Runing head:EDUCATION SYSTEM 1

Education system in the United States

Karla Tarin
The University Of Texas at El Paso

VISUAL RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 2

According to the National center for Education Statistics, this year about fifty million students
will attend public primary and secondary schools in the United States. Education is
highly valued in this country; not only because it feeds its students with facts, and
knowledge about a variety of subjects, but mainly because an educated person is
attributed with having more opportunities to succeed in todays world. Yet, because of
the elevated value that is set upon education as a key approach towards shaping
someones future, some may argue that our current education system is excessively
focused on subjects prominent in todays rising work-fields such as math and science,
leaving behind the importance of other subjects such as art, humanities and physical
education. In 2013, Sir Ken Robinson gave a speech for TED; a nonprofit organization
devoted to the spreading of new ideas, in which he analyzed the current education system
in the United States, and how according to him, it is killing creativity in its students. The
three rhetorical devices: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos, are widely utilized by Robinson in his
speech in order to effectively communicate his message and persuade the audience to
take the same stand as he does in this topic.
Robinsons audience is a major factor which shapes the specific ways in which the message is
delivered. Taking only eighteen minutes, Robinson utilizes Ethos, Logos, and Pathos
along with an informal yet serious tone and vocabulary to inform the audience which
consists of teachers, parents, and current students about the present education system,
compare it with those who are ranking higher than the United states, analyze the
negative effects of the current education structure, and finally to make a call for action
towards all those who will share the same point of view by the end of the presentation.
VISUAL RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 3
The appeal that is mostly utilized by Robinson in order to persuade the audience is logos.
Robinson tries to provide the audience with logical arguments that can easily persuade
every listener and viewer. Robinson starts his speech by pointing at the inefficacy that the
No child left behind (Robinson2013) policy has had in the country by pointing the
irony of this policys name while millions of children are in fact left behind. Robinson
supports this statement by arguing that In some parts of the country, sixty percent of
kids drop out of high school (Robinson2013). Although Robinson does not provide the
audience with the specific source for this statistic, it can be assumed that the audience
understands the reality about the problem with the increase of high school dropping rates
by the year, and therefore the exact percentage goes unquestioned. Following this
argument, Robinson further utilizes logos by stating that if the percentage of drop outs in
the country could be cut in half; it would create a net gain to the U.S. economy over 10
years of nearly a trillion dollars.(Robinson2013). By giving the possible economical
gains out of enforcing education, the audience is further convinced that education plays a
very important role in the potential outcome of the countrys economy, therefore getting a
sense of responsibility for the future and possible success of the nation and its people.
Extending upon the economic effects, Robinson also states that America spends more
money on education than most other countries [and] Class sizes are smaller than in many
countries (Robinson2013).This, further convinces the audience that if the problem with
education is not the lack of money, then it must be the system itself the one that is failing.
Later in his speech, Robinson gives the audience his strongest logos appeal, by making a
reference to what he calls The three principles that drive human life (Robinson2013)
these principles are easy to agree on, for these are points that can be backed up with
VISUAL RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 4
Common knowledge and the experience of life itself. These principles consist of the
following specifics: one: humans are different and diverse, two: curiosity; humans are
natural learners, and finally human life is creative (Robinson, 2013). Robinson refers
to these principles as being the way in which human life has and will perform since the
beginning through the end of times. Robinson also states that these exact principles
however, are all being uncared for by the current education system. Robinson provides an
argument by stating that standardized tests, which are the main way of calculating
knowledge in a student, go against all these principles given the fact that these tests are
prepared for the masses, therefore not taking in consideration the diversity of each of the
students skill, knowledge, and creativity, which according to Robinson are in fact not
even tested at all.
Although logos is the rhetorical device which is used for the largest part of his speech, Robinson,
also utilizes Ethos to deliver his point. Ethos is seen in the way Robinson tries to make
his arguments credible. To achieve this, first of all, Robinson speaks in a formal and
confident yet not too complicated or overly formal manner, which makes the audience
believe that Robinson, is highly informed and experienced as a result making him seem
trustworthy on the topic being spoken. Another way of ethos being utilized is by
comparing the United States education system with the one enforced in Finland; which
is the country that tests higher in the world. Robinson gives credibility to his views
stating that Finland gives a more personalized education which gives the same
importance to all subjects and encourages students to be involved in a variety of topics,
therefore reflecting their success in standardized tests. Robinson also furthers his
credibility by touching upon many potential contradictory points that could rise as a
VISUAL RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 5
result of his peculiar point of view. It is a fact that Finland is many times smaller than the
United States, yet to avoid possible confusion and dismissal of his point, Robinson tells
the audience to rather compare it with a state in this country, having about the same
population number.
Finally, the employment of pathos in Robinsons speech, although not broadly utilized, is what
binds the rest of the rhetorical appeals together, for it keeps the audience engaged and
attentive to the message. Pathos is utilized at the beginning of the speech by Robinsons
personal account of his life, and experience, which makes the audience feel more intimate
in conversation, and portray Robinson as being sincere. Later in his speech, Robinson
states that about 10 percent of kids [] are being diagnosed with various conditions
under the broad title of attention deficit disorder (Robinson 2013). Robinson states that
some of these kids may be erroneously diagnosed, and rather are just suffering from
childhood or in other words; these children are being neglected to develop their full
potential, mistaking lack of interest and engagement in school, with a severe
psychological disorder. By stating this, Robinson portrays the extent of seriousness of the
subject, and makes the audience feel the need to change something that could potentially
ruin the way children are being treated not only in school, but for the rest of their lives.
Although Robinson utilized a serious tone, he stills utilizes humor throughout the whole
speech, keeping the audience engaged along with interactive questions, which evoke a
sense of personal involvement within each member of the addressees. To conclude his
speech, Robinson makes a metaphor about a place called Death valley (Robinson 2013)
which is the driest place in America. Robinson states that nothing grew in Death Valley
because it never rained, yet one spring when it suddenly did, it was full with flowers.
VISUAL RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 6
What it proved is this: that Death Valley isn't dead. It's dormant. Right beneath the surface are
these seeds of possibility waiting for the right conditions to come about, and with organic
systems, if the conditions are right, life is inevitable (Robinson 2013) Robinson makes a
parallel with Death valley and the current education system; if the audience plants the
seed of possibility, and change, then the whole education system will change and evolve
into one that takes in consideration the diversity of all its students, regardless of how
difficult it may seem today.
It is clear that education is what keeps a country moving forward, for it gives its citizens the tools
necessary to have a brighter future. It is true that todays educational system has a greater
focus on subjects such as math and science. Some may argue that these are the subjects
which have the greatest impact on todays world, and are the most demanded fields of
work. Yet others such as Sir Ken Robinson go against this way of thinking. By utilizing
the rhetorical appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos, Robinson tried to persuade his audience
that the arts, humanities, and the rest of the subjects, are just as important not only to
keep the nation moving forward, but to assure that each students skill is developed and
appreciated to the fullest.

VISUAL RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 7

References:
Geni, J. (Director). (2013). TEDTalks [Documentary]. United States: Films Media Group.
United States student percentage. (n.d.). NCES. Retrieved June 26, 2014, from http://nces.ed.gov/