Elementary school is the cornerstone of a child’s development. Elementary school is where a child starts to understand the concepts of responsibility, determination, and success which manifest themselves in the guise of the end of year report card. The articles written by Erica Ehm and Cayla Hochberg convey two opposing sides of the recent TDSB union disputes. These articles are in disagreement about who is responsible for the lack of report cards given out to the children. I find the latter article by Cayla Hochberg to be the most convincing. This is because she is writing from a position of authority on the subject, she maintains a better control of her language and emotions, and in general, her arguments are better constructed and more logical
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In these two articles, the tones of the pieces are very informal, using possessive pronouns, rhetorical questions, and personal experiences. However, the informality of Ehm’s article only acts as a detriment to her overall ability to convince her reader of her opinion. Throughout her article, Ehm uses language that is fueled by emotion, saying things like “You are pissing off the very people who pay your salary – parents” (Ehm 7) and using inappropriate words such as “bullshit”. (Ehm 8) Additionally, in paragraph nine, she transitions to “HELP YOU” all in capital letters which she uses to try and enforce her point. Unfortunately, this capitalisation, because of the emotion previously observed, may alienate the reader and exudes an air of hostility. Ehm even references her emotional state in response to an email she received from her local school board Trustee saying that “it just fueled her anger”. (Ehm 10) In contrast to Ehm’s heated discourse, Hochberg uses clear and concise diction while still maintaining the informal tone that allows her to connect with her reader. She uses personal experiences and rhetorical questions just as Ehm does, however Hochberg uses them to assist her in her point rather than attacking the opposing opinion. Because of the over-emotional diction used by Ehm, and the composed rhetoric used by Hochberg, it can be seen that …show more content…
While Ehm spends her time expressing her displeasure towards the teachers “refusing to complete report cards” (Ehm 10) on Twitter and informing her readers that she has “little sympathy for teachers who are well-paid”, (Ehm 7) Hochberg addresses the rumours and dismisses them with facts. In fact, in light of Hochberg’s article, Ehm’s article ceases to have merit. Ehm’s article is centralized around the fact that teachers should be held in contempt because they are devaluing the success of the children via the teacher’s refusal to produce report cards. However, after reading Hochberg’s article, it becomes clear that the teachers are not responsible for the report card debacle and it was only used as “just another shady tactic designed to turn you against us”. (Hochberg 10) The “you” that are referred to by Hochberg in the previous quotation are the angry parents, of which, one is Erica Ehm. In Hochberg’s words, “nothing has changed” (Hochberg 12) and she has provided the facts to support that assertion. In conclusion, these two articles written by Erica Ehm and Cayla Hochberg are about the elementary school struggle of teacher vs. union, the lack of report cards, and who is to blame. Through a superior authority on the subject as compared to Ehm, through a more controlled use of language and containment of emotion, and
In these two articles, the tones of the pieces are very informal, using possessive pronouns, rhetorical questions, and personal experiences. However, the informality of Ehm’s article only acts as a detriment to her overall ability to convince her reader of her opinion. Throughout her article, Ehm uses language that is fueled by emotion, saying things like “You are pissing off the very people who pay your salary – parents” (Ehm 7) and using inappropriate words such as “bullshit”. (Ehm 8) Additionally, in paragraph nine, she transitions to “HELP YOU” all in capital letters which she uses to try and enforce her point. Unfortunately, this capitalisation, because of the emotion previously observed, may alienate the reader and exudes an air of hostility. Ehm even references her emotional state in response to an email she received from her local school board Trustee saying that “it just fueled her anger”. (Ehm 10) In contrast to Ehm’s heated discourse, Hochberg uses clear and concise diction while still maintaining the informal tone that allows her to connect with her reader. She uses personal experiences and rhetorical questions just as Ehm does, however Hochberg uses them to assist her in her point rather than attacking the opposing opinion. Because of the over-emotional diction used by Ehm, and the composed rhetoric used by Hochberg, it can be seen that …show more content…
While Ehm spends her time expressing her displeasure towards the teachers “refusing to complete report cards” (Ehm 10) on Twitter and informing her readers that she has “little sympathy for teachers who are well-paid”, (Ehm 7) Hochberg addresses the rumours and dismisses them with facts. In fact, in light of Hochberg’s article, Ehm’s article ceases to have merit. Ehm’s article is centralized around the fact that teachers should be held in contempt because they are devaluing the success of the children via the teacher’s refusal to produce report cards. However, after reading Hochberg’s article, it becomes clear that the teachers are not responsible for the report card debacle and it was only used as “just another shady tactic designed to turn you against us”. (Hochberg 10) The “you” that are referred to by Hochberg in the previous quotation are the angry parents, of which, one is Erica Ehm. In Hochberg’s words, “nothing has changed” (Hochberg 12) and she has provided the facts to support that assertion. In conclusion, these two articles written by Erica Ehm and Cayla Hochberg are about the elementary school struggle of teacher vs. union, the lack of report cards, and who is to blame. Through a superior authority on the subject as compared to Ehm, through a more controlled use of language and containment of emotion, and