pp 231 - 242 Summary and Analysis

Rose looks at the problem of immigrants to America. Many had a very limited education in the countries of their birth and are now taking English classes and high school equivalency courses. Rose compares them to his own family who had immigrated from Italy.

American education defines achievement in terms of what body of knowledge the student has learned. This body of knowledge is more or less standardized. Some people call for a return to the traditional history and literary curriculum a la the Great Books approach. This was the learning of the elite in the past. Rose likes this approach and feels if should be made available to everyone, not just the elite. This is what he calls the canonical curriculum.

Society needs to recognize the effect poverty has on learning and they need to take steps to...