TOW #10: Article (Fixing Schools to Fix Chicago)

19,905 students graduated from Chicago public schools in June. In the same class, 9,310 students dropped out after ninth grade. This shocking statistic is the first used by the anonymous author of "Fixing Schools to Fix Chicago" in order to prove that the Chicago school system needs a drastic overhaul. He or she continues that only eight percent of public high school freshman in Chicago will go on to earn a bachelor's degree by their mid-twenties. After using these statistics to prove that dropouts are major problem in the city, the author lists reasons why the typical Chicagoan reader should care. The author explains, "Why should this matter to all Chicagoans? Because crime, joblessness, poverty — many of this city's ills — take root at home and fester in the classroom." He or she then goes into detail about how the high number of dropouts contributes to each problem. For example, dropouts are "140 times more likely to be in correctional institutions than their peers with college degrees." By using facts and examples, the author proves that this problem is both widespread and relevant to common interest.

The author ultimately wants readers to participate in a series of editorials the Chicago Tribune is running to plan a better city. Although the lack of a name attached to the article detracts from its credibility, the fact that it is part of an official Chicago Tribune project shows that the research and opinions presented are probably valid. I believe that the author's argument was convincing enough that many readers would have wanted to contribute to fixing the education system through this editorial series. Even if a reader has no children in the school system and does not have a personal interest in it, everybody wants less crime on the streets and wants to fund fewer food stamps. The author's argument was coherent and persuasive.
 
 

 

 Gerould W. Kern, Chicago Tribune Editor

This guy wants you to fix Chicago.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/plan/ct-edit-xproject2a-educ-1013-20131013,0,3575610.story

IRB #2: I Am Malala

Millions of people around the world know the story of Malala Yousafzai, the girls' education activist who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban. Last month with journalist Christina Lamb she published I Am Malala, a memoir about her family, town, childhood, and activism. 

Because my last IRB was so logic-based, I wanted to read a memoir this time. In my research, I came across Malala's memoir, which reminded me of a comic strip I saw a few months ago. I'm not interested in most current events but the illustration made me want to know more. I hope that reading this book will help me better comprehend the issue and give me some unpredictable insight into Malala as a person and activist.

TOW #9: Visual Text (GM Advertisement)

The above advertisement appeared in some sort of race car magazine (I could not, unfortunately, find the name of the publication) in 1988. General Motors published it with the goal of convincing car enthusiasts to buy the 1988 Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Trans Am. The most prominent rhetorical device used by GM is a literary allusion to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a novel in which the good Doctor Jekyll periodically transforms into the evil man usually trapped inside himself, Mr. Hyde. The theme of the novel is that all human beings have a well-suppressed wild side. GM uses this theme to its advantage, implying that the reader has a business-like persona and an excitement-loving one, and that the Trans Am and Camaro would cater to both of those interests. In this respect, GM also utilizes juxtaposition to show that most cars would suit either Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde, but GM cars have the ability to combine the two.

I imagine the ad achieved its purpose very well. Its target audience was already obsessed with both racing and owning cars, and learning that they could participate in both would have been a massive advantage to owning one of the two featured GM cars. The only issue would be whether the audience would be able to afford the product. In many cases, these were probably just fantasy cars for the teenage gearhead, in which case they would not purchase the car no matter how well it was advertised.

TOW #8: IRB (Outliers)

Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers continues to compare and contrast pieces of evidence throughout the rest of the book. As a reminder, Gladwell is a writer for the New Yorker and is trying to prove shed light on the specific factors that allow people like Bill Gates to be extraordinarily successful or Avianca flight 052 to go terrible wrong. Moving through the book, he increasingly makes use of anecdotes. For example, a chapter of is dedicated to a specific plane crash; because he is not a pilot, he interviewed Suren Ratwatte, an experienced pilot who explains what the atmosphere of the cockpit is like. Telling an anecdote about one of his own flights, Ratwatte describes, "At one point I was talking to three different people--talking to Dubai, talking to MedLink [...] and I was talking to the two doctors who were attending to the lady in the back. It was nonstop for forty minutes" (190-191). Although it is not his own story, Gladwell still makes use of it by analyzing it in a way that proves his point. He explains that Rutwatte felt comfortable communicating freely because Americans do not follow strict hierarchy rules, whereas countries like Hong Kong and Singapore do. This creates problems when pilots cannot clearly communicate with their subordinates, making their assistants useless and greatly increasing the likelihood of a crash. Gladwell's use of anecdotes is in a way another method of comparison: he presents a case that is both similar and different than the one being studied for the chapter, and explains why they did not end the same way. The personal aspect makes his point more relatable and easier to grasp. After finishing Outliers, I definitely believe that Gladwell achieved his purpose. His books are intended for intelligent adults, so if I understood and agreed with the point, I'm sure most of his audience does as well.