In Adam Braun’s memoir and life guide “The Promise of a Pencil”, the speaker relates his journey of creating Pencils of Promise and the lessons learned along the way. He employs the rhetorical technique of flashback in a way that is both elucidating and memorable, establishing mood of unwitting self-indulgence in a tone that is both austere and sophomoric. Any college worth its salt has a motto, something to aspire to. At FIU it’s “Hope, Knowledge, Opportunity”. While sounding great in Latin, to me it expresses what a university does, not exactly what it's for. Braun on page 139 states “...I couldn't ignore the voice somewhere deep inside that knew what I needed to do.” While he was referring to leaving everything behind and starting
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245) While Braun’s intentions are noble, one mustn’t forget: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The purpose behind his memoir, “The Promise of a Pencil” seems to be to inspire common people to make a change in their communities. While to some respect it is effective garnering its appeal to pathos in the use of mantras and Braun’s intention to be seen as just some guy who chose to do something different, (Braun, pg.14) his way of going about solving the problem of education in developing countries appears to be somewhat misguided and archaic. It has been observed that in modern society, basic literacy and math skills are simply not enough to lift people out of poverty. In some areas such as Bangalore, India, the poorest of the poor had, for the most part, some level of schooling. Basic literacy doesn’t get you to college nor even through high school. It is a known fact that the current lingua Franca in the world is English, and for children looking to elevate themselves and their families from poverty, it is a disservice of instruction not to be given in English. Often times the schools Braun builds are in the rural villages, but one has to wonder if the children are given proper nutrition and access to a safe home. Alcoholism and drug abuse is often found in poorer areas, which is to say nothing of the curriculum; do the schools teach that women have rights, do they teach contraception, how to save money, how to negotiate a loan? The traditional approach to educating the poor is not working nor is creating a for profit organization that builds over 300 schools innovative if it follows the same tired model, a model that is
245) While Braun’s intentions are noble, one mustn’t forget: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The purpose behind his memoir, “The Promise of a Pencil” seems to be to inspire common people to make a change in their communities. While to some respect it is effective garnering its appeal to pathos in the use of mantras and Braun’s intention to be seen as just some guy who chose to do something different, (Braun, pg.14) his way of going about solving the problem of education in developing countries appears to be somewhat misguided and archaic. It has been observed that in modern society, basic literacy and math skills are simply not enough to lift people out of poverty. In some areas such as Bangalore, India, the poorest of the poor had, for the most part, some level of schooling. Basic literacy doesn’t get you to college nor even through high school. It is a known fact that the current lingua Franca in the world is English, and for children looking to elevate themselves and their families from poverty, it is a disservice of instruction not to be given in English. Often times the schools Braun builds are in the rural villages, but one has to wonder if the children are given proper nutrition and access to a safe home. Alcoholism and drug abuse is often found in poorer areas, which is to say nothing of the curriculum; do the schools teach that women have rights, do they teach contraception, how to save money, how to negotiate a loan? The traditional approach to educating the poor is not working nor is creating a for profit organization that builds over 300 schools innovative if it follows the same tired model, a model that is