INSERT NAME

AP English 12
TEACHER
Period 2
August 26, 2016
Why Study Lit
Why Read Literature
I enjoyed how the author opens his article by stating that these reasons are
tentative - open to challenge and change - and not exclusive. He is not stating his
argument as facts but simply giving you his thoughts and opinions on the subject matter.
Even so, his points or reasons are similar and sometimes redundant. Throughout the
article, I felt like the theses were the same and could be explained once versus multiple
times. For example, two theses I thought that were interchangeable were the ideology
or word-view thesis and the cultural function thesis because they discuss how
literature can help people learn and understand about different societies.
7 Sins of Our Educational System
The author of this article argues that it is the responsibility of the adults who are
providing the educational system to be aware of the issues in it and to resolve them. He
supports this argument by giving a list of sins or problem that he believes are currently
present in todays education. While I agree with the statement presented, I would like to
add though, that it is also a duty of the students who are receiving the education to
make these problems aware and not tolerate them, so that changes can be made. If the
adults are unaware of the problem, they will not be able to help the students.
However, I did not agree with the all of the sins he presents in his statement or
the points he makes. He starts his argument by using the metaphor school is prison.
While the actual definition may say that school is one, the connotation of the word
prison takes the issue to extremes. He implies that education is a punishment, when in
reality, it is not. Compared to being in prison, school sounds like a much better idea. The
author also shows only one side of the argument and tends to focus on a negative
outlook. He does not present both sides of the issue. The author tends to exaggerate
throughout his list of sins such as to claim that schools result in a reduction in
diversity of skills, knowledge, and ways of thinking. He assumes that all schools have
these problems, but every community is different and schools have issues unique and
specifically for them.