Tow #10: Article: "School District's Right to Divert Kids From Life of Crime"

This editorial was written in the opinion section of the Miami Herald. It tackled the subject of zero tolerance policies in public schools. The Miami Herald Editorial Board wanted to inform residents of the state of Florida about the changes to the policies in Miami-Dade and Broward County in order to hopefully create change in the rest of the state of Florida. The Miami Herald believed that by having zero tolerance policies in place, it would end up leading children into a life of crime. Prior to 2009, the Florida Legislators took a zero tolerance approach to all schools. For example, if a student threw a spitball, threw a punch, or cursed at a teacher, the school would have to call the cops. One bad decision led to a police record, making it harder for that student to get a job, a loan, or go into the military. According to the Miami Herald, if troubled students received counseling or mentoring, they would eventually learn to stay away from a life of crime. However, I disagree with the article. The Miami Herald mostly just used facts and statistics to prove their point, so I do not think it was very convincing. According to the article, Miami-Dade County and Broward County have had 30% less arrests and suspensions in their schools today due to the change in policy in 2009. However, does that fact even matter? Of course there are going to be less arrests and suspensions when the main form of punishment is counseling. Also, many of the teenagers that make minor mistakes will probably make major ones too if they do not get seriously punished. If the counterargument had been addressed and refuted more, I think that the article would have been much more effective. Before reading this article, I did not think that schools should relieve some of the zero tolerance policies, and after reading my opinion has not changed. Therefore, I do not think that the Miami Herald achieved their purpose.

Tow #9: Visual Text: Volkswagen's Amarok Print Ad

The advertisement above is from Volkswagen is advertising the fact that with one tank of gas, their car can go 620 miles. The car that they are advertising specifically in this print ad is a Volkswagen Amarok. Volkswagen is a well known car company that has been selling many cars for many years which makes them a credible company and therefore appeals to ethos. I think this ad is effective because there is a strong appeal to logos. With the fact at the bottom of the picture, it shows the logical reason for buying the car. I also like this advertisement because of its simplicity. When flipping through a magazine, there are so many colors and words that when an ad is plain grey with little words, it will make the reader stop for a second and look at the ad. In that second it is easy to understand exactly what the ad is saying because of the picture. It is clever to reshape the key into nature landscape because is illustrates that by unlocking your car, you are unlocking the ability to go on a long adventure. Then the reader will look at the bottom of the page and see that the long adventure can go on for 620 miles. The advertisement also has an appeal to pathos for anyone that loves adventure. The word adventure symbolizes a new beginning and a change that is fun. It symbolizes trying something new and enjoying it. The word had a strong positive connotation that sparks memories of someone’s own adventures or the excitement of starting a new adventure. Volkswagen seemed to be specifically targeting people that need a new car and like to go on long drives often. I think that Volkswagen successfully achieved their purpose of selling this car. The simplicity and cleverness of this ad is refreshing and hopefully it got the attention of car buyers. 

 

IRB Introduction #2: Stiff by Mary Roach

For the second marking period I am reading Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. I chose to read this because I was looking through a list of some of the best nonfiction books ever written and I recognized the title. My English teacher last year read a section of it to us and she recommended that we all read it. It is a book about dead bodies and what scientists do with them when those people chose to donate their bodies. Apparently it is humorous even though the book involves death, so I was curious and decided to read it. Hopefully I will learn from this book about how people can be useful even after they are dead.

Tow #8 IRB: The Buried Book by David Damrosch (Part 2)

The second half of my independent reading book, The Buried Book by David Damrosch, was centered more around how the Epic of Gilgamesh was found by Hormuzd Rassam and the effect the text had on the world. The part of the book that I found most engaging was how the cuneiform tablets that the epic was written on were found. Rassam was an English citizen that was a victim of harsh racism. Because of this, Rassam recieved little credit for his discoveries and his career became a joke. The purpose of Damrosch including Rassam's story in The Buried Book was to clear Rassam's name and explain to people interested in history and literature about the truth of how the tablets were found. Damrosch, a literature professor at Harvard University, had to do an extensive amount of research in order to clear Rassam's name. I think that Damrosch achieves this purpose more effectively than some of his others throughout the book because this side story is the first one he tells that appeals to pathos. For example after "Rassam had made the discovery of his life" the British press and the British museum "increasingly failed to give him credit for his finds." By using the word "failed" it created a negative emotional reaction because the word fail has such a negative connotation. Also the fact that the word "failed" is preceded by "increasingly" shows that he didn't get credit for his work multiple times. This part of the book was effective because many people can relate to Rassam's story. Because of a negative reputation, someone may discover something amazing, but all the credit is given to someone else. In Rassam's case, his negative reputation wasn't even his fault. Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge, an upperclass collector that worked with the British Museum and a rival of Rassam, received most of the credit for the work that Rassam had done. Because of this Rassam was "long forgotten by everyone" until Damrosch wrote this book to achieve his purpose of recognizing Rassam's discovery of the tablets.