Analyzing Context

In this blog post, I will be taking a step back from my controversy and focusing on the context surrounding it. To do so, I will be answering the questions on page 340 of Writing Public Lives under the "Reading the Context of Your Public Debate" section.

Context Travel. "Context Logo." 01/14/2011 via Flickr.
Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike 2.0 Generic License. 

1. What are the key perspectives or schools of thought on the debate that you are studying?

There are a lot of different perspectives involved in this controversy, including the national government, educational organizations, teachers, parents, school districts and of course, students. They all have somewhat of an equal role in this debate.

2. What are the major points of contention or major disagreements among these perspectives?

The groups disagree mainly on the effectiveness of the program. Some primarily focus on the benefits that the standards could create, while other groups disregard these potential positives and focus on the negatives. They all believe that they know what is best for education.

3. What are the possible points of agreement, or the possible common ground between these perspectives?

All the groups agree that there is a need for change in the education system and that America's education is falling behind other countries. They also are fundamentally focused on student's success, whether it may be referring to their futures or the present.

4. What are the ideological differences, if any, between the perspectives?

A lot of parents, teachers, students and school districts believe that education shouldn't be "one size fits all," while the national government and educational organizations believe that this is the best method in improving education.

5. What specific actions do their perspectives or texts ask their audiences to take?

Some perspectives and texts ask the audience to consider the long-lasting benefits of the standards and to think about the future of America's education. Other perspectives ask their audience to sympathize with student's and to express resentment towards the program.

6. What perspectives are useful in supporting your arguments about the issue? Why did you choose these?

I am choosing to focus on the student's and teacher's opinions of the controversy, because they are witnessing the effects of the program. I think these will be the most useful because it will provide clear evidence and insight into what the standards entail.

7. What perspectives do you think will be the greatest threat to your argument? Why so?

I think the government's perspective is the greatest threat to my argument, as well as educational organizations who are working towards the implementation of the Common Core. These two groups have established a lot of credibility and authority for themselves, and I am going to be attempting to disprove a lot of what they say or believe to be true, so this could be difficult.

--Jenny Bello

REFLECTION:

After reading through Rachel's and Clay's blog posts, I realized some differences on our interpretations of context. I chose to list specific groups that are involved in the controversy, while my classmate's talked more about the debate's background. I think both approaches are important, but I need to focus a little more on the topic itself. I really like how Rachel and Clay have a clear and obvious direction for their argument. I think this exercise allowed us to look at the bigger picture behind the controversy and look forward at the direction our projects are going to take.