Stage 8: Commentary- Education System Fails

I came across a post on the bluebonnets’ state government blog posted on Friday, November 30^th. The title is “Education inTexas.” I personally believe education is one topic that keeps my attention because I am so passionate about it. The audience that the post is directed towards is individuals just like me, the average person that is concerned with education and children in general.
 

To attract the audience, the author basically needs to make a strong argument about the injustices that are currently being debated concerning education. The author keeps the audience interested by giving statistic after statistic providing an overwhelming amount of proof of these injustices.

The basic argument is that education needs to be improved and have a much better quality. Education is “facing challenges in preparing students for success.” The assumptions the argument relies on are that the audience is currently aware of the problems with education in Texas and that the audience is just as concerned as the author about the problems with education.

 

The values held are children and their futures. The author doesn’t clearly state what government should do to improve the current state of education. They don’t provide a solution or a suggestion on how to fix the problem. The important terms regarding the problems education faces are clear. The author provides the proof with statistics.

 The argument is supported strongly with hard facts and observable evidence. The statistics given are from credible sources such as the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and web sources that give ratings on test scores. There are also ratings on school districts and campuses. The solid facts give the audience answers to their questions while reading the post. Some may question: just how bad off is education? The good thing about the facts is there is proof of how school districts are attempting to improve education.

 

I believe the argument was a success because it convinced me that “Texas is not producing enough high school graduates with the skills needed to succeed in college or the workplace.” The argument doesn’t change my mind or beliefs because I currently feel the same way regarding education. The argument reinforces my current beliefs. The conclusion is that regardless of the “recent educational improvements” many students are still failing. They go on to college or the workplace and are unsuccessful or even struggle to keep up.

The political significance is that Texas government should be very concerned with our future generations. This supports my understanding of the way the political world works: which is that education is put on the back burner. The political world’s choices affect the budget. It affects where Texas is actually putting funds that it’s currently cutting from education. The truth is we are all in this together. Let’s elevate our future by putting more funds to invest in education.