American Education System

WednesdayFriedman “Obama Needs to Speak Honestly About Education”

Activity 1: Quickwrite

What role do your parents play in your educational life? Would you like it to be more, less, or is it just right? Going forward how would you like them to be involved?

Noticing Language

Look at pages 36-37 which has Thomas Friedman’s article “Obama Needs to Speak Honestly About Education”.

Looking at context (the way a word or phrase relates to the sentence it is in) can help us understand the language an author uses more effectively.

Identify these words and phrases and write in the left margins what these words mean in context:– Laundry list– Bully pulpit– Accountability– Inexorable downward progression– Educational complacency

Annotating the Text

Thomas Friedman is writing about a speech that Arne Duncan, the secretary of education, gave. Friedman thinks President Obama should talk about education this way. As you read, ask yourself if you agree that Obama should speak this honestly about education.

▪ Annotate by looking for examples of ethos, pathos and logos. Label at least one example of each.

▪ Additionally, Make at least 3 thoughtful annotations per page.

DO NOT TURN ANYTHING IN!

▪ Hang on to the activities we did today and bring them to class on Thursday/Friday and we will continue working with this text.

American Education System

Thursday/FridayFriedman “Obama Needs to Speak Honestly About Education”

Considering the Structure of the Text

Now that you have read and discussed the content of Friedman’s article, you are ready to begin analyzing its organizational structure. First, divide the text into sections:

▪ Draw a line across the page where the introduction ends. Is the line after the first paragraph, or are there more introductory paragraphs?

▪ Divide the body of the essay into sections on the basis of the topics addressed.

▪ Draw a line where the conclusion begins. Is it the last paragraph, or does it begin before that?

Activity 2: Descriptive Outline

Now that you have “chunked” the article into different sections, you are going to analyze what each of the parts “say” and “do”

Use the handout to build a descriptive outline of the article “Obama Needs to Speak Honestly About Education”

Activity 3: Writing a Rhetorical Précis

A rhetorical précis is both a summary of an article and it shows understanding of its arguments. In a précis you demonstrate comprehension of the complexities and nuances in sophisticated writing. The rhetorical précis includes five parts.

▪ Part 1: Introduce the author, the title, and the main argument.

▪ Part 2: Explain how the author develops or advances the argument.

▪ Part 3: State the author’s purpose of the text.

▪ Part 4: Describe the intended audience and the author’s relationship to the audience.

▪ Part 5: Explain the significance of this work.

Use the rhetorical précis outline handout to write a rhetorical précis of “Obama Needs to Speak Honestly About Education”

Activity 4: Thinking Critically Questions

1. Do you think that parents and students take education seriously? Explain your reasoning.

2. Identify and explain two of the concerns that the teachers addressed. Do you agree with their concerns?

3. Considering the structure of the text, and Friedman’s main point, do you think it was effective for him to use the teacher’s quotes before mentioning Duncan’s speech?

4. Reflect on this data. When I asked my colleagues “How many kids don’t turn in smaller homework-like assignments?”, here’s what they said: – 9th grade English 40%– 10th grade English 50%– 11th grade English 40%– 12th grade English 25%

5. Why don’t American parents ask for more challenging educational standards?

Due Now:

▪ Activity 1: Quickwrite

▪ Activity 2: Descriptive Outline (handout)

▪ Activity 3: Rhetorical Précis (handout)

▪ Activity 4: Thinking critically Questions