Mike Rose (May 14, 1944 – August 15, 2021) was an American scholar of education who studied literacy and the struggles of working-class America.

Through a mix up in test scores with another student with the same surname, he was placed in a vocational education track upon entering high school at Our Lady of Mercy.

Once there, a dedicated English teacher during his senior year named Jack MacFarland pushed Rose to re-evaluate himself and helped him get admitted as a probationary student to Loyola University.

This change in perspective proved to be a turning point for Rose, who would then go on to earn a bachelor's degree from Loyola University and win a graduate fellowship in English at UCLA.

In time, Rose became disaffected with academia and left graduate study to embark on a series of jobs teaching writing to underprivileged and underprepared students in inner-city Los Angeles.