Tia Spradley

10/22/2020

Dr. Elizabeth Cuddy

Project #3: Rhetorical Analysis

As many know 2020 has brought new challenges that the world was not prepared for, one

being Covid-19. Covid-19 is a deadly airborne virus that has spread globally, causing many

changes world-wide due to the protection of society. Covid-19 has caused many businesses to

close down, an increase in unemployment, and an increase in product prices. However, most

importantly this virus has caused schools to be virtual/ online instead of in- person. Many people

have different opinions about this because many households don't have the same privileges as

others such as internet connection and/ or access to technology. This has greatly impacted

parents due to the fact that some parents are working and aren't able to attend to their child/

children like others. On the other end of the spectrum, virtual classes are protecting children

from spreading the virus to one another. In an opinion piece from a newspaper article, “It’s past

time for schools to reopen” by Helaine Olen, she expresses her point of view on reasons why she

believes that schools should do in-person teaching during this pandemic. Olen persuades her

audience to take her point of view by using various pathos and logos techniques by using

statistics that prove that virtual learning is ineffective and made the audience question their

devotion to these students.

In the article, the author uses logos by discussing how kids being out of school will affect

our economy in the future. She states, “...kindergarten enrollment is down by 14 percent since

last year in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school district”

(Olen). By using statistics to show that fewer students are attending school, she proves that
many kids wouldn’t be as educated as they would be if they were in school. She uses this to go to

her point that students shouldn’t be doing virtual learning. By using logos, she persuades the

audience because they see factual information that proves that fewer students are attending

school, making the audience agree that on the point that in- person school should take place.

Also, she uses logos to prove that virtual learning will create separation in learning. She

then states that virtual learning would be more effective to white students than black students

because minorities, as a whole, don't have as many privileges like “regular access to a computer

and wireless connection” (Olen). By bringing up a possible future systematic oppression cause,

she uses logos to persuade the audience to take her stance because she points out that not all

students have the same privileges. To add-on, due to students not having the same privileges this

will affect them long-term because some students got better education during this pandemic than

others.

Lastly, the author uses pathos by appealing to the audience emotions by making the

audience question how much they care for students. At the end of the article she states, “Keeping

our schools closed offers more of the same, with a new twist: We are not only ​not p​ rotecting our

children but also destroying their futures — while telling ourselves we’re acting in their best

interests” (Olen). In other words, she is saying by having virtual learning we, as a society, are

ruining these children's futures because they aren't getting the best education they possibly could.

By making this statement, she makes the audience question their “love” for these students. This

is showing pathos because she produces the question in the audience head, “If we do love these

students, why are we doing something that can potentially ruin their future?”. She makes the

audience consider her position by making them feel sorrow for these students.
 In conclusion, Olen persuades her audience to believe that virtual learning is ineffective

due to the long-term effect of it. She persuades her audience by using various techniques such as

pathos and logos to get this point across. By appealing to emotions and showing evidence, this

made her audience consider her position that we should go back to in- person learning.

Work Cited Page

Olen, Helaine. “It’s past time for schools to reopen”. ​The Washington Post​, 8 Oct. 2020.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/08/its-past-time-schools-reopen/​.

Accessed 23 Oct. 2020.