Bring Back the Strap, Exercise 10, pp. 20-21
The following points help students identify the author’s key arguments/ideas and the reasoning and persuasive strategies implied by these key ideas. This helps students identify more insightfully the purpose of the author’s views/strategies. Please also see a list of useful analytical terms.
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Ms Hally Snowden, p. 20.
Key argument/Views: Ms Snowden advocates the re-introduction of corporal punishment because it is an effective disciplinary tool in the classroom.
Argument strategies:
- Evidence: referring to the expert opinion of a government advisor, Dr Donnelly and his recent report and her own assumptions/opinions about class-room discipline
- Problem: unruly, undisciplined and ineffective classrooms: Solution: introduction of corporal punishment;
- Cause-and-effect: ban on corporal punishment leads to greater disruption in the classroom.
What persuasive/reasoning strategies are embedded in her main arguments?
- Reasoning strategies/ experts and comparisons: Ms Snowden reinforces her views by referring to Dr Donnelly and his credible, “first-hand” experience as a teacher and his authority and prestige as an educator. He, too, champions corporal punishment and criticises the alternatives such as “time-out” which only favour the unruly students. (Perversely, the system is discriminating against well-behaved children who want to learn: to create resentment)
- Critical description/depiction of students: Ms Snowden singles out the unruly and boisterous students in order to criticise the “time-out” methods, which she believes are counter-productive.
- Criticism of teachers: She also sets up the teachers for ridicule by suggesting, alliteratively, that “tough talk” and a “stern stare” are inadequate. She seeks to anger parents and teachers by suggesting that unruly students actually enjoy the break from studies. It is not a deterrent to disruptive behaviour.
- Persuasive strategies: appeals and values: Ms Snowden appeals to authority; respect and order in the classroom. She appeals to a student’s universal right to an education. Such appeals are used to justify corporal punishment and to shame students who jeopardise or undermine others’ rights.
Word choices:
- boisterous, unruly students “crying out for the strap”: (cliché; idiom; figurative language: characterisation; depiction of students
- stern stare and tough talk: alliteration to criticise the current system and to draw attention to need of other disciplinary methods (comparisons);
- “it’s about time”: “rewarded for bad behaviour”; indictment on a system that does not sufficiently penalise and correct the students
- “how does that add up?”: pun; rhetorical question and an accusatory tone…
Metalanguage: peremptory and accusatory tone; comparative depictions of models of discipline; expert references; clichés, idioms, emotive and alliterative terms; rebuke; condemn; decries; indictment of ; repetition;
Mr Tim Scott, p. 20
Views and tone: Contrastingly, Mr Scott condemns corporal punishment and believes that it is a sadistic and unnecessary disciplinary tool.
Which reasoning and persuasive strategies are integral to his views?
- Evidence: he refers to his own first-hand experience: he was a victim of violence and “sadistic” trainee priests. He cites the evidence from the Education Minister to suggest that it should not be supported.
- combination of evidence to corroborate and to typify his personal experience;
- he draws upon the views/values of an expert in the Union (her advice contrasts to that of the government advisor; possibly owing to varied experience and exposure to traumatised children.)
- Mr Scott relies on his personal experience as a traumatised five-year old child to condemn corporal punishment. He corroborates his experience with that of other children to more sharply criticise/isolate/marginalise sadistic teachers. Furthermore he appeals to role-modelling and leadership qualities to foreground the need for a caring and supporting school environment.
- Attack: The teachers are portrayed as sadistic and abusive. They exploit their power and often fail to control their anger.
- Appeals/ values: safe and protective environment; the rights of children to learn without fear; the duty of leaders to role-model peace; to refrain from violence
- Contrasting portrayals: He depicts his experiences as a five-year year old who was humiliated by his teachers. He suggests that it is abusive and he seeks to shock readers by the extent of the gratuitous violence. He elicits sympathy for the victims. Contrastingly, the teachers are portrayed as sadistic and abusive. They exploit their power and often fail to control their anger.
Updated paragraphs: note argument terminology
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- See this link for table/ comments /ideas and summaries
- See updated paragraphs: note argument terminology
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