I believe the art of the conclusion is in summarizing and generalizing experiences or information in order to affect the reader, and strongly closing out a piece of writing. Moreover, an author must strive to utilize universal situations, thus increasing the reader’s ability to relate to and comprehend the meaning of an essay. Three writers from Ways of Reading, Paulo Freire, Richard Rodriguez, and Alberto Alvaro Rios, write conclusions that are mostly effective in making an impact on the reader. They all write about the way education currently functions, and their conclusions address reformation of modern teaching and learning. The way these essays differ correlates with how the writer addresses the problem and how he suggests, or does not …show more content…
suggest, a solution. Freire acknowledges a problem and advocates for a certain solution, Rodriguez warns the reader of a certain, more dangerous type of learning, and Rios actively begins a conversation about the importance of learning and wanting to learn. In “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education,” Freire’s essay on the proper style of teaching, the conclusion discredits “banking” education and champions “problem-posing” education as a solution; however, this elucidation is not universal and does not come across as an educated suggestion. Freire’s summarized point of view on the subject of education in the conclusion almost forces the reader to idolize a “problem-posing” teacher. Furthermore, Freire criticizes teachers and students who use any styles of “banking” education by highlighting their need “to overcome their false perception of reality” (Freire 269). Freire’s conclusion offers little space for possible dialogue between the reader and himself about the chance of “banking” having some positive aspects, thus hindering his ability as a writer to help teachers and students overcome this barrier. Freire’s inability to create this conversation debilitates the point he makes about the necessity of “critical thinking and the quest for mutual humanization” in regards to “the humanist, revolutionary educator [who] cannot wait for this possibility to materialize” (Freire 262) such a positive way of learning. Therefore, the conclusion to this essay is inadequate in terms of how Freire imposes his principles and message on the reader. The main points in the rest of the essay are touched upon in the conclusion, so the reader has the concepts fresh in mind for Freire’s explanation of a “revolutionary society” being the only option for enacting the “problem-posing” principles (Freire 270). There is room for dialogue in this explanation as to whether or not this type of society is necessary for utilizing such methods of learning and teaching, but the essence of this concept disconnects the reader from the writer. Throughout the whole article, there are examples of what a “banking” classroom may feel like, allowing the reader to relate, but the conclusion separates Freire’s idea of how education should evolve and the reader’s involvement in that process. According to writer Neil Patel, it is absolutely required that this “disclaimer” exist in the conclusion as to “[clarify] what [Freire] is saying so [the reader takes] away the right message” (4). Freire uses this disclaimer to answer the popular question associated with conclusions: so what? To Freire, the main message of his essay is to engage in a “problem-posing” atmosphere, and his “so what” is that students today are losing a vital opportunity to learn by not actively trying to change the ways of education. In summary, Freire uses his conclusion to connect his essay, like most writers, but what sets him apart is his demand for a change in learning from the reader. Freire condemns the "banking" style of education and supports a new revolution of interactive learning in which both the teacher and the student benefit from conversation. In “The Achievement of Desire,” Richard Rodriguez’s essay on discovering that Richard Hoggart’s “scholarship boy” is a perfect fit for himself as a young student, the conclusion highlights the fruitless nature of Rodriguez’s learning style, and it also omits the generalizability of the experience that allows the reader to relate.
Being a “scholarship boy” is not something to be proud about, claims Richard Hoggart, thus it is inevitable that Rodriguez tries throughout the essay to make a generalization of the way he has learned. Nevertheless, the “scholarship boy” is too specific a state-of-mind and situation for Rodriguez’s story to be universal. It is not easy for many readers to understand how Rodriguez felt “moving away from a life of closeness and immediacy...with his parents, growing older” (Rodriguez 550), as the experience is not overly common. Rodriguez’s essay, shown in his conclusion, can only suggest that, as students experience education, they should reflect on how their school and home life are interconnected, so “the end of education” (Rodriguez 550) is not a result of an epiphany or full of regret. Moreover, Rodriguez does not offer a concrete solution to being a “scholarship boy.” Instead, he dwells on what not to do as a student. In terms of the concluding paragraph, Rodriguez does a mediocre job in comparison to both Freire and Rios. Notably, Rodriguez’s story becomes impersonal due to the lack of dialogue between the reader and the writer, and it is too …show more content…
specific to be relatable. The conclusion does offer a possible improvement to the way a student is educated, but the fundamental solution is to regularly reflect on how successful and valid a student’s education is. Rodriguez’s conclusion overwhelming acknowledges a need for change, but his conclusion is ultimately futile in prompting the reader to understand its importance. In “Translating Translation: Finding the Beginning,” Alberto Alvaro Rios’s essay on understanding the meaning beyond just words, the conclusion effectively and flawlessly sparks a fascination and ongoing dialogue with the readers about the significance of curiosity and deep-thinking.
The phrases and specific words that Rios uses in his conclusion open the door for interpretation of language from the reader’s perspective. Specifically, when Rios speculates that “Maybe [the complexity of human interaction is] what keeps us human, and engaged, and necessary” (Rios 508), and this positively inspires original thought from the reader. Words, especially words like “maybe,” can be so powerful because they allow for agreement and disagreement, instead of proselytizing the reader. Rios uses this tactic effectively in his writing to motivate the reader to think deeply about the effect of such language on the real world. Additionally, Rios summarizes his essay in the conclusion by providing even more food for thought: “Language is more than what we say—it’s also how we say it, and whether or not we even understand what we are saying” (Rios 508), and this point actively involves the reader’s personal experiences with language by using “we” instead of something like “people” or “humans.” This method transforms his piece of writing into a more relatable and personal essay, and such words push all readers to think of times in their personal experience that language was used in such a
complex way. Furthermore, Rios creates an active conversation with the reader about how these ways of understanding verbal and physical language can be reformed in the future, and the essay inspires curiosity. Rios’s use of possible reasons language is so important triggers “a powerful teaching technique called the ‘Socratic method’” which “gets people’s minds moving” (Patel 7). In comparison to Freire and Rodriguez, Rios’s conclusion stands out in the sense that he exceeds the expectations of a conclusion by involving the reader. Rios successfully responds to the question that I have always been taught to answer within the concluding paragraph: “So, what can you do?” Rios creates an active dialogue about what should change as far as the way people think about communication, in lieu of just giving a solution. Rios uses his conclusion to welcome more brainpower from readers and highlight the beauty that change can bring to a diverse world. A conclusion is meant to finalize an opinion through words and complex language. Freire, Rodriguez, and Rios utilize the proper methods of concluding an essay: summarizing and connecting all the points together; however, Rios is seemingly the only author who surpasses expectations by enacting proper teaching techniques. A piece of writing is truly ineffective if the conclusion does not leave the reader wanting to learn or ponder more about the subject of the essay. Education reform is a topic that almost everyone can relate to; therefore, making an impact on the reader relies on the ability of the essayist to spark a conversation. Some of the most beneficial qualities of a conclusion paragraph, as shown through these three writers, are summarizing a topic and generalizing a situation. Surpassing these basic standards, as Rios does, the most influential conclusions are the ones that leave a reader curious and wanting further dialogue.
Pashtana said she would rather die than not go to school and acted on her words. Her education is limited and she doesn’t have all the recourses to make school easier, yet she still loves and wants all the knowledge she can get. While I sit in my three story private school, a clean uniform free of holes or loose seams, my macbook air in my lap, the smell of cookies rising up from the cafeteria, wishing to be anywhere else but there. No one has beat me because I want to go to school, no one has forced me into a marriage, I’ve never put my life in jeopardy for the sake of education. Pashtana’s life and choices made me take a moment to stop and reflect on my own life and how fortunate I am to have what I have.
Often the change and transition to middle is a difficult one for students, so it is no surprise that a student of Juanita’s caliber would be having trouble as well. Her regular middle school teachers were not going above and beyond to make sure Juanita succeed, if anything it seemed as if Juanita was a burden to them. If it was not for the Ms. Issabelle’s effort, Juanita would have failed the 6th grade, and possibly fell through the cracks of the education system.
Solnit transforms the concrete idea of the schooling system into a concept focused mainly on the well-being of the student and the non-academic growth they experience. She expresses her belief that it’s a place of learning to conform or taking punishment and “one that can flatten out your soul or estrange you from it.” This abstract concept allows readers to have a much more moving response,
The authors mention Miguel Fernandez, a fresh graduate from a small high school who has had struggles that have affected his opportunities to go off to college. These struggles include financial hardships and also that Miguel “was undocumented and in the country illegally” (Noguera and Kundu par.8). Though Miguel
The average human would think that going to school and getting an education are the two key items needed to make it in life. Another common belief is, the higher someone goes with their education, the more successful they ought to be. Some may even question if school really makes anyone smarter or not. In order to analyze it, there needs to be recognition of ethos, which is the writer 's appeal to their own credibility, followed by pathos that appeals to the writer’s mind and emotions, and lastly, logos that is a writer’s appeal to logical reasoning. While using the three appeals, I will be analyzing “Against School” an essay written by John Taylor Gatto that gives a glimpse of what modern day schooling is like, and if it actually help kids
...eral topic of school. The sister strives to graduate and go to school even though she is poor while her brother blames the school for him dropping out and not graduating. “I got out my social studies. Hot legs has this idea of a test every Wednesday” (118). This demonstrates that she is driven to study for class and get good grades while her brother tries to convince her that school is worth nothing and that there is no point in attending. “‘Why don’t you get out before they chuck you out. That’s all crap,’ he said, knocking the books across the floor. ‘You’ll only fail your exam and they don’t want failures, spoils their bloody numbers. They’ll ask you to leave, see if they don’t’” (118). The brother tries to convince his sister that school is not a necessity and that living the way he does, being a drop out living in a poverty stricken family is the best thing.
In the essay “Achievement of Desire”, author Richard Rodriguez, describes the story of our common experience such as growing up, leaving home, receiving an education, and joining the world. As a child, Rodriguez lived the life of an average teenager raised in the stereotypical student coming from a working class family. With the exception, Rodriguez was always top of his class, and he always spent time reading books or studying rather than spending time with his family or friends. This approach makes Rodriguez stand out as an exceptional student, but with time he becomes an outsider at home and in school. Rodriguez describes himself as a “scholarship boy” meaning that because of the scholarships and grants that he was receiving to attend school; there was much more of an expectation for him to acquire the best grades and the highest scores. Rodriguez suggests that the common college student struggles the way he did because when a student begins college, they forget “the life [they] enjoyed
The mighty river flows through the mountains with liquidity and nurture providing life for all those who wish to take a sip from it. Yet the river is powerful in its own force destroying even the largest rocks, crumbling them into small pieces. People may be able to stop the river for a short time or even dry it up but the water always comes back in one form or another, every dam is bound to fail. Some people have been able to harness the power of the river, redirecting the mighty water making it flow in constructive ways. Similar to the river, language is influential. Its true power is not seen by the naked eye but by those who study it, those who use it as their ally in a war of linguistics. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter, Birmingham City Jail he is able to use all three rhetorical appeals to prove that demonstrations lead to negotiations and benefit for both sides of an argument.
Instead of loving and caring for her baby, and forgetting about Danny, she became worse than him. Rodriguez presents many aspects of the minority class that live in the United States, specifically the South Bronx. Even though the cases presented in Rodriguez’s short stories are difficult to mellow with, they are a reality that is constant in many lives. Everyday someone goes through life suffering, due to lack of responsibility, lack of knowledge, submission to another entity or just lack of wanting to have a better life. People that go through these situations are people who have not finished studying, so they have fewer opportunities in life.
To fully comprehend a work you cannot just read it. You must read it, analyze it, question it, and even then question what you are questioning. In Richard Rodriguez’s The Achievement of Desire we are presented with a young Richard Rodriguez and follow him from the start of his education until he is an adult finally having reached his goals. In reference to the way he reads for the majority of his education, it can be said he reads going with the grain, while he reads a large volume of books, the quality of his reading is lacking.
The education system has heavily relied on students socioeconomic factors to dictate their education style ultimately preparing them for skills necessary to fit in their social class. The American dream is dead, it is no longer to strive and work hard to become successful, rather as Bambara shows it, work hard to barely survive day to day. Bambara portrays this division by the inference that the characters have little to no knowledge or respect for a higher education or for a matter of factor a education at all. Silvia, the main character, features all three minority factors, low income and an African American female. Moreover, the expectancy of success is nevertheless little to nothing greater than her parents. Due to her socioeconomic background, higher education is viewed as a joke, referred to a “goddamn college degree” (254). Silvia is then subjected to live a lifestyle common to her parents, to not strive to be able to buy a toy boat for a thousand dollars, but to frown upon the possibility.
Education is a topic that can be explored in many ways. Education is looked at in depth by both Richard Rodriguez in his essay, “The Achievement of Desire”, and by Paulo Freire in his essay, “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education.” After reading both essays, one can make some assumptions about different methods of education and exactly by which method Rodriguez was taught. The types of relationships Rodriguez had with his teachers, family and in life were affected by specific styles of education.
Throughout life we go through many stepping stones, Maya Angelou's autobiographical essay "Graduation", was about more than just moving on to another grade. The unexpected events that occurred during the ceremony enabled her to graduate from the views of a child to the more experienced and sometimes disenchanting views of an adult. Upon reading the story there is an initial feeling of excitement and hope which was quickly tarnished with the abrupt awareness of human prejudices. The author vividly illustrates a rainbow of significant mood changes she undergoes throughout the story.
Any craftsman knows that you need the right tools to complete a project successfully. Similarly, people need the right language and usage to communicate in a positive way. How people write is often a problem because they don’t have the right tools, but a bigger problem occurs when a writer “is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything at all” (592). If a writer carries this mentality, why try to communicate in the first place? People need...
The way we perceive language is the foundation of our social construction an individual or group relationships, and studies in sociolinguistics have tried to explain this relationship between the use of language and the importance of perceptions. A particular discourse, spoken or written, can stem from different sources