Chase Mielke’s spoken word piece, “What Students Really Need to Hear”, shines many lights on the purpose of school and how students contribute to said purpose. There are a myriad of important points, although the central idea stands out above all. More specifically, the idea that the point of school is not to memorize facts, but to learn how to deal with difficult times properly. He writes, “It is your resilience in conquering the main event- adversity- that truly prepares you for life after school.” Mielke illustrates this concept using rhetorical devices such as pathos, or emotions. Simply, the author’s use of pathos emphasizes the idea that school’s ‘main event’ is to instruct students on how to keep moving in the face of seemly insurmountable harshness. …show more content…
He states, “The main event is pulling your crap together and making hard choices and sacrifices when things seem impossible. It is finding hope in the hopeless, courage in the chasm, guts in the grave. He also says, “Life will let you die alone, depressed, and poor if you can’t man or woman up enough to deal with hardship.” Both these statements use emotional words to show their importance. Such words include hope, courage, alone, and depressed. Mielke is making a point of using impactful vocabulary, in hopes that he will be able to reach his audience. An emotional reaction from the listener will cause them to remember his speech, and consequently use his advice. Clearly, the use of ethos in “What Students Really Need to Hear” drives home the true meaning of school- to persevere through stress, fear, and
“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” This mantra from Margaret Mead is a somewhat humorous yet slightly satirical spin on how people tend to think of themselves as one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable human specimens. However, one English teacher from Wellesley High School takes this critique one step further with his polemic presentation at the school commencement. David McCullough, a Massachusetts English teacher, gave a seemingly somber sendoff to his graduates in 2012, with a speech that contained some unapologetically harsh sentiments. However, by looking past the outwardly dismal surface of the speech, the students can infer a more optimistic message. By incorporating devices of asyndeton, paradox, antimetabole, and anadiplosis, McCullough conveys to each student that even though none of them is unique, their commonality is not a fault they all have merit and should strive to view the world through a more selfless lens.
Pashtana said she would rather die than not go to school and acted on her words. Her education is limited and she doesn’t have all the recourses to make school easier, yet she still loves and wants all the knowledge she can get. While I sit in my three story private school, a clean uniform free of holes or loose seams, my macbook air in my lap, the smell of cookies rising up from the cafeteria, wishing to be anywhere else but there. No one has beat me because I want to go to school, no one has forced me into a marriage, I’ve never put my life in jeopardy for the sake of education. Pashtana’s life and choices made me take a moment to stop and reflect on my own life and how fortunate I am to have what I have.
In 102 Minutes, Chapter 7, authors Dwyer and Flynn use ethos, logos, and pathos to appeal to the readers’ consciences, minds and hearts regarding what happened to the people inside the Twin Towers on 9/11. Of particular interest are the following uses of the three appeals.
In 2005, David Wallace Foster delivered a memorable commencement speech to the graduating class of Kenyon College. It was not the standard US commencement speech with “the deployment of didactic little parable-ish stories” which then turn out to be “one of the better, less bullshitty conventions of the genre”. By using pathos , Foster created an intelligent argument that wasn't overpowering but thoughtful and understanding. The argument made by Foster in his speech is about the capital-T Truth. And to Foster, the capital-T Truth is about life before death. The point of Fosters speech is to expose the importance of education, the value it possesses and the awareness it brings. Its modest amount parables, proverbs and cliches revealed the honesty behind his words and ugly truths that caused a stir the audience. Wallace Foster stripped away the standardness of such monotone and basic writing of commencement speeches to his advantage. By using pathos he builds bridges, sustains his arguments and emotionally influences his audience.
The article “The Coddling Of The American Mind”, written by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, was written about how teachers are afraid of what they are allowed to say during in class because of the emotional effect on the students. While writing the article the authors have many examples of logos, ethos, and pathos. The logos of the article appeals to logic by presenting facts and statistics. The writers provide definitions of words such as microaggression and trigger warning. While explaining the definitions they go on to give real world examples to further the understanding of the words. Also statistics of the amount of mental health issues are provided to enhance the logos. Secondly to make the article more appealing is adding an emotional
Through his eyes, he has experienced two very different worlds which are to be much alike in expectations and attitudes. However, this being not the case, it leads me to question how much the psychological and social effects of being in a remedial class weight on the minds of the adolescent. It is interesting to me that the expectations were so vastly different in a world where we teach our young minds that anyone can achieve with enough effort. Effort itself, was not pressed in the lower classes (or at least not expected, let alone strived for), and thus, students suffered from the psychological effects of being placed in a class in which they felt intellectually inferior to those who were in a higher stratum of
In this example Lennon plays with our sympathy, telling stories of how Roberto was one of two hundred prisoners that were trying to get accepted into the college program that only seats twenty three. He ends with a quote from his mother “How you think is how you act”(Lennon 3). This saying by his mother, is comparing the inmates attitudes going into jail and how if educated how they can change when coming out. In this argument by John J. Lennon he uses a variety of pathos, logos and ethos writing methods in order to try and persuade the readers to agree with adding more college courses for inmates. Although the argument is very well written Lennon’s use of egos, pathos and logos are lacking. Which in turn allows the readers to not be persuaded towards his goal of increasing the amount of classes offered in
In the argument that college is not for everyone, Reeves establishes his ethos through both extrinsic and intrinsic support while maintaining clarity using the logos approach. Pathos, however, lacked the same amount of control. By using an excess amount of pathos while approaching rhetoric with a condescending tone, the author diminished the persuasiveness achieved by combining the techniques. This resulted in a limited audience due to the insulting nature of the closing remarks geared to the very audience he was trying to reach.
For example, the emotion is felt when Kozol speaks to a student from a New York, Bronx high school, “Think of it this way,” said a sixteen-year-old girl. “If people in New York woke up one day and learned that we were gone…how would they feel? Then when asking how she thought the people of New York would feel she replied, “I think they’d be relieved” (Kozol 205). By mentioning the thoughts and emotions of individuals involved with the issues of school system segregation and inequality his reader cannot help but develop a feeling of empathy for children that feel as if no one cares about them and their issue. Kozol also uses pathos effectively by reading letters to his reader he received from young elementary school children that are not afforded the same amenities as other children in wealthier school systems, amenities such as toilet paper or the appropriate amount of restrooms. Which causes students to hold the urge to relieve themselves out of fear of being late for class (Kozol 214). With the proper use of pathos, Kozol places the reader in the same situation and assistances the reader with an understanding of his reason for conveying a concern to help children in this unfortunate situation. Another example of Pathos is when he speaks of the letters that came from third-grade children asking for help with getting them better things. He mentions a letter that had the most affected on him that came from a girl named Elizabeth, “It is not fair that other kids have a garden and new things. But we don’t have that.” (Kozol 206). This example being only one example of the few things mentioned in the letter. The tone of the little girl from when Kozol reads gives a pitiful and sad feeling. By stating this, it acts on the reader’s emotional state which creates a sense of wanting to resolve the problem of
It is commonly brought our attention, that how we act will often reflect back upon us; it is something that we are taught from the very moment that we are born. As humans, it is easy to let negativity get to us and can cause us to act out against our peers and enemies. In Kimberlee Bonura’s analysis on the theory of Classroom Relationships, she is persuading half of her audience (teachers) how to treat students and the other half of her audience (students) how attitudes can effect their mood and how they make people feel. While reading Classroom Relationships, I analyzed the characteristics’ that Bonura uses in her writing to make it rhetorical. The two tools that she applies to her writing include the problem and solution technique and discussing important issues in our society.
In “The Puzzle of Motivation,” the main premise on the onset of the video is that “traditional rewards aren’t always as effective as we think,” (Pink, 2009). Rewards are a normal part of most organizational cultures, but do they work? My position is one that supports the questioning of the effectiveness of tradition rewards. By using motivational theories and concepts, I will show why this idea holds merit in today’s day and
The authors of this article are writing as citizens of the St. Louis area. They observe that the current dealing of the issues of race, equality, and education is not currently being effectively dealt with in the city of St. Louis and beyond. They give us very clear views on their opinion when they stated “Because education is where opportunity starts, St. Louis should immediately show its serious by starting to turn around inequalities in public education” (St. Louis Dispatch, 2014.
In his speech, “A Talk for Teachers”, Baldwin successfully illustrates a blunt and realistic scene that plays to the audiences’ patriotism and anger in order to legitimize the internal struggles of African American students and inspire teachers to recognize them. He describes in his speech how, in America, the education of the black students’ past “is nothing more than a record of humiliations gladly endured” and “that the value he has as a black man is proven by one thing only – his devotion to white people” (Baldwin 124). The author is able to challenge the idea that the America is a land of opportunity for all, while simultaneously defining the reason that this ideal does not pertain to African Americans. Because he provides the phrases,
When I first read the title of the article “The Problem with Lecturing” I was immediately drawn to the subject at hand. Being a student who has struggled in the past with the teaching method of lecture classes, I was curious as of what aspect Emily Hanford was going to write about. I was curious to see what appeal she would use to make her point. Would she use ethos, logos, pathos or a combination of all three? And at what point would her kairos moments appear. To my delight, Emily touched base on may different aspect of the problem with lecturing including, but not limited to, testing understanding once lectured (ethos), professors taking the matter to heart of its lack of effectiveness (pathos) , and the importance of professors changing the way they teach/lecture in a classroom setting(logos). Hanford also remarked that Professors have long been aware of the problem with lecturing student, but most are not sure of how to make the needed change. While others feel there is no need make changes to what is, as they believe is “working well”. This last statement however was not clear as what she was trying to convey in her article, which may leave the readers confused of what her actual point is. For example is she looking for a change or is she just expressing an issue that exists.
I believe that the purpose of education is to produce the next generation of leaders who are intelligent and have great character. This idea is supported in the article “The Purpose of Education” by Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist who fought for black and white people to have equal rights in America. He writes about the true purpose, and meaning of education in the article by saying, “Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction (MLK1).” This quote from the article explains that being academically educated is very important. It will help people stand up, be a leader, and take charge to make the world a better place for everyone. That gallant leader will argue against the fallacy, lies,