While many people in America learn through the standard school system, some enter education on their own, in their own way. Here I will compare the similarities and differences between how Mike Rose, an award-winning writer and professor at the School of Education at UCLA, and Malcolm X, an African-American activist who was a renowned speaker and ideologue, were motivated to start. take their education seriously and how they went about obtaining that education. Mike Rose was placed in the vocational track at his high school due to a mix-up in his test scores with another student named Rose. (Rose 152). He unwittingly found himself in an educational bind due to the nature of his school's vocational program. The goal of the program was to improve the economic benefits of children who were poor students. These already disinterested students were paired with mostly mediocre teachers. It is unlikely that this was an accident. The administration's thinking was probably "why place a strong teacher with students unlikely to benefit from good teaching?" » In second grade, the placement error was corrected by a brother Clint who noticed that his student was performing better than expected and investigated why this student who had performed so well on his tests was on the professional track. Now in college prep classes, Rose still had neither the interest nor the motivation to absorb or enjoy the things presented to her to learn. However, Jack McFarland would change that for him and in a big way. McFarland, who taught English at Our Lady of Mercy, sparked a love of literature and writing in young Mike Rose through his earnestness and enthusiasm for the subject. Malcom learning. Likewise, Malcolm X had his prophet Elijah Muhammad and Bimbi to catalyze his desire to become a better communicator. Either man could have ended up being nothing more than the average Joe if they hadn't had someone to spark the desire to become stronger readers, writers, and communicators. Both men, while striving to achieve their goals differently, one by more or less following the regular path from high school to collage and the other in a decidedly non-standard way, ended up achieving those goals educational. Works Cited Rose, Mike. “I just want to be average.” Reread America. 9th ed. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin, 2013. 152-62. Print.X, Malcolm. “Learn to read”. Reread America. 9th ed. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin, 2013. 189-97. Print.