Rhetorical Analysis
Leon Botstein the president of Bard College wrote “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood” to educate the general population on how the hierarchy of high school social groups can affect the teacher workplace and the classroom setting as well. Botstein uses the shooters of Columbine High School to show how the social normalities and the social groups can both teachers and students. Botstein states that “ A community's loyalty to the high school system is often based on the extent to which varsity teams succeed. High school administrators and faculty members are often former coaches, and the coaches themselves are placed in a separate. untouchable category”.
Botstein’s points on the way classroom and social bias in school are in my perspective pretty relatable in terms of how I have observed the workspace around me every day. I as a junior in high school have realized that a great deal of the things we learn in school are good to know subjects but not need to know subjects that we will use for the
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Botstein uses the Littleton shootings to bring light to how the school system works in terms of how almost biased the schools are in their treatment of students and teachers. Botstein states “The team sports of high school dominate more than student culture. A community’s loyalty to the high school system is often based on the extent to which varsity teams succeed. High school administrators and faculty members are often former coaches, and the coaches themselves are placed in a separate, untouchable category. The result is that the culture of the inside elite is not contested by the adults in the school. Individuality and dissent are discouraged. To me as someone who might be considered somewhat of a social outcast, I can definitely acknowledge that there is unquestionably always going to be some type of social biased because we are people and we just tend to do things like that. But the severity of social biased is something that we can work
Pointing out the many problems that millennials may face as they start life on their own, Brooks elicits many emotions from his audience. Brooks states that the recent graduates, whose “lives have been perversely structured”, will be thrown into a culture shock when “they… enter a world that is unprecedentedly wide open and unstructured.” Through this statement and others, Brooks leans heavily on pathos to make his readers feel responsible for the state of the world that these new graduates will face. Depending on the audience, this could bring forth sympathy for the graduates, anger concerning the way that millennials are being viewed, or sadness about the condition of society. After graduation, “[graduates] are… cast out into a different
In his essay, “Generation Text,” Mark Bauerlein, uses many statistics and strong evidence to convince his audience that adolescents are losing the need to learn and grasp the knowledge of the arts and humanities that once were important to previous generations.
In Leon Botstein’s "Let Teenagers Try Adulthood", Botstein argues that the "superficial definitions" of high school students are a reason to let teenagers begin their lives in the working world rather than to perpetuate their education. Botstein is correct in proclaiming that high schools are breeding grounds for "cliques" and "artificial intensity”, and his address of the “flawed institution” of high school is cogent and fitting.
Before last night I didn’t know who Tim Wise was. I went into this visiting writer session with an open-mind, unknowing of the exact topic that would be discussed. While sitting in the chapel, waiting for Mr. Wise to speak, I noticed a diversity of people in the audience, albeit majority were college students, but there were also people of different ages too. A woman I sat next to was talking about seeing Mr. Wise by the doorway and wanting to get a picture with him. I sat there listening to her excitement over him, and I wondered, “Who is this guy?” After it was over and done, I left the chapel with a lot of information to process. It wasn’t just what he said that made me think, but how he presented his view. That’s when it clicked, he didn’t
Have you ever heard the saying “stop and smell the roses”? It can often be used when someone overlooks the true meaning of something. Author of the article “What Is College For?”, Gary Gutting, feels very strongly about this concept as it pertains to college and the experience it offers. Gutting received a doctorate from St. Louis University and enjoys studying the philosophy of religion and science. He feels as though students are lacking academic engagement, and do not enjoy college because they are there for the wrong reasons. In his article, “What Is College For?”, Gutting effectively convinces his audience that college is a haven for knowledge and new perspectives. Through his use of surveys and analyzation of perspectives and his statistical knowledge based on former studies he is able to persuade his readers that college is the right path. [This is a good start, but you want to get a little more specific—how is Gutting using ethos, pathos, and logos? What specific uses of it make his argument strong?]
In the essay, The Graduates, Louis Menand a Harvard professor and writer, argues that the education system has taken a turn for the worst; it has made kids fear being wrong. Menand supports his claim by illustrating how competitive our Meritocratic system has become and how it has gotten in the way student’s learning process. Menand’s purpose is to point out the pressure put on students to succeed in order to show the negative effect it has as they move to adulthood. Menand’s humorous and formal tone makes a sort of “Safe Haven” for students and parents to feel less attacked when reading this piece. By describing the scenario of a sleepover, he is able to make the audience more relaxed, because he is able to get a chuckle out and evoke a feeling
In "Let Teenagers Try Adulthood", an essay by Leon Botstein, Botstein argues that the "superficial definitions" of high school students are a reason to let teenagers begin their lives in the working world rather than to perpetuate their education. Botstein is correct in proclaiming that high schools are breeding grounds for "cliques" and "artificial intensity”, and his address of the “flawed institution” of high school are cogent and fitting.
Private schools are not institutions filled with rich preppy kids whose parents own multiple summer houses and yachts, and public schools are not institutions where individuals get shoved into lockers and have to worry about a bully stealing their lunch money. Those statements are examples of very inaccurate stereotypes about various kinds of schools. Throughout the four years that I have been at Albany Academy, I have seen some inaccurate portrayals of our student body. This is not a one sided affair, for some people at the Academies make some very erroneous assumptions about students at other schools. For example I have heard that Albany High School is “probably really easy because the students don’t care”. Though these institutions may have different reputations,when these two schools an analyzed side by side, they are not as different as many thought
Young people wind up neglecting high school for various reasons. In this circumstance, a number of students either don't have the aspiration to remain in school or they simply cannot stand to pay the tuition. In a couple of cases, the students dropout, as a result of low quality teaching. According to the article, Let Kids Rule The School by Susan Engel, she states “I recently followed a group of eight public high school students, aged 15 to 17, in Western Massachusetts as they designed & ran their own school within a school.” This quote shows that in our society today, its critical to consider who our 'associates' are in a peer learning group & how they don’t have a part like an educator.
In the essay "Let Teenagers Try Adulthood", Leon Botstein expresses that the "superficial definitions" of high school students present a reason that they should be allowed to begin their lives in the working world rather than to prolong their education. Botstein is correct in proclaiming that high schools are breeding grounds for "cliques" and "artificial intensity”, and his address of the “flawed institution” of high school is cogent and fitting.
In ‘Abolish high school’ by Rebecca solnit, she writes “High school is often considered a definitive American experience, in two senses: an experience that nearly everyone shares, and one that can define who you are, for better or worse, for the rest of your life.” which means high school isn’t wonderful for many people, it has a lot of challenges for teens, maybe some of them ‘kill’ by pressure and challenges, it would affect their rest of life. The high school is not a wonderful place for everyone. People should skip it and escaped it that you would don’t be suffered by it. However I disagree with her, because I believe high school is a indispensable place for students. It is a place for students, they can find a great relationship and an unexceptionable place to learn. On the other hand, I believe the high school is the key to definitive teens who they are in an great way. For example, Teachers would shape everyone’s identity, make you strong to face challenges, and open child’s heart. For example, in my childhood, when I lived with my parents, I was happy to learn, because my parents always encourage me to learn. Also, they want me learn from mistake, because It is a way to learn. They want me to be someone. However my parents left me at 12 age, they have to work more hard to support this home. I can’t focus on learning, I was playing video games every day, because I think I was ‘release’ from my parents. I have no ideas about my future. There is no one like my parents to guide me , I feel alone and confuses. Until I was be a part of high school.The high school make me stronger and hopeful. Teachers guide me walk on the right way again, they talk to me about future and how wonderful thing would happen in high school. I
The President of Bard College, Leon Botstein, wrote the opinion piece Let Teenagers Try Adulthood (1999), argues that American high schools should be abolished. Botstein uses school cliques and brain development to develop the argument. The author's purpose was to argue that high school are dangerous to kids mental health and the school system should be modified in order to keep children safe from wrong ideas that are often present in high schools. The audience of the opinion article are school officials and people who have the power to change the educational system.
Athletes may receive preferential treatment when being on a sports team can bring them prestige amongst peers, rewards from the school, and recognition from teachers, administrators, and people in the local community. Some athletes may use their status to interact and socialize with others, since they are popular, where some unknown students may have trouble interacting due to their lack of popularity. Some athletes, who feel they are privileged, may take advantage of the system, due to their status. If athletes are treated differently from the rest of the student body, resentment can arise where non-athletes might feel some way towards being mistreated by athletes and consider outcasts where tension can exist between both parties. A feud between athletes and non-athletes can lead to a tragic event like the Columbine shootings in Littleton, Colorado back on April 20, 1999 where 14 students and one teacher were killed. The two shooters who were non-athletes felt resentment towards athletes were shouting rants and had a vendetta to shoot athletes for past mistreatment.
Schools systematically subjugate minority and black students when a school’s enrollment contains a huge racial majority. If students have no exposure to persons of different ethnicities, cultures, races, and religions, then these students will experience culture shock when they confront “other” people. Even in our class, we talk about black and minority students as another group, one that differs from “us.” We think about the inequalities in school systems as problems we need to fix, not as problems that have influenced our thinking and affect us as prospective teachers. For example, a white graduate student with
“I believe the problem is not what is taught in schools, but how it is taught.” (Lamb-Sinclair) Teachers are telling students that bullying and racism are wrong but are not showing students how to handle real world situations. They have little experiences with people who are different. Growing up in nice neighborhoods, students are uncomfortable in a neighborhood that may be perceived as inferior and treat the people in those areas as if they are lesser beings. Who are they to judge? Lamb-Sinclair tells readers that during her teachings she brought some of her classes from a rural school to an urban school. By doing this, she enlightened her students on the fact that maybe they weren’t so very different. The encounters between the students helped them to realize that they weren’t so very different. Parents expressed concerns for the safety of their children, revealing their racial bias(?). Maybe teachers and parents aren’t immersing their students and children in multiple