Blog 6

Kyle Hamilton

Blog 4

Pas si fous ces français – Jean Benoît and Julie Barlow

Argument –

WATCO putting more emphasis on your child’s success in high school and providing more support on his or her future qualifications for a career?

A -> B

If parents put more emphasis on their child’s scholastic achievements and provided more support in high school, he or she will stay in school longer and will become more qualified for a career.

A -> C

Parents encouraging their children to succeed in school will give them more time to do their homework and more motivation to excel in their classes.

Target Audience –

The main audience for this chapter of the book is the parents of high school students in American-style high schools. Specifically, the author targets parents who feel it is much more valuable for their children to work while attending high school and provide little motivation or influence for their student.

Goal of the Piece –

The main goal of the piece is to inform parents in America of another way of thinking and approaching the topic of a child’s education that has been shown to bring successful results. It is to encourage parents to focus more on a child’s achievements in school rather than putting so much emphasis and importance on extra-curricular activities and experiences.

How the Argument is Made –

The strongest arguments in this section of the book are the ethos arguments. The author takes many examples of students and parents in France who have experienced their type of school system. Several examples of students who have succeeded in high school but never had to work while in school and in fact still receive a monthly allowance from their parents are cited, which, for Americans, is shocking. Immediately after, they mention a study that was made in 2001 by the group called OCDE (Organisation de coopération et de développment économique) in which these students were ranked among the top four in math among 32 countries around the world. In terms of pathos and logos, they are somewhat lacking.

Effective –

I feel the argument is effective for what it is trying to accomplish. The author is not necessarily trying to change America, but rather trying to inform Americans that there is another way of thinking and working that has proven successful. Perhaps an American will not completely change the way they encourage their child in school, but they could take a couple ideas from this new way of thinking and perhaps everyone can be a little better off.