Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Research and Arguments
For our final essay, the class is going to have to create an argumentative essay and a presentation. My blog response for tonight is to ask you guys for help with my argument. The idea for my argument is that America needs to refocus the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in schools for students at an early age. I have general reasons on why this needs to be done but I haven't been able to figure out a few things. For one, I'm not aware of many arguments that go against the claim, so do any of you guys know why my claim could have any disagreements? Another question is if there is a reason not to refocus the education, why would we do so when the economy is globally thriving due to the engineering and science fields? As I said, I have been able to generate more ideas that lean towards refocusing the American education on STEM fields than away from them. I am open to all criticism, hurtful or pleasant, so I ask you all to give your thoughts. If you aren't really familiar with the field itself, I ask if you can give me ideas that can make my essay attention grabbing; what about a good essay makes you keep reading it?
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Well Mr. Johnson, this is a very challenging task. Trying to find why math, science, technology, and engineering is not necessary is like telling someone to find a corner of a sphere. I think another approach you could take for a rebuttal is "why aren't any of the present attempts to change the way these subjects are taught as effective as they could be." You could also compare how STEM is taught in countries like China and Japan to how it is here and list off some of the things that make their teachings more successful than ours. You could also talk about how some kids just don't like STEM based classes because they have problems with math/science and these classes build on these two main subjects. These kids probably excel in other subjects like biology or anatomy or such. Other than that there shouldn't be too many arguments AGAINST your paper and your argument.
ReplyDeleteYou could start with why you think there is something wrong with the topics in schools and then explain the research you found to support your claim. Starting with an example,like an interview, would be effective and give your paper somewhere to go. The paper could start with the interview, the research that is similar to the problem, and then have a rebuttal of an example that doesn't fit, and then give the resolution.
ReplyDeleteIdk if you have the same problem i do, but my biggest fault is structuring my paper ... i hope this helps with the structure you want.
I think that a good topic to touch on is how children learn and retain information better at a younger age. You could show that if subjects of mathematics, sciences, and other similar subjects could help the child learn more complex ideas earlier than those children who did not.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm going to read an essay I want it to be exciting. I agree with your topic. I think your introduction paragraph should be catchy. Maybe ask questions to start out with. See if your audience agrees with you right off the bat. If they do, which I think they will, they will want to continue reading the rest of your essay. If you have strong arguments and solid background information to back it up, I think your essay will be very successful and enjoyable to read.
ReplyDeleteI think that maybe you should try to compare other countries with this topic. Maybe do some research and relate China, Africa, Mexico, ect. to America then compare them with America statistically. You could also relate other educational classes such as English, art, psychology, ect. and see where we as Americans excel and where other countries excel or v.s. I think that if you can contrast these ideas you should have a strong persuasion. You could also talk about the educational background / statistics about how other countries v.s. we are taught and or are raised as far as graduation rates in those fields or something. I think you have a strong topic and you should write it as if you are trying to pursue Americans to take math, science, ect. classes and or push them to focus or try harder in those fields and why it is rewarding to them and there country as a whole in the end.
ReplyDeleteA disagreement some people might think about is the importance of art. Art is a way people express themselves which is hard to do in mathematics. I think it is important that children see art as more than a picture but as a statement. Art history is very important in the world because it is one way everyone in the world can connect. Not everyone knows the same language, uses the same metric system, or has the same technology but, everyone can recognize a mother and child in a painting.
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