Rodriguez is without a doubt a very talented student. His ability to learn is enviable. Many times I would wish that I were able to get

into my academics as much as he was into his. For example, while in high school, my English class was reading several plays by Shakespeare. With all the difficult words and hard to follow story lines, it would have been extremely helpful to have been able to go through the plays willingly, and with enthusiasm. Instead, I read it because I had to, for fear of getting a bad grade. On the contrary, Rodriguez actually enjoyed schoolwork. He tells us, ".... any book they (teachers) told me to read, I read -then waited for them to tell me which books I enjoyed. Their every casual opinion I came to adopt and to trumpet when I returned home...". He approached academics with an eagerness that left everything else behind, including his family and culture. As Rodriguez became more involved with his academics he drifted further away from his family. The intimacy on

Some common words found in the essay are:
Traditional Classroom, English Rodriguez's, , Richard Rodriguez's, family heritage, rodriguez actually,
Approximate Word count = 583
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)