Government REHUGO

Charlene Asuncion
Mr. Soeth
English 3 AP
February 16, 2011
REHUGO Analysis- Government: Current Events

A. Articles: “Grand Visions and Possible Lives” by Mike Rose and “American Education Fails Because It Isn’t Education” by Tom DeWeese

B. (See MLA Citation for access to articles)

C.Arguments
a) In the article, “Grand Visions and Possible Lives” by Mike Rose, Rose argues that although public education can always be improved, the ongoing debate of the failure of public schools obscures the value and achievement of the public school system. Furthermore, Rose contends that the general discontent with public schools is not reflective of the state of education, but rather is part of a larger disillusionment with and distrust of all public entities. Rose firmly believes in the American public education system and expresses that the benefits of public education are often taken for granted.

b) In opposition to the previous article, Tom DeWeese expresses that the American public education system is failing in adequately teaching students in traditional academic subjects such as mathematics, reading, and writing. DeWeese believes that rather than being taught the more necessary academic subjects, students are subjected to an education system based on the political and economic “agenda” of liberal teachers’ unions and politicians. DeWeese states that public education will continue to decline until one steps up to tackle the problem.

C.Evidence
a) In his article, Rose justifies his claim that the American public education system is not failing by exemplifying a personal account in which students were absorbing and learning from the system. Rose states, “The students had been conducting experiments to determine the polarity of various materials. Some were washing test tubes, holding them up to the windows for the glint of sunlight, checking for a bad rinse. Some were mixing salt and water to prepare one of their polar materials... The students were learning about the important concept of polarity. They were also learning to be systematic and methodical.” Rose highlights the attributes of the education system in this exemplification by unveiling what the students learn, absorb, and intake from the system. Additionally, Rose calls the public education system a disillusionment in the statement, “An entire generation has come of age amid disillusionment with public institutions and public life, disillusionment born of high-profile government scandal and institutional inefficiency, but, more so, from a skillful advocacy by conservative policymakers and pundits of the broad virtues of free markets and individual enterprise.” This evidence reveals that our perceptions of the American public education system have been shaped by the political figures that are in control of them and that the light of the education system is publicly casted over by the darker political and economic aspects.

b) DeWesse’s article presents, as evidence, the general “agenda” of the National Education Association (NEA) which consists of “higher pay, smaller classrooms, and more money for schools.” In this, DeWesse reveals the ongoing and persisting problems in the American education system and how the NEA’s real intent is to get more money for its members rather than the education system. This evidence shows how the economic aspects of the education system overrule education itself. Also, DeWesse states, “We have education programs full of new ideas, new methods, and new directions.... Through that program we declared that every child would come to school "ready to learn," "no child would be left behind," and pledged that our kids would be "second-to-none" in the world. Above all, we've spent money, money and more money. The result, American students have fallen further behind, placing 19th out of 21 nations in math, 16th in science and dead last in physics.” DeWesse’s evidence shows that the investments made in America’s education system are put to waste which is evident in the lack of academic prestige among other nations. This also reveals that money for education should be spent in better, more beneficial ways.

D. Rhetorical Strategies
a) Description: Rose utilizes a combination of description and imagery when he states, “Some (students) were washing test tubes, holding them up to the windows for the glint of sunlight, checking for a bad rinse. Some were mixing salt and water to prepare one of their polar materials. Some were cautiously filling droppers with hydrochloric acid or carbon tetrachloride. And some were stirring solutions with glass rods, squinting to see the results. There was lots of chatter and lots of questions of the teacher...” This use of description and imagery not only provides the audience with a clear depiction of the classroom environment, but it also pathologically embeds, in the minds of the audience, that the American classroom is a positive atmosphere educating and filling the students with knowledge.

Repetition: Rose uses repetition in the series of phrases: “When a local event or regional dialect... When a developing athlete planted... When a student said that his teacher... When a teacher, thinking back on it all...” This use of repetition is utilized to maintain a cause-and-effect structure in order to stress the value and significance of a teacher in a student’s life. This repetition also metaphorically compares the lasting and significant impact of a teacher on a student’s life to a pole vaulter’s base and a speaker’s creative resource. These metaphors emphasize the importance of a teacher in the academic life of a student; teachers are the base, the platform from which students develop as thinkers.

b) Definition: In his article, DeWesse utilizes ethos by defining, from the National Education Association Journal, the teaching profession and its impact in the statement, “The teaching profession prepares the leaders of the future.... The statesmen, the industrialists, the lawyers, the newspapermen ... all the leaders of tomorrow are in schools today.” By defining the teaching profession, DeWesse not only further establishes his ethos, but also gives the audience a clear depiction of what the teacher is intended to accomplish and makes the audience ponder whether or not the American education system provides teachers who do shape the leaders of tomorrow.

Exemplification: DeWesse compares the American public education system to the Skinner model by Dr. M. Donald Thomas in which academic knowledge is de-emphasized because of technology and reliance on others to think for us. The Skinner model as an example of America’s education system, provides a clear view of how DeWesse sees how inadequate the system is. Through this exemplification, the audience is able to better understand the possible outcome if changes were not made in the education system.


F.Viewpoint
As an advanced-placement student exposed to the public education system on a daily basis, it is safe to say that the education system needs improvement. Improvement is definitely needed in the quality of supplies such as textbooks, the standard of education, and the money invested into the system as a whole. However, the light of the American public education system is often diminished by the politics and economic aspects from public figures and the improvements the system needs. Too much attention is paid to how much the system lacks, rather than how much the system offers.
The mere fact that America advocates and promotes education to the extend that education itself is free and public, reveals that America is genuinely concerned with what is embedded in the minds of the young. The public education system is not to be blamed for the lack of knowledge and inadequate test scores of some students. America’s youth has the opportunity to be educated, whether or not they want to take advantage of the opportunity is a choice completely up to them. From America’s public education system, I am able to not only absorb and intake knowledge, but I am also able to apply it to life. From the textbooks, to the reports, to the lectures, the American education system has its benefits, though it is ultimately up to the willingness of the student to absorb the knowledge.

MLA Citations:
DeWeese, Tom. "Public Education Is Failing." Education. Ed. Mary E. Williams. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.

Rose, Mike. "Public Education Is Not Failing." Education. Ed. Mary E. Williams. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.