Postmodern Epistemology In Tuttle's Dragnet-Style

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Tuttle spends most of his article trying to influence his readers to believe that the students of Jefferson County Colorado were in the wrong. Tuttle ignores the real problem and instead puts his energy toward persuading the reader that his opinion on the protest is correct. In order to sway his reader into agreeing with him, Tuttle uses a great deal of rhetoric in his writing. With this understanding,one can assume that the epistemology of this text is post modernistic. According to Quatz the postmodern epistemology believes that knowledge is what we are able to convince others of. Knowledge cannot be obtained, we can only convince other of our claims.
The text is a Postmodernistic type of epistemology because the author uses rhetoric to
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First Tuttle is against the students questioning what they are learning. In his argument Tuttle states, “Its not inappropriate to ask what stories are being taught. But these pretend that what they want is a Dragnet-style, just-the-facts-ma’am historical education.” He says that it’s okay for the students to question their education but then he turns around and insults them. Tuttle also says that the protest is a waste of valuable class time. If Tuttle really agreed with the notion of questioning the material that being taught then he wouldn’t call the protest a waist of time. Tuttle states that the schools reform to change the AP U.S. History curriculum is “well advised.” Tuttle is against the students. He is for the Collage Broad’s proposal that advises against materials that “encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard for the law.” He doesn’t think the students should know the whole truth about history. Also he thinks that the student should only learn the basis, the “essential” parts of history. This is an essentialist belief. Essentialists do not want people asking questions. They wan the student to learn the information they give

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