Helen Keller Rhetorical Analysis

Helen Keller was an extremely inspirational woman who had to overcome both deafness and blindness, and who found success and happiness in her life. Recalling her own personal experiences, she believed that anyone with determination and willpower could control their fate and succeed in life. But as she travelled and spoke with others throughout the country, she realized her view on achievement was severely limited. Keller realized that she had many opportunities in life that others did not, especially when it came to a quality education. Without proper education, a person faces a major setback and cannot achieve their goals, no matter how hard they work. When approaching how to fix the current inequality and achievement gaps in public schools, many quickly come up with solutions such as implementing a common core or standardized testing. These solutions may be necessary, but before they can be implemented, school and government officials must first seek to solve the problems at the core. The major problem is that the education …show more content…
A young girl wrote to Kozol saying, “You have all the thing and we do not have all the thing. Can you help us?” (p. 3). A principal at an overcrowded school pointed at a trash bag covering part of the collapsed ceiling, telling Kozol, “This would not happen to white children” (p. 4). In truth, parents of minority parents are thought of as people who can be discounted, and their children are not considered valuable. Teachers at these schools are not valued either; they are paid grossly less than teachers at more successful, predominantly white schools. Plus, even though there is such a big gap between successful and unsuccessful schools, all students are tested the same way in standardized tests, and all are expected to do well, even if their school does not prepare them to