Every Nook and Cranny: The Dangerous Spread of Commercialized Culture

            In “Every Nook and Cranny: The Dangerous Spread of Commercialized Culture” written Gray Ruskin and Julie Schor, they address the topic of the influence of the corporation in every day life. In the article, Ruskin and Schor present information about present day examples of the presence of corporation in schools, television and government. This gave the writers a strong sense of credibility because of the wide range and in-depth knowledge of information present in the article. Besides using ethos to persuade theirs readers, they use logos as well. Other than using present day information, Ruskin and Schor gives data about the number of schools selling and receiving goods from corporations. It persuades the reader into their argument because of the unbiased information given by the writers. The organization is laid out in blocks, where they label all the topics they are going to talk about. Also the language is easy to understand and very accessible for every type of reader. However, their argument is convincing but the writing doesn’t feel very emotional. The writer does not try to appeal at the readers’ emotions. Even though the information is very relevant to present day events, the argument doesn’t have the emotional appeal to keep the reader interested about the topic beyond reading the article.

            I agree with Ruskin and Schor argument that corporate presences are in everything we see. In television and movies corporate advertisement is the most present. All the characters in a movie seem to use the same phone or car. It affects the audience and convinces them to buy their products. I find it unfair and that the audience should be given a fair choice about what products they spend their money on. Instead of using advertisement in our favorite movie or television show. There should be a common practice in the media that stops product placement in television and movies.

“I Need My Space!”

            In the article “I Need My Space!” by Cindy Long argues about how social networking websites pose no real threat to teenage safety. In her article, she gives interesting information about the percentage of American teenagers that use social networking websites. Alongside the data, she talks about how schools blocking access of these websites on campus and educating students about the kinds of information they shouldn’t list on their profiles. Long’s usage of studies, student and teacher interviews demonstrate her vast knowledge about the subject and are a strong usage of the ethos and pathos appeal. Also Long lists some of the preventative measures students use on their profiles to stop sexual predators from finding their location or schools. Here she is also using the ethos appeal showing her knowledge about teenagers’ ability over technology. With in her article she also list some criticism about current privacy settings used on the websites. Her main criticism comes from the age setting used. Many of the sites automatically set profiles to private depending on the age of the user but Long cites many situations where teens simply lie about their ages. Also she lightly criticizes the teaching of internet privacy in school. Long states many students simply don’t listen to their teachers because they already know what is taught in class. Long also addresses some concerns about having harsher age restrictions on websites. Many opponents to Long’s argument cite situations where teens are tricked by predators. Though Long addresses it by stating that it is more of an extreme case of social network abuse. However Long doesn’t address her opponents very well and quickly moves away from the argument. 

            I agree with Cindy Long that many teenagers do not need to be taught about the dangers of having their entire life on social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace. However I do not agree that teenagers can be fully left alone to use these sites without supervision. Also Long states that teens technological abilities will protect them from harm. However from personal experience that thinking can create a false sense of protection. Full protection of youth from social networking sites is not necessary but some moderating is necessary to insure safe social website usage.

Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Kids

            In “Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Kids” by Anna Quindlen argues the effectiveness of the American welfare system. In Quindlen’s article, she makes a convincing argument about the ineffectiveness of welfare programs and its effect on families. She especially focuses on mothers and their children. Also she makes the argument that the rise of homeless families is due to the lack of cheap subsidized housing and other basic needs.   Quindlen’s writing uses a lot of imagery of families living in less than ideal situations, which is an effective use of the pathos appeal. Also along side her imagery, she list facts, statistics, and studies that strengthens her argument. It is also an ethos appeal to because it shows that she has in-depth knowledge of the subject. She uses this writing technique to give her stories more weight and a better sense of reality. Her tone is neutral but has some emotion behind the writing. The language she uses is simple and feels accessible for any reader. In her article she lays out studies that have taken place across the country. The uses of these studies are both as an ethos and logos appeal because they give Quindlen credibility and a logical strength to her argument. The structure of her article transitions well from one paragraph to the other. Each body paragraph ties in well with the next one and doesn’t have a disjointed or awkward feeling.

            I agree with Quindlen’s argument that the American welfare system is not very effective. The national cost of living is higher than the amount of the welfare programs like unemployment and food stamps are handing out to those in need. Also the children are at risk by this ineffective system because of the priority placed on taking care of the family rather than obtaining a higher education. This is due to the low minimum wage and also the sacristy of find jobs too. It causes are large sum of the lower middle class to be uneducated and places more stress on an already weakened welfare system. If the country wants to change the economy and welfare of its citizens; the welfare system needs to be reworked to make it a better and more effective system.

Blogger Response- “The Dangerous Myth of Grade Inflation”

In Alfie Kohn’s article “The Dangerous Myth of Grade Inflation”, it addresses whether or not grade inflation exist in the American education system. In Kohn’s article, it addresses and critiques many arguments for the existence of grade inflation. In particular he address about the grade changes of grades between studies done in the 1960’s and present day. It cites studies done by the U.S Department of Education. Through out most of his article Kohn effectively dismantles the opposing argument and gives credible sources that strengthen his argument. His use of is an attempt to appeal to the logos argumentative. Kohn uses the logos appeal frequently through out his article but at the same time his use of the appeal becomes very tiring and repetitive. The language Kohn uses addresses the academics and educators rather than the normal person. His sentence structure and works choices can be difficult to follow at times because of the difficulty it takes to digest the information presented in his article. In the last part of his article he address the reason why the traditional grading system is not very effective today. Again he uses a logos appeal but the language changes from an academic point of view to a preacher type of voice. In which he uses simple terms and emotionally charged language to sway the reader even more towards his argument.

I agree with Kohn’s argument that grade inflation doesn’t exist. In school most grades that are given out in report cards are not a good reflection of the students performance. Most classes that I have taken in college or in high school, the grade distribution is fair and does not lean towards either end of the curve. Also the system educators’ use to grade students differs from one to the next. It is impossible to find the existence of grade inflation in an empirical manner. If grade inflation does exist, I do not see the advantage for either the educator or student. After coming out of a k-12 and being in a higher education setting I do not see any grade inflation taking place.

Reader Response: Violent Media is Good for Kids

In apiece written by Gerard Jones about violent media and their effects on children. He addresses how violent media is actually good for children and in some cases helps them over come their social and personal fears.

In his article, Jones draws upon many personal stories and first hand accounts of children using violent media as a tool to overcome their social situations. The use of the personal stories are meant to appeal to the reader’s emotions because of how easily relatable the stories are to them. Jones also tells a story about a girl, which spent most of her childhood listening to gangster rap. She then grew up to become a college educated adult. Jones makes a logical appeal to the audience; try making a connection between people who listen to gangster rap and children that consume violent media. He is trying to state that adults and children who are exposed to media that is heavy in violence and drug use does not mean that they’ll follow it. Jones also makes ethical appeal, by quoting the work of a psychologist that works with urban city kids and also gives stories from raising his son. In the quotes and story it is clear that the overall theme is that; children uses violent media as a way to experience some acts that are looked down upon in society. Jones makes this ethical appeal to give weight on his ability to talk on the subject. 

Jones’s argument is strong but uses mostly emotional appeal. He does also try to appeal to the others but doesn’t use enough examples to strengthen them. He makes logical and ethical appeals but moves through it quickly and doesn’t expand on it further than his use of emotional appeals. Jones address upon his opponent augment against violent medial and it’s bad effects on children. He again uses emotional appeal to address his opposing argument. Also he lightly uses logical argument to address his opponent’s ideas. His over use of emotional appeals grows tiring and pushes away the reader from his argument.

Jones’s structure and language flows very well from one idea to the next. His ideas are easy to follow and is not feel disjointed. Also his use of language is easy to understand and often times feels like he is relating to everyone’s childhood and memories.

I feel that violent media is good for children. They often use the stories to fuel their own imaginations and as a moral compass. In my own childhood, my fantasies were often violent but were never really acted upon besides some light play fighting with friends. I would also use the characters set of morals as my own during in my youth. In my opinion many of us are ignoring that many oral stories and myths that we told in our youth were just as violent as the ones offered in the media.