Carmen Mejia RWS 200/Professor Copeland Rhetorical Analysis 25 September 2011 Project One: Rhetorical Analysis Many individuals believe that American life is purposefully programmed by their leaders to be simple and easy, in order to "deprive citizens from having to actually think for themselves and be independent" (154). John Taylor Gatto, an award-winning educator and ardent libertarian, is one of those individuals who argues that “we,” as in Americans, “are a nation of children” (155). Through his usage of rhetorical appeals such as ethos, pathos and logos, Gatto can construct an effective, thorough argument in his essay Against School. Gatto effectively uses personal anecdotes and ethical appeals in order to establish a general validity with his audience. He would also establish his own ethos by including his support for dignified persons that would validate his argument.
Every component he believed that should be included in argumentative writing was included in this very essay about it. Since he used his own ideas on his audience, Frank Cioffi’s essay demonstrated his argument of improving academic writing
I was surprised that my blind spot was identified to be overconfidence in process because I rarely feel confident in anything. My values were described to be justice and fortitude and resultant behaviors are that I demonstrate courage and steadiness in the face of obstacles and I tend to avoid rash actions. My ethical lens directs my academic behavior by giving me good reasoning skills and allowing me to think through problems carefully and research all options. My ethical lens influences my critical thinking because it allows me to make informed decisions that I find are best for the well-being of everyone around me. I believe that a person’s emotions can influence critical thinking because some people’s ethical lens is more heartfelt and can let them make decisions with their emotions instead of with their knowledge and brain.
In other cases, like Carr said, it does make people lazy. Instead of searching for something and reading the entire context of something to learn it, people will just look up the answer. Yes, knowing the answer is good, but knowing how to get the answer or how to get to it is almost as important. In Dewey's essay, his topic is, "Is school making us smart?". In my opinion, school itself doesn't make us smart, but it does give you the opportunity to become more knowledgable.
Elements of Syntax in Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill was a great master of all things that involved persuasion. This was partly because of his great passion for the philosophy of Utilitarianism. He employed most of the realms of syntax to convince the reader that his ideals, pertaining to Utilitarianism, were the correct way that mankind should act in all situations. One of the first things about Mill’s work that is evident is his use of a sort of question and answer structure. “I feel that…preference,” is answered in the next paragraph with “until, by the improvement…in our character,” and “How can the will…or awakened,” is answered by the following sentence “Only by making the person desire virtue.” Mill does this to engage his audience in Utilitarianism and to answer common questions regarding his philosophy.
If we are to have a society that looks for the well being of all people, we must learn to recognize that as people we are diverse and must learn to embrace one another with love, respect, and honor each others’ uniqueness. For example, in “Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology” by Margaret L. Anderson, and Patricia H. Collins (2010), provided a wealth of information in the narratives they produced from the different scholars and teachers they worked with and interviewed to make this book inspiring and an eye opener to understand our world better. Transformation is not easy and we must be willing to change the way we think on many different issues that deal with gender, race, discrimination, and acceptance of each other despite our differences. The narrative that really touched me the most was “From A Native Daughter”, by Haunani-Kay Trask. I have not appreciated history as much as I should have, not proud to say; however, after reading this narrative it opened my eyes and mind that not everything we read or hear about history is the truth.
He also says the today’s school system suppresses the word genius. He goes about describing this by looking back in the past and seeing what other writers have said about the topic and inserting his own views and ideas on them. When he does it this way it cannot be torn apart because it is supported historically. The author uses his tone of voice in the passage in a formal way, which gives it a serious and very important feeling. He plays to the readers’ common sense many times to make it feel more as if it applies to them on a personal level.
The way in which we perceive intelligence and what it means to us is often largely dependent on the culture we live in. In our western culture, the idea of intelligence or an intelligent person may conjure pictures of someone with excellent abilities in maths or literature or someone who can gather, process, assimilate and sort information at a high and efficient speed (Sternberg et al., 1981). In contrast, those who live in eastern societies may place emphasis, not on speed, but on how the information may play a part in the social aspects of everyday life. This contrast between the two cultures is best exemplified by a study conducted by Demetriou and Papadopoulous (2004). They explored the relationships that existed within cultures and intelligence and found that in the western world the general view of
I do it carefully and seek answers and information first before doing anything, which also makes me inquisitive. As a student, I am also balanced. I always come to a point that I balance everything in school even though when it comes to studies, arts & crafts and social life. Being a thinker may be a possible weakness for me because I usually tend to overthink possibilities. Although I am already able to choose from choices, make decisions, and distinguish whether it’s good or bad.
While some might disagree, numerous researches and reasoning have backed up the idea of intelligence being inherent. Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences suggests that people possess different kinds of intelligence (McKenzie, 1999). This explains why some people find it easy to visualise a problem, while others prefer analysing it in a logical way. In this example, it might be possible teach the person with visual intelligence to be as good at mathematics as the logical person is, however, the basic way that their reasoning works is still different. Intelligence, in this case –the way that one’s mind works, is clearly inborn.