Why Lunch Ladies Are Heroes

The Power of Emotions
Jarrett J. Krosoczka presented his speech, “Why Lunch Ladies are Heroes”, at a Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) Talk in July of 2014. His presentation was driven by the purpose to convince his highly intelligent audience of the importance of childhood lunch ladies and the gratitude that should come their way. Krosoczka passion for lunch ladies began when he met with his own childhood lunch lady, Jeannie whom remembered him despite his status as a fifth grader the last time she saw him. Inspired by his interaction with Jeannie he wrote a series of children’s graphic novels with the school lunch lady as the main hero. This series paved the way for a School Lunch Hero Day where students nationwide could celebrate

the lunch staff in their life. Krosoczka does a fantastic job of promoting the praiseworthy work that lunch ladies do, convincing his audience through personal anecdotes and a well-structured arrangement of ideas.
The utilization of personal stories garnered emotional appeals also known as pathos, and effectively helped Krosoczka establish the argument that lunch ladies are heroes to his audience. He periodically reflects on his past experiences with his own lunch ladies, or lunch staff that he has met since he developed his program celebrating their work. His interactions with Jeannie, particularly giving her artwork at his novel’s release party, considerably help support his argument, and Krosoczka pulls at the heartstrings of his audience when he reflects on Jeannie’s wake saying, “nothing could have prepared me for what I saw there, because next to her casket was this painting, and her husband told me it meant so much to her and that I had acknowledged her hard work, I had validated what she did” (1). This moment emotionally resonates with the audience because of the vulnerability Krosoczka shows. He allows the audience a deeper insight into his life and it is likely that many in the audience have had someone close to them pass away. He showed the importance of his work to Jeannie, so the reader automatically sees the positive implications that developed due to Krosoczka’s work. The audience also gets hit with waves of nostalgia, coming from the audience’s memories of their own lunch providers, taking them back to when they were young children and were dependent on these individuals. With these factors combined, the audience is much more open to listening to and even acting upon the information they are presented with, proving Krosoczka’s effectiveness as a speaker.
Krosoczka’s reliance on emotional appeals mixed with his approachable language allows an earnest and somewhat whimsical tone to develop.

The dependence on anecdotes forces the audience to reflect on their own lives and makes Krosoczka seem honest and open, a person who they can trust and relate to. Nearly everything he says strikes at the emotions of the audience, causing them to let their guards down, a deliberate choice by Krosoczka. This is especially noticeable when he reflects on his meeting with Jeannie saying, “My lunch lady had grandkids, and therefore kids, and therefore left school at the end of the day? I thought she lived in the cafeteria with the serving spoons. I had never thought about any of that before” (1). He thinks back to his own thought process in elementary school and realized that causing his audience to look fondly back on their own elementary school experiences, when the majority have aged long past that point in their lives, would allow nostalgia to brew to the surface. This nostalgia is the driving force in convincing his audience of the importance of lunch staff’s work and the gratitude that should be expressed for their work. If this factor were not present Krosoczka would likely get much less support, as the audience would view it as just another charity. Also because the majority of his speech is personal stories and Krosoczka is a children’s book author, he has credibility that makes the audience believe in his cause

more.
The content of Krosoczka’s speech is not the only element that adds to his argument, as the careful arrangement of his ideas allows the most considerable impact upon his audience.

His speech effortlessly flows from him meeting his elementary lunch lady Jeannie, to the creation of his graphic novel series, and the widespread effect the series has had on elementary schools around the country. This style eases the audience into the main message, allowing them to have time to get used to Krosoczka before being thrust into a world of facts and statistics. This also allows the reader to see the widespread effects caused by his simple meeting with Jeannie therefore convincing the audience of the broad improvements caused by small changes. Another way he persuades his audience is as he reflects on his experiences both in elementary school and the success of his program the audience reflects on their past as well. This vastly improves his argument, convincing his audience of the validity of his cause by showing the efforts he

took.
Krosoczka’s passion for the work of lunch staff nationwide is driven not only by the structure, but also the informal, yet conventional word choice. The language follows the proper mechanics of the English language but also has a sincerity to it that is not typically associated with formal language. Krosoczka directly references the audience saying, “I hope that you”(2) and even refers to the audience and himself in the same context saying, “They’re feeding our children”(2). Saying the words “you” or “our” is not considered formal, however, it does help develop the personal attitude that Krosoczka depends on to argue for the gratitude of school lunch staff. This helps him relate to his audience, making them reminiscent about their own childhoods, causing various types of emotions for the audience in the process. There does not seem to be any deliberate repetition throughout the speech as the most used phrase “lunch lady” is only used to remind the audience of the subject. Krosoczka instead favors repeating his message in different ways, finding that in order for his audience to pay attention he must be interesting. Krosoczka truly relies on casual language to connect with his audience and break through to their memories, garnering sympathy in the process.
Despite effectively utilizing emotional appeals and having a true connection with the audience through his friendly and laid-back demeanor, Krosoczka assumes that his audience is from the United States and had lunch ladies during their education process. This hasty generalization excludes those who were homeschooled, brought lunch from home, or live outside of the United States. The alienation of these groups leaves some of the audience disinterested as they did not experience the typical American lunch, meaning they have no reason to thank elementary lunch staff. He also assumes that everyone had positive experiences with lunch staff when some people could have had a horrible lunch lady that scarred them for life. This does not completely distract from Krosoczka’s argument and the majority of readers easily ignore this error. They are instead focused primarily on his strengths, particularly his real life examples about the heroism of lunch ladies including, “Ms. Brenda in California, who keeps a close eye on every student that comes through her line and then reports back to the guidance counselor if anything is amiss”(Krosoczka 1). These stories are the true driving force in convincing the audience of Krosoczka’s cause, as without them his speech would feel empty of the passion that started his mission. His reputation as a successful children’s book author who often interacts with students leaves the audience more susceptible to listening to him as they view him as an authority on the happenings in the elementary age group. Krosoczka also established common ground with his audience, using the shared experiences of elementary school life where the majority of people had someone on the lunch staff who was important to them. The aforementioned use of “our” and “you” also establishes common ground as he directly references the audience, showing the care he has for them.
Through easy flowing structure and a reliance on personal stories that garners emotions from his audience, Jarrett J. Krosoczka effectively convinces his audience to show gratitude for the extraordinary work lunch staff does on a daily basis. The reliance on pathos, emotional appeals, allows the audience to think back to their own childhoods and how even the smallest of interactions had great positive effects. He thoroughly convinces his audience by forcing them to reflect on their lives and by appealing to the fact that the majority of people grew up with a school lunch staff member that they still think of from time to time. Krosoczka’s emphasis on emotions and being seen as an informal and welcoming man truly convinces the audience of the need for lunch staff nationwide, making his message spread even further.