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Lives on the Boundary: A Moving Account of the Struggles and Achievements of America’s Educationally Underprepared  is a work of non-fiction written by American scholar Mike Rose. The book was published in 1989 and explores the challenges and successes associated with literacy at the margins of America’s education system. With its autobiographical style, the book explores many of Rose’s own challenges with growing up illiterate.

About the Author

Mike Rose is one of the most socially integrated experts in educational methodology. He was a 2nd generation Italian immigrant raised by non-native English speaking parents in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He later moved to Los Angeles where he attended Our Lady of Mercy. One year his test scores were mistaken for another students’ and this mix-up labelled Rose as remedial. Rose was often doubted by those around him due to his seeming illiteracy and struggled to understand why. Rose is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University, University of Southern California, and University of California, Los Angeles. Rose has won numerous awards, received many honors, and is a part of distinct fellowships. He has many teaching and research interests that include but are not limited to the study of factors, the study of effective teaching, and the study of cognition involved in various kinds of work. ( https://gseis.ucla.edu/directory/mike-rose/ )

Literacy Crisis

Rose outlines through the years (1841-1960s) certain comments regarding literacy made by Brown University presidents and Harvard professors, the articles ran in papers about the rise in illiteracy, and statistics showing high school completion among seventeen-year-olds. The 1980s began to see a 10 percent drop in literacy, beginning in 1982. ( https://academicpartnerships.uta.edu/articles/education/brief-history-of-literacy.aspx ) During this time, A Nation at Risk became the educational tagline. This needed education reform became one of the key focuses of the 1980s. ( https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1990/01/10/09200009.h09.html )

“Since at least the late 1800s, this country’s higher education sector has struggled over whether four-year colleges should provide postsecondary remediation.” ( http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/rwg/cuny/pdf/history.pdf )

The 1970s had pushed hard for open college admissions, a way to reduce discrimination against students. The movement had its supporters and criticizers and sparked a nation-wide debate. “[S]tudents with general, non-academic, high school diplomas were admitted on the same terms as students with Regents diplomas.” ( http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/rwg/cuny/pdf/history.pdf ) Many students were then deemed remedial and had been placed in courses were they would re-learn the basics.

Reviews

Lives on the Boundary received praise from multiple scholars. Elizabeth Auleta’s review ( https://www.jstor.org/stable/42801795?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents ) credits the book for being one of hope and movement while calling out the silence on issues such as sex and race.

In the Classroom

Candice Spigelman used the text as an outline for a basic writing course taught at a branch campus of Penn State University. She asked students to read the book and then discuss, in class, the issues that came up. Students participated but were hesitant when Spigelman asked them to criticize the very institution that marginalized them. ( https://wac.colostate.edu/docs/jbw/v17n1/spigelman.pdf ) Some found areas to relate to throughout, but what Spigelman feared, happened; students saw the story as just another success story. The website BookRags offers a full lesson plan complete with essay questions, chapter abstracts, and fun activities on teaching the text in class. ( http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/lives-on-the-boundary/#gsc.tab=0 )