Free Essay Example - Genre Comparison

The American education systems offer abundant opportunities for many students who seek to gain various skills and knowledge that they could use. While it is evident that the United States provides one of the best quality of learning in the world, huge disparities still exist. In recent times, various researchers have tended to focus on the current status of US education to unmask the gaps and challenges that need to be addressed. In the article “Good School, Rich School, Bad School, Poor schools”, Alana Semuels offers an excellent exposition of the inequality that exists at the heart of the US education system. He provides a vivid description of the disparity that exists in terms of accessibility to educators and learning resources among American children in their quest to search for better skills for the future.

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In the same way, Al-Sharif, in his article, “The Need for Change: Educational Reform” provides a comprehensive discussion regarding the inability of the US education system to support the society’s need for equity or equality amongst the diverse population shift. A closer analysis of the bot texts reveals that the authors are focused on unmasking some of the pertinent issues that affect the education system within the country. America’s deficient education system is a repercussion of its societal beliefs and concerns and thus does not regard education as being of the utmost importance.

Focus and Development

In his article, Semuels main idea is based on the fact that America’s educational system is dominated by vast inequality. Broadly, Semuels explains that students who come from the high-poverty regions are subjected to inadequate educational opportunities, which mainly consists of few tutors, counsellors, and lower-paid instructors. The dilapidated learning facilities and the bigger class sizes have significantly lowered the academic achievements of these learners. Throughout the article, Semuels recognizes the fact that the discrepancies occur mainly because the public schools districts in various states are operated by the local cities, and towns which are funded by local property taxes. Additionally, poverty-stricken areas such as New Britain and Bridgeport have lower home values leading to more moderate tax reduction. This explains the inability of such towns to collect a considerable amount of taxes that can be subsequently channeled to education. In a broader perspective, Semuels mentions that America’s educational system is unconstitutional because of inadequate funding, which is further distributed unequally. In the same way, Al-Sharif in his article explains that the US education in its current state is unable to support the need of the society for equality and equity across race, class, gender, socio-economic status and ethnic differences. In most cases, governmental agencies have managed to oppress the students of color, in addition to those with diverse identities outside of the formed majority. This is easily observed through funding issues within some school districts.

A closer look at the articles reveals that both Al-Sharif and Semuels focus on the federal government, the state governments and the funding agencies as the primary target audiences. Throughout their discussions, the authors are focused on unmasking some of the issues that affect our education, especially those that the government is unable but willing to address. For instance, Al-Sharif asserts that the federal government of the US may be willing to take action towards reforming its current educational systems with the aim of teaching issues of identity development such as race, class, and gender. While this may promote equity and equality with the full support of all societal institutions, this move would require a tremendous restructuring of all the norms of education and the full acceptance of the oppression perpetrated by the government. The government and the educational reform experts are the parties participating in this more significant conversation.

The use of rhetorical appeals is tremendously evident in both Al-Sharif and Semuels’ articles. These include the use of ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos refers to an appeal to ethics that involves convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader. While it is evident Al-Sharif does not directly mention his knowledge prowess in the field, the audience can observe the high quality with which he has managed to write the article purposely to address the issue. Semuels, on the other hand, achieves this appeal by writing his column or blog through a credible organization.

The use of pathos is also evident in both articles. Pathos refers to a persuasion technique in which the rhetoric appeals through the creation of an emotional response from the audience. Throughout the paper, Al-Sharif tends to use statements that arouse the feelings of the readers. This is possible when he talks about the disproportionate capital and resources in various learning institutions. This technique makes the minority meditate about the reasons why the government may not be willing to promote this kind of equality. Similarly, Semuels asserts that inadequate funding contributes to lower rates of success for weaker students. Not only does this statement provides the reader with the opportunity to understand the current situation but also generates significant emotions about the experiences they are facing.

The use of logos in the articles constitutes to their strength. Logos refer to an appeal to logic and are a technique used to persuade the audience through reasoning. In Al-Sharif’s article, the author tries to convince the audience about the current status of America’s education system through the use of facts. Not only does Al-Sharif employs the use of evidence-based reasoning but also the examples that help the readers understand the various points he addresses. In the paper, he mentions that “when equity and equality do not focus on our educational structure, the symbolic violence becomes the results.

In most cases, the oppressed begin to oppress each through generating differing social inequality”. Not only does this statement reveal the challenges within the US education system, but also the disparity involved. In the same way, Semuels achieves this appeal when he argues that students who come from high-poverty regions are subjected to inadequate educational opportunities, which mainly consist of few tutors, counselors, and lower-paid instructors. He further uses dilapidated learning facilities and bigger class sizes to justify the low academic achievements of these learners.

The use of sources in each article is highly significant. Both Al-Sharif and Semuels have succeeded in using references to support some of their ideas. However, the former’s article highly incorporates peer-reviewed articles, which are mainly based on experimental and case evidence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, America’s deficient education system is an outcome of societal beliefs and concerns. As explained in both articles, these beliefs have hindered effective accessibility to quality educational services to students who mainly come from minority communities or poverty-stricken neighborhoods. Broadly, America’s educational system is unconstitutional based on the fact that there is inadequate funding from the federal and state governments, which is further distributed unequally. There is instability to support the need of society for equality and equity across race, class, gender, and socio-economic status.

References

Al-Sharif, M. A. B. (2011). The need for change: Educational reform. Race, Gender & Class, 191-197.

Semuels, A. (2016). Good school, rich school; bad school, poor school. The Atlantic.