Lives on the Boundary by Mike Rose

    The Pygmalion Effect: Rosenthal and Jacobson’s (1968) research is part of the educational cannon. Nearly 40-years ago the researchers worked with children (6-12 yrs.) all drawn from the same school. Each child was given an IQ test. The children were then assigned to either an experimental or control group. When teachers were told that the children in the experimental group were "high achievers", these children showed significant IQ gains over the course of one year than did the control group, despite allocation to group having been, in fact, random. Even though we talk less about IQ than they did in 1968, the notion of what is also known as The Rosenthal Effect permeates education literature and mythology. For many of us who believe in its power, it is what led us to the classroom, believing that if we could make a difference, even in just one student’s life, the rest would all be worth it. For others, it’s about having had a teacher we wanted to emulate, to pass onto the next generation the gift that s/he gave to us. Still, for others, the motivation is to not be like Dragon Breath, their Machiavellian fourth grade teacher. For your analysis of Mike Rose’s Lives on the Boundary, please craft an argument based on the ideas presented below. You will write one draft of at least 1000 words and post via our Turnitin link in Moodle. Mike Rose wants us to see how much the "system" fails children. Write an argumentative essay in which you agree or disagree with Rose's position. Use your own observations from classroom experiences – from both sides of the desk - to support your argument. Consider the ways in which "politics" exclude or stigmatize children. Is it methodology? Teachers? Testing? All of these and more?