English Essay

Bartholomae, Petrosky and Waite, the editors of your textbook  Ways of Reading write, “The purpose of this assignment [on education] is to invite you to step outside a world you may have begun to take for granted, to look at the ways you have been taught and at the unspoken assumptions behind your education.” (677). As a student, the study of the subject of education is a useful one for you, to recognize how this system is said to be situated within a social context, a context often shaped by dichotomies of power and powerlessness. Ken Robinson, in his TED Talk titled, “Changing Education Paradigms” posits the notion that the kind of power dynamic that exists between teacher and student is an antiquated and outdated system, one that squelches the imagination of an individual. The evident ideas of domination, control, submission and acquiescence and its aftermaths are represented within the works of Rodriguez and Anzaldua, texts that Pratt might call autoethnographies, much like the work of Guaman Poma, which give testament to what is lost within “social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery or their aftermaths...” (319). Furthermore, Du Bois discusses the life and experience of African Americans in our nation and more specifically within our education system, both as students and as teachers, considering how “the color line” plays a role in curriculum development and representation. Lastly, Miller writes about the first year writing course in college, much like the one you are writing this essay for, as being grounds for shifting from a theory mindset into an action one. In focusing on your own educational experiences, perhaps considering the roles you were cast in within this society, by our culture, and within its institutions, you might also come to some conclusions about what effect this experience   may   have   had   on   you   as   an   individual.

Your   Essay   Writing   Task

Option 1: Describe what you believe to be the goals of education, both for you and for the institution within which you’ve learned, recognizing the ways in which both you and your educational system have been socially constructed. Your analysis must include a full discussion of how the two aims or goals do and/or do not correlate along with an indication of some of the problems and solutions within the educational system that have been discussed and analyzed within the source material we’ve watched, read, written about and considered in class to illustrate how the gap might be closed or the interaction between   the   two   improved.

Required   Sources

1. “How   to   Tame   a   Wild”   Tongue   by   Gloria   Anzaldua

Of   the   Wings   of   Atlanta...Of   the   Training   of   Black   Men”   by   W.E.B.   Du   Bois

3. “The   Dark   Night   of   the   Soul”   by   Richard   E.   Miller

4. “Arts   of   the   Contact   Zone”   by   Mary   Louise   Pratt

5. “Changing   Education   Paradigms”   Ken   Robinson

6. “The   Achievement   of   Desire”   by   Richard   Rodriguez

Criteria   for   Success

In   this   essay,   you   should   have:

1. A  title of your own choosing that introduces your essay’s topic and content to your reader;

2. 3 – 6 type written pages, following  MLA guidelines for formatting in terms of spacing,   margins,   font   size   et   al;

3. a clear and evident  audience and  purpose in mind, reflecting consideration of the subject    and   the   message   of   your   essay;

4. an effective use of  pathos ,  ethos and  logos , taking into consideration your audience and   purpose;

5. a creative  introduction that indicates a “hook” of some sort and/or the necessary background information any reader needs to comprehend the topic, your thesis and the   remainder   of   your   essay;

6. a  thesis that embodies a unifying or controlling idea, which all of your analyses and supporting   information   refer   back   to   and   analyzes;

7. body paragraphs that are ordered in a sensible, meaningful and strategic manner throughout the essay, taking into consideration both your audience and your purpose;

8. body   paragraphs   that   follow   the    TEA    format   with

o T: topic sentences which help focus the paragraph , one topic sentence per

paragraph or main idea, preparing the reader for all the ideas discussed within that body paragraph. This is your idea, your inference, conclusion about   some   aspect   of   the   topic,   the    “tell   me” ;

o E: supporting evidence in the form of at least 4 direct quotes, paraphrases or summaries from the readings, iLearn class discussions, Robinson’s TED talk, your own preliminary writing, or researched material (to exceed no more than two outside sources) which provide the reader with reasons, illustrations,   examples,   facts,   proof.      This   is   the    “show   me”;

o A: analysis and interpretations that explains the evidence or details that relate back to the topic sentence of the body paragraph and the thesis of the overall   essay.      This   is   the    “so   what?”

9. a  conclusion that does more than repeat the information given in the body of the essay, but one that extends the analysis, indicating the next logical step in reasoning that   the   writer   wants   the   reader   to   take;

10. fluid    sentences    that   are   well-constructed   and   relatively   error   free;

11. A  works cited page, formatted according to MLA Works Cited List using the

following   for   assistance:    https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/