Embracing the past to see the future of American Education. Comparisons of “Report of the French Commission on American Education, 1879” to Mike Rose’s “I Just Wanna Be Average”. Mike Rose’s “I Just Wanna Be Average” essay sheds light on troubled youth within the public school system. It makes you long for the days of American pride and service. Students placed in “tracks” to utilize overcrowded and faulty test systems. Identity lost due to poor instruction and lack of motivation. The influx of shattered images brought forth by