"The Achievment of Desire"

The idea of the scholarship boy is an idea very near to myself due in large part due to the similar circumstances that the author describes as the boy going through and lot of my own personal experiences. Due to this connection between myself and the text I found it very interesting how he went on to describe the scholarship boy as a bad student. Upon reading that statement in the passage by Richard Rodriguez I felt quite shocked how he could call someone who had diligently dedicated their life to academic success and done so well on paper a bad student. I looked over the passage where he explained why the scholarship boy was in fact a bad student and I thought over the validity of what was said and eventually came to the conclusion that he was on some level correct. The charge that the scholarship boy was a person with no real opinion for themselves is extremely valid and something that I have not only bared witness to myself but have actually been guilty of myself doing at times. To see people become great "imitators" of the education system is something I never truly thought about until reading but upon retrospect it is quite jarring as I think of how people give up "themselves" and then turn toward their educators for how to act and think. This critique of the education system and those students that follow its coattails so closely is on some level a bit too critical insofar that one may still be able to learn and adapt while still being true to yourself and keeping your own beliefs. Overall it's a very poignant point and one that I'll keep in mind when looking to the education system and the scholarship children so highly praised.