Independent Viewing 2

Wating For "Superman"

Big "A" Arguement

Claim:

Good teachers are the key to improving a child's education. Good teachers should be rewarded based on their students's test score, and bad teachers should be fired (no more/limited tenure).

Outline:

Intro :

-America falling behind on education.

-Research done - What is the cause?

-Lots has been done (list some examples...) but it ultimately it comes down to something simple: good teachers.

Thesis: While it is true that good teachers are the key to providing a good education, they should not be rewarded or punished based on test scores

Body 1:

Better teachers are the key to improving the quality of the education a school can offer.

- They can cover more curriculum in the time given.

- They get the students involved in more ways than just book work.

- Each student has a better chance at succeeding.

- They increase literacy and test scores, upping the standards of the school and attracting more families to the district.

- They emphasize the importance of education to the students - avoids turning them off from school altogether.

- Teaching is more than book knowledge - teach study habits and instill ideas that will promote further education

- Important because their primary concern is the student.

Body 2 -

However, when teachers are evaluated based on their students' test scores, they can no longer perform/teach to their full capacity.

- They are forced to teach for the test, rather than to judge what topics are most important\

        - good example: ap classes - supposed to be involved college classes, now they are just classes that teach us how to take a test

- We say that teaching is more than test taking and book learning, but putting this system in place will just promote that - teachers care about students' educations, but their salary and carreer will take precedence in order to protect themselves and their schools

- the overall quality of the education will decrease

Body 3 -

Instead of offering incentives which would restric the teachers, it would be better to make all attempts to improve their skills.

- While it makes sense to offer bonuses and incentives for industrial workers, researchers, etc, it is not the same for teachers. It is okay for them to be evaluated, but not by student achievement via a national exam. That is like studying for the sat - you don't learn important math, only the bare minimum needed for the test

- start at the beginning - hire highly qualified teachers at a decent salary (rather than promising future raises)

- Give them tools, training, coaching, and experience so that they may improve

 

Independent Viewing 1

Waiting For "Superman"

Bibliography:

Waiting for Superman. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Paramount Home Entertainment, 2011. DVD. 

Summary:

The documentary analyzes the failing American public school system, and the effect it has on the futures of the kids within it. All through the film, Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth”), the director and co-writer, has been followed the educational ambitions of five children in urban areas across the country: Los Angeles, Harlem, the Bronx, Washington, D.C., and Redwood City, California. The film offers insight into the reasons behind the childrens' and schools' poor performances, but also possible solutions. For example, many student's poor test results are directly related to the quality of the teacher. However, as many or most teachers have tenure and cannot be fired, the school is not able to improve, and neither are the students. Guggenheim then goes deeper, explaining that we cannot eliminate tenure due to the political strength of the Teachers Union. He then gives the perspectives of many people that are currently trying to change the system. He similarly analyses "drop-out factories", the affiliation between bad neighborhoods and high school drop-outs, the effect of longer days on student improvement, and the current struggle for better public schooling in charter schools. The film ends with a series of lotteries in which our five main children try to get into a charter school, and on two make it.  

Rhetorical Devices:
Archival Footage - As it is documentary, the film switches between the five storylines of the struggling children to explanations of the overarching problems. During the latter, there are a lot of clips of high school drop-outs, legislators trying to make reforms in Congress, speeches and promises given by presidents, etc. Their purposes vary, but they are mostly used to support a claim.
Logos/support - These mostly came in the when the narrator was trying to explain vocabulary, a conflict, or research study to the audience. They were are no people, only a series of statistics and diagrams on the screen. However, they were always presented as cute, childish animations. This was perhaps done to emphasize the innocence of those represented, or to contrast the sheer impact that the cute little animations had on the future of hundreds of thousands of children.
Pathos: This appeal was made extremely effectivly by focusing in on the overarching topics offered by the film, narrowing the story to five very driven children and their parents. Though struggling financially, all of these families know the value of education, as do their children, and are working extremely hard to offer their children the best, but all they can do is enter them in a lottery. Particularly when the most passionate students don't get chosen, the audience begins to feel the parents' and childrens' desparation at the situation, and it pushes the audience to fight for change.
Expert Testimony: The claims made by the film for fixing the system are extremely politically involved, and would entail changes in a system that has remained static for centuries. To convince the audience of his ideas for limiting distribution of tenure and lengthening school days, he needed very very solid support, and he often used expert testimony to do so.
Satire -  Although not emphasized greatly, satire is discretely present throughout the film. After getting the audience on his side, Guggenheim alienates the refutation with statements like "The great nation that put a man on tehmoon was finally going to fix education."
Parallels - This was another device used to make the refutation seem weak. He stated a claim that many experts have testifed to be true, that children from these bad districts simply can't learn. He then compares it with a previously commonly held belief, that airplanes could not break the sound barrier. By proving that that all of the people that once believed the second claim wholeheartedly were very wrong, he makes all of the experts that stated the other claim seem wrong.



AOW 28

More Attack Ads, Please

Paul Begala

Newsweek Magazine

Author:  Paul Begala is a Newsweek/Daily Beast columnist, a CNN contributor, an affiliated professor of public policy at Georgetown, and a senior adviser to Priorities USA Action, a progressive PAC.

Summary: In the age of mass advertisements, this article is a semi satirical recommendation to the campaign candidates: use more negative ads. He claims researchers believe that negative messaging is more effective due to our natural instincts, because throughout evolution picking up on bad cues had been the key to survival. Feeling like anger, distrust, contempt etc. are simply more common and familiar than positive ones like friendship and loyalty. He jokes that Americans are especially negative, starting with our founding father’s great negative rants, exemplified by the Declaration of Independence, and continuing with our obsessions with scandals. He explains some 2012 campaign examples of slandering, and gives advice to other “fans” of the genre. Greatly simplified, they are the following: be factual, avoid race, be cinematic, avoid emotion, use damning quotes.

Analysis: This article is interesting to analyze it is a long piece about a rhetorical device. Playing devil’s advocate to many people’s claims that negative ads are unfair and untrue, Begala argues the truth we would not like to believe. In a very satirical tone, he congratulates the lowest yet most effective ads not only in the context of this upcoming election but also those of previous elections. His purpose is most likely to prove that negative advertisement is merely a device that is proven to be very effective and therefore completely justified to use. Reaching an educated audience, those that read Newsweek, he assumes that his readers either follow the elections or watch TV in general. His advice is backed up by solid evidence, the previously successful negative campaign ads. At least for me, his purpose was achieved.

Devices: There are not many devices he uses in this piece. Again, the emphasis goes to his satirical tone, which points fun at himself, the ads, and the audience. This prevents the reader from disagreeing with him before getting pulled into his argument. He points out our weak spot by using common knowledge in the form previous ads that most of his audience has seen. His use of logo gives his somewhat unusual argument strength and is possibly his greatest strength. The formatting of his article is also very effective; he breaks his argument into sub points and explains them one by one.



AOW 27

A Farewell to Arms

Final Post

Character: The primary character, of course, is protagonist Fred. With him, for the last part of his journey, are the ambulance driver. Hemingway portrays them as socialists who do not care for the war or their part in it, but eagerly await the end so they may return home to their food and wine. One is shot, the other runs away, and at the end the third is abandoned. The other protagonist is Ms. Barkely, who cares only to please Fred and become thin and beautiful for him so that she may better serve him, but dies giving birth to a stillborn child who neither of the parents wanted.

Setting: Like other famed authors emerging from the ruins of WWI, the setting of this book is neither noble nor beautiful. It does not talk of fantastic travels or great adventures in Italy. Rather, it focuses on bloodshed, cold rivers, dead bodies, abandoned villages and dirt roads. The final leg of Fred’s journey is anything but pleasant as he loses most of his companions, gets lost in mud filled roads, travels along with hundreds of now homeless villagers, and is almost killed. Only Switzerland, the nation not in war, seems peaceful and beautiful.

Plot/Conflict: The war is ending, and the Italian army has begun to shoot officers.Fred and his ambulance driving companions get lost on a muddy side road and can’t seem to free the car, so they continue on foot. One man gets shot, one leaves to become a willing prisoner in the German army, and the third gets left behind when Fred must jump in a river to flee execution by the Italian army, as he was an officer and had a foreign accent (he is American). Injured, he jumps on a train and finally makes it to his beloved nurse. They are together for a short while, and Fred must hide as he is not a deserter from the Italian army and can be killed/arrested at any time. They then flee to Switzerland, where she dies in childbirth.

POV: Third person from Fred’s eyes.

Theme: There is no clear winner in war, as all people ultimately loose what they hold dear. The greatest damage of war occurs off the battlefield.

Literary Elements: The detached tone and prose of the writing, coupled by an objective third person view of the horrors of war (not on, but off the battlefield) puts war in a very bad light. In a time of literature that glorified battle, this writing was meant to shock the reader without playing with their emotions. The writing was sparse, to say the least, lacking metaphors, adjectives, emotions, and details. It was a reflection of what was left after the war.

AOW 26

Congressman Hurt to Discovor Lobbyist Not Really His Friend

The Onion

Source: It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news. The Onion's articles comment on current events, both real and fictional. It parodies such traditional newspaper features as editorials, man-on-the-street interviews. Web traffic on theonion.com amounts to some 7.5 million unique visitors per month.

Summary: A satirical article about the relationships between lobbyists and our congressmen, the piece creates a fictional heartbreak about Rep. Bobby Shilling who recently discovered that his lobbyist friend Stephen Fischer was only using him. It turns politics into something similar to a small high school relationship, showing the naïve faith of the government in the honesty of those lobbying. The article highlights telltale signs that should have warned the representative that the relationship was one sided: Fischer genuinely seemed interested in soybean crop insurance, deep sea fishing, and his friend’s position on House Agricultural Committee. After the relationship is revealed as false, Shilling’s despondent and depressed nature highlights the dependent nature of the congressmen on their lobbyist buddies. At the end, a colleague says, "One day he'll form a good, long-lasting friendship with a health insurance corporation or oil company that truly appreciates him and supports him as much as he supports it. All of us eventually do."

Analysis: Lobbying has always been rigorously debated topic in politics, or a government body untainted by the desires of corporations. The purpose is to bring the nature of this relationship to life and, of course, make fun of it. The audience of the onion is primarily between the ages of 18-45, and the style of the article (geared towards women or anyone who watches chick flicks) reflects this knowledge.

Devices:
Satire: This website, and thus article, has been chosen by readers because of its satirical approach to modern conflict. It reflects a knowledge of the situation without boring the reader, thus keeping its popularity the readers’ interest.
Common Knowledge: What makes the article funny is that it is a political version of a completely overdone cliché. The funny, captivating, an rich older man uses the eager and young optimist to reach his ends, then severs the connection completely leaving the other confused and devastated. We’ve seen everything before, but never in this context. By changing the ratios (Burke’s Pentad) the author turned a boring plot through a hilarious twist.
Pathos: One not only feels sad for the congressman, but for themselves for having elected such a naïve and shallow representative in such an important position.



AOW 25

A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway

The Author: 
Nobel Prize winner, Hemingway is most known for his post-WWI literature which embraced a new type of prose. He worked for a newspaper before going to fight in the Italian army during the war, and drew inspiration from his experiences for several books, including A Farewell to Arms. In fact, the book is semi-autobiographical.

Summary:
The story is of an American ambulance driver in the Italian army. He’s a typical guy in that he enjoys women, alcohol, and the camaraderie he finds with the soldiers he hangs out with. Although considered “one of the guys” he has a soft spot for the British nurse he meets, named Catherine Barkley.  He gets injured at the front, and is transferred to another hospital in Maggiore. There, Catherine joins him and becomes dependent on his love for her as he slowly recovers from his wounds.

Context:
The context of the story is the Italian front in WWI. Hemingway was actually an ambulance driver for the Italian army, and draws much of the story from his own experience (even some of the romantic relationships.) Although it is a love story, the book in no way hides the brutalities of war, a new approach for literature of the time.

Purpose:
Although the purpose was most likely not to discuss war, many of the main characters in the book disclose a strong dislike of the ongoing fight, and those who made it. The book is from the perspective of people who are stuck in a war that never seems to end, and their fear of an everlasting menace colors the book in an anti-war light. Thus, in a subtle way, I believe the Hemingway did convey a message, whether that was his intention or not.

Audience:
Although certainly not restricted, the book was probably intended for anyone in America who reads novels. As it occurs during the war, it would probably catch the interest of many Americans who still have memories if the fighting fresh in their minds.

Rhetorical Devices:
Hemingway’s style can only be describes as sparse. His primary device is simply the lack of devices all together. The dialogue is short, the descriptions lacking, and the plot uninvolved. The characters seem to lack depth of emotion, and therefore no such feelings are reflected to the reader. This was not specific to this book, however, as Hemingway is famous for his style which is used to reflect “primitive people whose courage and honesty are set against the brutal ways of modern society”.

AOW 24

Post # 24

Nelson Mandela Inaugural Address

Author:
Famous apartheid protester and later president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela is world renowned for work in building a nation from the bottom up and fighting injustice until the day he died.

Summary:
Mandela was the first democratically elected president of South Africa, and this is his inaugural address. It talks little of what will happen, and focuses on how the nation has pulled itself from being the “universal base of the pernicious ideology and practice of racism and oppression” to a nation liberated from its own path and set on a new one. He thanks the nations who supported them and allowed them to free themselves, and he pledges to the people that the country will never go back to what it was. He refers to it as a “common victory for human justice, for peace, for human dignity”. His basic premise is that it is time to start reconstruction of South Africa.

Analysis: The battle of apartheid was won by international collaboration, when countless other nations decided to end trade with South Africa. In face of this triumph, Mandela bases a lot of his points on the power of unity, both within his international allies and within a nation torn with racism. His purpose is to bring all the people of the country together to rebuild the country, and we know that it will be tough journey but his dream is realized.
Some devices he used to achieve this were –
Ethos: Obvious but powerful. Although he has just been elected president, he maintains a very humble tone with phrases like “all of us”, “to my compatriots”, “we all share” “humbled”. At the beginning of the speech he connects himself with the geography of the nation by talking about the mimosa trees and the summer flowers. The only word he uses to refer to himself is “we”.
Parallelism: There are two places in the speech where he has three parallel phrases used to emphasize a point. For example, the one at the end of the speech is “Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work… and salt for all.”
Repetition: He repeats what the country once was multiple times. For example, he lists “bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, and gender” in slight variations several times.
References to foreign allies: He refers particularly to America’s fight for freedom from England so long ago with embedded phrases like “we the people”, “inalienable rights” and “God bless Africa”.
Juxtaposition: It is used in the speech to contrast soft ideas of the future with the harsh reality of the past. In the second paragraph he speaks of blooming flowers and mimosa trees. In the next paragraph, he talks about a nation torn apart, “spurned, outlawed, and isolated”. Later he lists traits of the new nation like “democratic, non-racial” then says they will leave the “valley of darkness”.

AOW #23

The Women We Love to Hate

Rebecca Dana

The Author:
Rebecca Dana is a senior correspondent for The Daily Beast. A former editor and reporter for The Wall Street Journal, she has also written for The New York Times, The New York Observer, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, and Slate, among other publications.

The Article:

In light of the recent uproar about Patriots quarterback Terry Bradshaw’s girlfriend, Gisele’s, cursing fit after the super bowl. Rising as the villain of the incident, she made her husband a laughing stock when she told her friends to “pray for Tommy” then continued to embarrass with her unprecedented tirade.  Fans are furious, but the article illuminates this trend that occurs in professional athletics where the wives of famous athletes, nicknamed WAGS in England, often serve as the “convenient lightning rod” after their spouses take a loss. Clearly sympathetic to Gisele, the author’s purpose was to give crazed fans and everyone that reads Newsweek the other side of the story, and open their minds to how ridiculous they sound.

The tone was satirical and used hyperbole and irony to make fun not of the targeted spouses but rather of the intense culture of the sports fans and their idols. Her descriptions and adjectives were over-the-top such as her description of Gisele as the “Brazilian stunner, worth an estimated $150 million”. She contrasts the tabloids and the fan comically, comparing actions like “gallivanting around-dancing in Rio, mugging in Fashion Week”  with the “burly gladiator culture” which has been interrupted. In case die hard fans disagree with her feminist view, she offers 4 other examples to prove the trend: Jessica Simpon and Tony Romo, David and Victoria Beckham, and more. She also satirizes the WAG stereotype, describing their presence with “there is much smacking of gum and waving of acrylic nails”. She offers refutations, but they are few and far between. They she backs her warrant with  professional opinions that say “strong woman are attracted to these men” and they are only doing their part to help.

AOW 22

Artist: Tom Toles
Winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize, Toles is a famed political cartoonist for the Washington Post.

Summary:
In light of the recent elections, the Republican party looks to bury Obama publicly. The guillotine, a form of public execution most known for its prevalence during the French Revolution, is the very kind of humiliating and thorough defeat opponents of the Obama administration would like to see. With greater possibilities of communication due to television, this will attract every kind of public attention. At the bottom, it says there is an olive branch in the basket, a sign of peace. The cartoon makes it clear that the opposing party is not willing to collaborate or compromise. If Obama is gullible enough to believe they will offer the olive branch mentioned at the bottom, he will bring an end to his career.

Analysis:
IN the context of the upcoming elections, this cartoon offers a reason for the political deadlock that has continued during the Obama administration. The purpose is to portray the cause for the president’s hesitation, and the underlying motives for the Republicans who wish to bury him. He looks resigned, significantly smaller than his towering opponent. His is bent over in submission, seemingly resigning to his fate in 2012. Dressed more plainly than his lavishly robed counterpart, he is shown to have very little choice in his fate. Unless he accepts the Republicans and submits to implementing some of their ideas, they will make sure he is brought down brutally and publically. If he does agree to collaborate, the cartoon shows that all their ideas have one goal in mind: not helping the American people, but eliminating their elected head.

Rhetorical Devices:

Contrast: Obama and his president seem polar opposites. Not only are they in very separate positions, one of power dictating the execution and one in the weak position of receiving the sentence, they are not even the same species. Obama is represented as human, dressed modestly, looking indecisive and submissive. The other is a towering elephant with tusks, dressed lavishly and appearing to be anything but human.

Symbolism: Other than the obvious symbolism, such as the olive branch representing and offering of peace or the elephant representing the Republican party, there are other symbols as well. The most prominent of which is the basket. The elephant says it contains work they’d like Obama to fill, but it was only created to hold his head. A system of interwoven ideas, accepting any one predicts the fate of Obama. Relatively old fashioned, the use of a basket may also represent a regressive form of governmental shift.

Irony: Like most political cartoons, this one is satirical. It shows that behind the public face of smooth political transition and protection of the public interest, the goal of the Republican party is personal and powerful. The leader of the nation has no choice but to submit to the losing political party, and the offering of the olive branch in fact results in a violent overthrow and a political suicide.

IRB Choice

Cutting for Stone
Abraham Verghese

Section 1: 1-178
Section 2: 178-356
Section 3: 356-534

I attended a seminar this summer given by a doctor working a rural area in India. She discussed the difficulties that occur when culture, science, and a lack of education clash. Being and avid reader, I distictly remembered her saying, "it's very Cutting for Stone". I made a mental note of it and bought the book before returning home. Since then it has been sitting on my bookshelf. The saga of a surgeon in Ethiopia, it not only seemed to challenge society (not ours but that of an very different nation I would like to learn about) but also appeals to the career path I am interested in.

AOW 20

2012 State of the Union Address
(first 15 minutes)

Barrack Obama
As he is the president, despite any political misgivings the audience may have, Obama’s authority on matters of national policies is indisputable. He was elected by the people to not only be an expert on such policies but also to create them.

Summary:
In an hour, Obama summarizes the accomplishments of 2011 and his plans for the upcoming year of 2012. In the first 15 minutes, he only begins to delve into his plans for controversial topics such as tax breaks and the job market. Primarily, for the entire first ten minutes, he appeals to the audience and gets them riled up.

Analysis:
This is a very critical speech for Obama. His audience, educated future voters who follow and are interested in politics, are also watching the progression of the republican primaries. Obama’s concerns lie not only in national job security, but also in his own in the upcoming election. While this is by no means a campaign speech, it is his chance to show that under his administration the nation has progressed.

The very first thing he does is address his audience, ending with “fellow Americans”. He then embarks on a journey of appeals, beginning with acknowledging the soldiers in and returning from the war. He sings their praises for several minutes and offers them a “proud salute”. He knows these views are most likely shared by all American citizens, for even those that don’t support the war do support those forced to fight it. Obama then, cleverly, incorporates this military into a larger analogy, or hypothetical situation. After mentioning how focused there are on their missions, how they can set aside their differences to work together, he encourages viewers to “imagine” a country that could follow that example. He then supports this with solid evidence, post WWII US. This not only serves to provoke feelings of nationalism but to preserve ethos when he talks about his American grandparents of the time.

We then leap from the flash back to a modern America. Obama utilizes a lot of contrast to show not only how far we’ve come since his administration took office, but also to show how far we can go “As long as I’m president”. He then, very systematically, presents a “blueprint” of his plans for the future, and puts thrusts the fate of America into the voters’ hands.

IRB Final Post

Blink

Malcolm Gladwell

Summary:

Most of the conjectures offered by the book have ended at this point. No new theories, such as the concept of thin slicing, were present in this quarter of section, only support and credibility in the form of anecdotes. Shifting the focus to when these mental processes go wrong, Gladwell begins to offer a new scientific view of a common yet tragic occurrence: when cops kill innocent people. He talks about some famous instances when this occurred, and when it was prevented. Using scientific studies, the results of which have played a crucial role in the development of new police training procedures, he explains how in times of stress the brain begins to focus on one particular threat. As adrenaline pumps time slows down and people become quicker to come to the wrong conclusions. This is yet another real life application which can mean the difference between life and death.

Analysis:

Gladwell offered a lot of fascinating but wild theories backed by solid scientific evidence in the book. By keeping the stories and tone light hearted he was able to prevent it from taking the position of a research paper, but with any such book there is the danger of losing the audience. I believe this portion of the book, serving as a conclusion, was written with the purpose of proving to the audience how much weight the applications of this research carry. The case studies of the police who killed innocent people really served to send the message home. With this new knowledge, people can save lives, not only relationships or the consequences of a bad decision. In the context of this real world example, the science becomes real, and the purpose of the book as a whole is better served. Gladwell very explicitly states that he wants readers to use this knowledge in their lives and careers. I think I will certainly give it a shot.

Rhetorical Devices:

Anecdotes: I said this before, but using this as the chief rhetorical device the author is able to make the book interesting and relatable.
Narration: A good writer, using narration before his stories he draws the reader in and maintains interest throughout the book.
Appeals: Though common, these are what give the science meaning. This is probably what is making his book a best seller.
Dialogue: At the end of the afterward it is almost as if the author is talking with the reader, predicting their responses, and answering them. Though not a straight out dialogue, this makes the reader feel as if they are on a more personal level with the writer.

Unit 3 Reflection

          As we previously grasped in units one and two, society are an integral and prominent part of in individual’s way of life. People tend to gravitate towards a collaborative lifestyle, in which individuals depend on the diverse skills of others to better as a whole. From reading such as The Republic and Allegory of the Cave, we learned that to receive the benefits offered by a society, all people must sacrifice or contribute something. This can be referred to as a social contract, neither binding nor inconsequential. However, the strength of these contracts are directly correlated with the strength of the society which depends on them for support. In this unit, we took this philosophical idea to a world where we may apply it: our world.

          Society is established to benefit the individuals within it, mostly by offering protection and stability. This organization is provided by an institution called a government. However, it is not established to govern the people, rather to serve their interests. By sacrificing some liberties, individuals reap the benefits of such organization. For example, as citizens of America we agree to sacrifice our rights to carry our "illegal" actions, but in return we get the benefits of a safe and stable nation with additional benefits such as public education and health services. As stated in the United States Declaration of Independence, this government should rule by “consent of the governed”.  A democracy is not the only justified system, but it is established “of the people, by the people, for the people” as stated by president Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address. When this contract between the individual citizens and their government fails it becomes time for reform.

          Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that when it becomes necessary to break the "political bands" than hold a government and the people together, it is our obligation to do so. To maintain a functioning system that benefits not only ourselves but also our society reform is critical. This has been prevalent countless times in  American history. Modeled after this very document, women's activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton's speech in New York clearly demanded reform. The system had failed to serve 50% of the nation's population, and women felt it was their right and their obligation to promote change. Similarly, Martin Luther King Jr. pushed for change during times when the enormous African American population in the US was being oppressed, a sign that the government has begun to fail at its duties. As he said in his famous speech I Have a Dream, "The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges." As part of this society, they deserved to gain and contribute to society. This came with reform.

          As we are privaleged enough to attain this education, it is our obligation to apply it to help others. This was the underlying theme of Allegory of the Cave, which we read earlier in the year, but also became the values upon which this nation was built several centuries after that document. Using our power to improve our society can be done on an national scale, or as implied in John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech, a global scale. This education was given to us by our society, and we in turn must protect our beneficiary by using our knowledge to improve, reform, and develope an ever improving world for ourselves, our neighbors, and the generations to come.

AOW 18

Revenge of theAloof

TIME Magazine

Joe Klein (author)

Longtime Washington D.C. and New York writer, Klein is not only the author of several award winning books such as Primary Colors and Politics Lost, but also has also written articles and book reviews for The New Republic, The New York Times, TIME, and more. He is currently of the Council of Foreign Relations.

Summary

Perhaps the most recent, and followed, news is the upcoming 2012 election. TIME magazine relays news, and this article is about the recent craze about politician Mit Romney, who is hoping to become the next republican candidate. Despite his recent rise in fame and popularity, Klein doesn't seem convinced. He points out that Romney is an elitist, "clunky" when it comes to his campaign, inable to deliver even the most basic statements without a teleprompter, and not nearly as qualified as his recent success has made him out to be.

Analysis:

As stated above, the context is the presidential craze that has begun to sweep the country. The audience, anyone who reads TIME magazine, is just the type of educated and involved group that would  be interested in following the campaigns of the candidates. Whether the purpose of the piece was to sway the audience one way or the other is not clear, as viable alternative to Romney is offered. Despite rather strong language the tone of the writing seemed objective, merely pushing the flaws of the new campaign rather than solely the candidate (this point is actually reiterated by the magazine in many of the following articles... the magazine seems unhappy with the turnout of the primaries)

Rhetorical Devices:

Diction: While this seems to be a common device, in this piece it was utilized extraordinarily (and comically) to emphasize the author's purpose. For example, when describing Romney's public speaking abilities, or lack of, Klein describes his speeches as a "stump speech, a dreadful agglomeration of political cliches".

Citations (logos): Although this writer does not need to build credibility (the magazine says it all) he uses the knowledge that his audience is made of independent and intelligent readers who can make their own conclusions, conclusions he drives them to make with selected soundbytes from the candidates campaign. Through these particular references Romney is represented as arrogant, elite, and a man who greatly lacks finesse.

Prediction: After all the harsh language, Klein finishes with a softer yet condescending tone, where he claims he has "a certain sypathy" for the floundering candidate. One begins to wonder why, which is when the article swiftly concludes with an entirely confident prediction about the upcoming election, and a joke: "Gentlemen, start your teleprompters!"



AOW 17

The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Howard Gardner

A World of Ideas

Howard Gardner, Hobbs Profesor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is codirector of Harvard's Project Zero, a program dedicated to imroving education in schools by emphasizing Creativity in thinking and problem solving.

Summary:

Intelligence is not a sweeping term. Although things like standardized tests often accurately predict how well a student may do in a classroom setting, it does not necessarliy reflect success in one's career. Great artists, musicians, and athletes are considered smart in their career, but in the classroom they are often pegged as average, or worse. There are seven main kinds of intelligence: musical, bodily-kinesthetic, logical mathematical, linguistic, spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. They are part of a repertoire that we draw from to solve certain problems. They are all independent from one another (brain damage often leads to the loss of one or two, while others are spared). Therefore, traditional IQ tests are inaccurate, as it is often the combination of certain skills that creates the diversity of human ability, rather than just the one intelligence tested for by such exams.   

Analysis:

The book was published, so it is available to a wide audience. However, I believe that the purpose of this writing was to cause reform in education. From what I understand, Project Zero is striving to create a new method/understanding of individual potential. Current standardized tests lack an understanding of how the human brain works, and the influence of our culture and surroundings on the ways we solve problems. Being interested in science, I found this peice not only satisfying but enlightening. It is perfect to put it in a high school/college book as we are being bombarded by standardized tests that I already KNOW mean little to nothing.

Rhetorical Devices:

Hypothetical situation: Several times Gardner proposes that the reader conduct a thought experiment, such as opening our minds away from the context of a classroom. For example, if we went to a concert, wouldn't we consider the musicians geniuses? So why condemn this form of intelligence in the classroom?

Definition: He begins explaining his theory by first defining intelligence. This was critical because before that he spends two pages telling the reader that their view of intelligence is wrong. The passage would have been extremely confusing if he hadn't then explained his definition of the term.

Narration: He begins the fairly complicated passage with a fairly simple scenario, where two boys are taking the same standardized test. This not always serves as an extended hook, but it is relatable as everyone in the audience has been in that position, and felt distressed when their results ended up as "average".

Ethos: Before he launches into his theory, Gardner gathers credibility by saying he got his results by "studies of exceptional populations, data about the evolution of cognition over the millennia, cross-cultural accounts of cognition, psychometric studies..." and the list goes on.

Divide and Conquer (my own term): He physically demonstrates the differences between the different forms of intelligence by completely separating them in his writing. They all get their own section and are not intermingled once.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Presentation Link

https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dg4k3z6r_55dtjm8zwc

AOW 16

IRB: Blink

Malcolm Gladwell

Summary:

While the basic premise of Gladwell's book has remained constant through the reading, that our subconscience plays an inexplicable yet critical role in our decision making, he introduced a set of new theories in this part of the book. He started by talking about the idea of a hypothetical "closed door" behind which we may never know what goes on, yet must accept and embrace. He then begins to launch primarily into a vast number of fascinating and very different anecdotes. Ranging from American military tactics to medical doctors to car salesmen, he provides examples that offer new meaning to the theories he put forth earlier in the book.

Analysis:

Much like the format of an essay, Gladwell is now providing details and examples to support his points. Part of the reason his writing is so appealing to a wide audience, which I am sure he hopes to expand as much as possible, is its universal appeal. Just as was stated in An Introduction to Rhetoric, the powers of narration are limitless as it "has the advantage of drawing reader in because everybody loves a good story." In this section, it seems that good stories are Gladwells means of maintaining/piquing interest. In regards to his success in achieving this goal, I would say it did the job. I have remained hooked since the beginning of the novel, despite the fact that I was very interesting in the science behind it and not only the anecdotes.

These stories (so far I have read about 7) serve to add credibility to his claims. While they may not be considered entirely outrageous, they certainly may be difficult to believe wholeheartedly at first read. From a variety of contexts, time periods, and sources he maintains one thing constant: relatablity. His references to problems faced by advertisement branches of corporations involved Coca Cola. His salesman approach was told from the view of a car salesman, a person who almost all readers have had some contact with. It pulls the science down to Earth for those people who may not understand, or feel interested in, the brain, but rather in the applications of this new research. In other words, this section, although rather redundant in its rhetorical devices (a lot a short digressing stories) served to answer the much emphasized question, "so what?"