Commentary on "a few words about breasts" and Minivan Motoring

I thought that this essay was written very well. The author really focused on the development of breasts as being vital to her womanhood. Such a small thing meant the world to this girl at the time. She complained and complained and did whatever she could to look like a woman and feel accepted. She even comments on the way she ridiculously tried to hide her breast size and look more mature. The paragraph in which she reunites with her best friend is very important. The word choice of "betrayed" really shows the angst she felt. Even though her friend had no control over the way she developed the author still felt betrayed by her friend. Even as an adult this woman still felt awkward about her bust size. She realized that it has made her who she is and has influenced her decisions in life, even enough for her to dump her "sweet" boyfriend for fear that he did not like her breasts. Her insecurities came into play all the time whenever, the topic arose. The last line of this essay is great and really drives her point home. All her friends said that having big breasts were a problem, and her response that they are all full of shit is great because at heart she knows that her breast size has affected her as a person.

Minivan Motoring

Minivan Motoring was also very well written. It was very interesting how he incorporated statistics while still making the essay very personal. The idea that one's car says a lot about a person is definitely true. A car shows personality, economic status and the attitude of a person. A girl who drives a VW bug is much different from a girl that drives an F-150. He makes a good point that a car becomes a family member. I still have my first car and it will always be my first car. I love it and it's not the fanciest or fastest car but it will always be my first. It is great how different people think differently about cars. The city dwellers love his van for the practicality and the retro look, while many might say its a piece of junk. In the end, his car is a huge part of his life and even though he has to get a new one this car will always be in his memory along with all the fun stuff that he did while driving it.

Brainstorming

Topics

-Euthanasia(assisted suicide)
Pros: Puts people who do not want to live out of misery
Cons: It is still considered taking a life, people maybe killed without proper consent
-The ability for college students to have unlimited freedom in making their class schedule
Pros: Students will take what they want for their career, students will be more interested
Cons: Students will be less well rounded
-should people who download music be penalized
Pros: Free music, It is so prevalent impossible to monitor
Cons: It is stealing from artist
-should cigarettes be illegal
Pros: Every year thousands die as a result
Cons: They make money for the government, people want them
-Should the drinking age be 18
Pros: Will cut down binge drinking, Prevent more deaths as a result
Cons: Younger children will drink, drunk driving will be more prevalent

Fallacies

This picture clearly appears to pathos because it tries to convince you that it will benefit your entire life in someway by using this oil. There is no way that this can be a "gift for life." This is clearly a non-sequitur. The fact that one uses Malaysian palm oil is in no way related to your life. The palm oil will not make you live any longer or extend your life in any way. Therefore there is no connection between the claim they are making and reality.

This picture(top) of the man with the two girls advertising Skoal is a great example of the bandwagon appeal. It is attempting to say that if you dip, you will be able to make a good impression. The fact that you use smokeless tobacco, has no relation to the amount of relationships you will be able to make and the impression you leave. If anything, this may make a bad impression. This advertising is clever in that it may have convinced young men to use the product, so they could be more similar to the man in the ad. The man's ethos in the picture is clearly boosted by the fact that he is pictured with two beautiful women. This may however be in no way related to his use of Skoal.

Ideas on the Uses of a Liberal Education

Edmundson’s essay “On the Uses of a Liberal Education,” evokes a lot of different emotions within me. I am with the grain on some of his ideas and I am seriously opposed to others. His essay begins with his discussion on teacher evaluations. I believe that his argument is true. The fact that students would like easier classes and nicer professors is true. I also do understand that many teachers are worried about what their student reviews may say. I believe students to like to “enjoy” the course but that does not mean students cannot “enjoy” a challenging course (5).
His next argument is that the liberal arts education has become ineffective due to American culture. I understand and agree with the fact that American’s have become consumer based. I do not necessarily think this is a flaw of our generation. In today’s day and age, we are given many choices and all students do take advantage of the options they have. He also blames a lot of the problems with our generation on the television. I agree that many idolize TV characters, and have the “buy in order to be” mentality (15). Students do conform to dress an example being North Face jackets or Ugg boots throughout any college campus in America. An article that appeared in the Howard Journal of Communications entitled “Television Viewing and Ethnic Stereotypes: Do College Students Form Stereotypical Perceptions of Ethnic Groups as a Result of Heavy Television Consumption?,” shows that the TV does indeed affect the mentality of college students. This article proves with data that heavy viewers of television exhibit more negative stereotypes (pg. 101). This study clearly backs Edmundson’s theory that TV has an impact on the lives of college students. I also agree with the fact that the number of humanities majors has declined. There is no way to dispute this, I do understand this but it is also true that because of increasing technology and demand for business majors, these numbers have grown as well.
Even though he blames many of the problems in our education system on the students, he does attribute some problems to the professors and parents. Professors that are afraid to correct students just because of the awkward moment that may ensue should not be professors. It is the job of the professor to teach and enlighten the student regardless of the confrontation that may occur. I do not think students get angry as long as the teacher does not embarrass the student a simple and polite correction is fine under any circumstance. He also blames the admissions advisors for having a “servile attitude with students (41). This is necessary in order to attract students. With changing technology, comes new amenities and luxuries at college. These are a part of the consumer culture but I do not feel that these items interfere with education.
Where I disagree with Edmundson is when he says that students lack passion and fire. I disagree with this idea and I know that I along with the majority of students in my classes have a thirst for knowledge. Maybe students are subdued in class and do not want to be looked at as odd. I am sure no one wants to be seen as an outcast, but learning and having a normal conversation in class is certainly not frowned upon. I also disagree with the fact that students are too conforming and depressed. I feel in no way that our nation is depressed (23). I think students these days are much more involved and there are many ways students are able to get involved in many more ways that they used to. There are a variety of clubs and groups, where students can express their individuality.
Towards the end he encourages teachers to step outsides the box. I agree that it makes the class more interesting when the teacher changes their style or introduces a new lesson. However, I do not think our education system is faulty or ineffective. Hopefully professors and adults realize that our generation still does have passion and a strong desire to learn.

Rhetorical analysis

Edmundson’s essay “On the Uses of a Liberal Education” was published in Harper’s magazine. The fact that Edmundson is a professor and has his work published in a magazine gives him credibility and strengthens his ethos. He begins his piece with a story about his own experiences teaching. He uses a metaphor and compares the students to “informed consumers” telling the “producer” what they did well and what they did wrong. He continues saying that he no longer likes the reviews that describe him as entertaining, he writes that he would much rather his students be “changed” by the course.
He then takes a critical tone and blames the attitudes of the students on the consumer based society that Americans are enthralled in. His diction indicates this when he writes that the liberal arts education is “ineffective.”
His next point is that the idea of genius is becoming less and less prevalent. He uses an anecdote about a student he used to know that was so full of genius and passion. He explains that these types of students are extremely hard to come by in today’s culture because those who question are looked at as weird. He blames the lack of genius on the TV. He writes, “All must run perfectly.” This sentence is used to describe the characters on TV, as well as the attitudes of students who are afraid to be wrong and nervous about talking to their professors. This sentence is short and choppy and is also placed at the end of the paragraph to emphasize its importance. Edmundson places the topic sentence of many of his paragraphs in the last sentence in order to emphasize it. His use of the statement “—buy in order to be” is really the idea of the consumer culture summed up in one sentence. He uses this after giving a real life example, a Jeep commercial in order to build his logos.
Throughout his essay he asks questions to the reader, than answers them. This is an effective technique because it makes the reader think about what Edmundson is trying to say. He also utilizes the double dash in his essay a lot in order to indicate pauses in thinking. In paragraph 30, he utilizes logos a lot by displaying facts such as the number of humanities degrees and sciences.
In order to appeal to pathos he describes our future as bleak because students are unmotivated consumers. He also uses the word “disturbing” to make the reader think about the problems within our education system.
A bold move that he makes is he has a whole paragraph that starts with “My overall point is this:” This is placed towards the end so the reader is forced to read the entire essay and gather his opinion. Then, he is able to get his point out clearly in one sentence.
In the end he uses a circular story and comes back to the idea of his teacher reviews and says, “I’m getting back to a more exuberant style; I’ll be expostulating and arm waving straight into the millennium, yes I will.” This is a good closing statement because it shows that he is willing to change back to the teaching and is dedicated to changing the consumer-based liberal education.

Summary of "On The Uses of a Liberal Education

Edmundson begins his essay with a description of his feelings on teacher evaluations. He explains that he is fearful of what they will think and admits that he sometimes teaches to try and gain the good reviews from students. He then elaborates on the fact that he does not want to be described as "enjoyable." He wants them to be challenged and changed by his course. He places a lot of emphasis on the fact that American culture is very consumption driven and that the liberal arts education and the university system as a whole has taken a change for the worst. He than provides an anecdote about a student he had named Joon Lee. He compares Lee to students of today and explains that there are very few students who share the passion Lee had. He is worried by the lack of passion and fire that students now possess. He blames this problem on the importance of TV. He says all must run perfect on TV so confrontation in really life is avoided in real life. He thoroughly believes in the buy in order to be philosophy and feels that students buy in order to be "cool." He states that students will not ask challenging questions and teachers will not correct students just to avoid the awkward period associated with calling someone out. Edmundson also has a problem with the way that universities are becoming so consumer driven and explains that they now have a "club med" like atmosphere. Universities have now become marketers and have to sell their school not based on education but based on the amenities they provide students. Because of the consumer based mentality the humanities majors have to fight for students. This leads to grade inflation and easier classes in these majors, which should not be the case. Teachers must change their styles now in order to gain tenure and cannot step outside the box to learn. This clearly angers Edmundson who feels education has become too mainstream. Teachers even go as far as to not correct students who are factually wrong because they are afraid to disappoint the students. The teachers who do confront and challenge students are labeled as difficult and are punished for trying to further educate their students. He argues that students are treated to soft and are looked at like consumers and are treated with a "servile" attitude by the staff, leading them to become ignorant. He also explains that certain novels are not read due to political correctness. Teachers are afraid to read novels like "Things Fall Apart" because of the controversial ideas they bring out. He than transitions into the idea of genius and being unique. He writes that this idea is being eliminated slowly and that there is no genius because we all want one thing money. We are all trying to become the ideal person and are afraid to step out of the box and become genius. He is worried that in our future, there will be no genius. He says we are uninterested in being different and even references Prozac and the "depressed" nation that we live in. He goes as far as to call our outcome bleak. He concludes by placing the burden on the individuals to strive to be challenged and engaged in the classroom. He ends by saying his teaching style will definitely change and he will not worry about the evaluations, he will be the exciting and controversial professor needed in order to provide a solid education.

Response to "On The Uses of a Liberal Education"

I found the article to be very interesting. It is written in an extremely critical tone and I do not agree with most of what Edmundson says. He states that we are in a consumer era and that we have all become a certain mold without passion. I feel yes, times have changed and we are a consumer culture, however students still have passion. There are those students who will always voice their opinions and always be argumentative regardless of the times. He also writes that college has become a marketing game and I agree. College expenses have gone up a ridiculous amount and colleges now are much more luxurious and fancy than they were. Now with movie theatres and fancy gyms as opposed to museums or exhibits, they have become a place to have fun. This does not mean that large amounts of learning does not occur. He also writes that students are timid in class and are nice to the professors, I do not see that as a problem in that they are trying to respect the people that are teaching them and sometimes professors do not reciprocate in that respect. I feel that Edmundson would be one of those professors. He says that teachers have taught towards the book and are afraid to be vocal. I understand variety is needed every once in a while but it is important to get the basics regardless of major. This piece also goes into the subject about the increase in business majors. I think this is because of changing technology and because the determination of the new student. In the past fewer people went to college now many go to further their education. The ideas of the passionless student really bothers me because I feel each student is passionate otherwise they wouldn't be in college. I think that Edmundson is too critical on other professors as well he is not the only excited professor and school has changed but I believe for the better.