateto the instructors or even my classmates because things were very different from what I used to have during my elementary years. The language barrier was always preventing me from doing things that I wanted to do. It was not letting me be myself or open up to new things. When I started attending a community college that is when I started struggling more because I had to write a lot of essays andsince English was not one of my strengths I started avoiding classes that required essay assignments. It was my way of showing my fear and putting a space or setting up my boundary to wall.
I always felt that there was a wall that was dividing me from other students because English was not my first language. When I transferred to SJSU I found out that professional pilots did not have to write alot and that I did not have to take any more English classes so I decided to go for Aviation. My boundary wall was always keeping me away from English classes and writing assignments and most of my decisions were based on that boundary wall. My surprise came when I found out that I had to pass the WST in order for me to continue with my dream of finishing my aviation career. I took the WSTand I did not pass it and I was very disappointed because in a way I knew I could not do it by myself. This class and the book by Mike Rose are helping me by giving me more confidence on myself and making that boundary wall smaller and smaller as my confidence grows.
Another thing that Mike roses talks about on his book that I can relate is that when I was going to a community college I had to...