Critical Analysis of an Ineffective Academic Essay In The Extended School Day, Harriet David writes about the advantages of extending school days for the students, parents, and teachers. David states that having extended school days would eliminate the parents’ worries of whether their child is safe and happy at home. She also expresses that students would have a chance to work on subjects that give them trouble rather than struggling at home with no help. Teachers would also benefit from these extended days because they would gain hours relieving pressure and increasing their pay. Above all, the author has written this essay ineffectively because of three essential elements not being composed skillfully.
Children don’t listen to their school teachers as much as they listen to society. They learn more from watching television and celebrities. If society was serious about education, then the school year would be longer so that children could learn all-year-round and class sizes would be smaller so that teachers could engage with each student more. There is also a salary issue with education. American teachers don’t earn as much money as business professionals and teachers in other countries such as Japan, Canada, and Germany.
Since they let their responsibility go, the house replaced the parents which made the children feel that the house is their parents. Also, with the amount of technology they have, they rely on technology too much which became other human contact. With that being said, technology doing everything for you is not great but to an extent it is fine. In the short story, “The Veldt”, the house takes responsibility for the family and the children feel that the house is their parents. The children rely on their technology that is available for them instead of their parents.
Whether many would prefer to admit or not, advertising has changed society- modifying the way Americans think and act in today's day and age, though not entirely for the better. Over the years, the wants and luxuries of Americans have progressively changed into their "needs", caused by the numerous persuasive advertisements that convince the viewers that their life would drastically improve if only they had the said product. As Sesana states, "they create unfulfilled desires... to buy products we don't need", referring to the strategies used by advertisers to create a driving want to self-indulge for the customers (Source F). Separate groups are targeted in different ways in order to appeal to the different wants of each group, thus making the want that much stronger (Source H). These tactics summon a sense of need that, in turn, cause people to believe whole-heartedly that the product is a necessity, however, in reality, it is merely a luxury.
He also supports the counterarguments of the affects of technology on too many occasions. Wheatley writes that people should be out playing various sports instead of spending hours on the internet therefore, avoiding social contact. Parents that use technology at work often bring their work home, thus blurring the line between play and work. Many parents only spend around seven minutes a day having conversations with their children. Wheatley mentions the counterargument that because parents are working so much more these days, they are spending less quality time with their children.
With technology quickly becoming more advanced, the need for traditional things decreases. While people believe that the increase in technology is a good thing, there is also “a dark side of technology [that] persists” (“Technology”). Bradbury demonstrates this in the novel by talking about an interactive family on television that Mildred, Montag’s wife, believes is her own. This shows that technology became a part of her everyday life. If technology continues to develop at this rate, people will slowly begin to depend on it just as much as Mildred did.
It seemed as if the only people who were able to keep up with the rapid change were the youth. With technological breakthroughs becoming more common by people who seemed to be younger and younger, the youth of today’s society thrive on the new products as if their lives depended on it. My little sister, for example, is nine years old and has mastered the task of working Apple’s new product, the “iPad”, while my grandfather who is 75 years old feels as if telemarketers are using computers to track when he is at home to call him. This supports my theory that other older generations are afraid of something they do not know or fully comprehend. I personally believe that since my generation is so well informed and well trained with digital technology, we should actually take the time to show the previous generations how certain things work, help them and do away with that primal fear that many of them have.
Generation X is more comfortable using PDA’s, cell phones, email, laptops, Blackberry’s etc... Gen X is a very flexible generation. Many of these people lived through difficult times such as; the 1980’s where they saw their parents lose hard-earned jobs. This population is less committed to one company or firm. They adapt well to change and can tolerate alternate lifestyles. Gen X is determined and eager to accomplish things on their own terms.
Since so much of what we use in everyday life involves technology, it is only fair to introduce our youth to it and get them accustomed to using it frequently. People never send handwritten letters anymore, that’s partially why companies like the USPS was considering reducing the amount of days they deliver. Majority of people are using email, social networking and phones to communicate. Not only is it easier, but more efficient and allows us complete more tasks since “everything is happening much faster, and more things are happening” (Source C). Not only will it help students in the future, it’ll also make learning more compelling, after all students do prefer “glitz and pictures” and “video and stylish packaging” (Source E).
This is the older generations living longer because of medical advances. While on paper this does not seem like an issue, when living with it people can see that it is causing more and more problems. The main issue this causes is overpopulation because of the average length of life(http://blog.aicr.org/2013/03/22/the-graying-of-america-and-why-it-matters/ ). This affects the job market because people are living longer causes them to retire later on in life to support themselves. Mainly affecting my generation, jobs that should be given to college graduates are not even open yet because senior employees are staying in companies when normally they would have retired.