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Rhetorical Analysis: Disruptive behavior is on the rise in our children. They need empathy and
healing.

By Melissa Schlinger
Introduction
Disruptive behavior in the classroom can have a detrimental impact on the classroom
environment as well as the students' educational experience. Disruptive behavior is described as
any behavior that interferes with an instructor's or a student's capacity to learn.The author of the
article “Disruptive behavior is on the rise in our children. They need empathy and healing,”
Melissa Schlinger,” discusses her opinion on this matter through her child’s experiences.
According to (Bavolek), empathy is defined as a person's ability to share and
comprehend another person's feelings, ideas, and emotions. Parents and others with close
interactions with young children play a big role in bringing out the desired moral and ethical
thinking in them. The moral foundation that is instilled in a young child has an impact on their
character later in life. By employing pathos, ethos, and logos, she persuades the readers of her
point of view on children's disruptive behavior and how it is on the rise.

Pathos

In this article, pathos is used to describe how the author's son feels about the custodian's
reaction when he learns that the children destroyed the school bathrooms; “the more I thought
about it, I felt really bad for the custodian who would have to clean it up” (Schlinger). This most
definitely makes the readers to empathize with the custodian on the loss he would suffer as a
result of the students’ tiktok challenge.

The author also chooses to introduce the topic of the article through pathos, she does this
by telling of her child’s experiences in school. She explains how students destroyed soap
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dispensers and spilled drinks all over stalls as a result of the TikTok challenge. The use of pathos
could be seen in the very first sentence, when she introduced her 14-year-old son and how he had
to witness his classmates vandalize the school bathroom “my 14-year-old son, Will, came home
from school and told me that some of his fellow students had participated in a TikTok challenge
that encouraged them to vandalize school bathrooms” (Schlinger). This was important in
displaying pathos since most of people have witnessed somebody engaging in vandalism, and it
creates a sense of personal connection as readers relates their personal experiences to Melissa’s
child. This was significant not only in terms of introducing the issue, but also in terms of
establishing a personal connection with the readers, who were able to sympathize with her kid
memories while also connecting to their own, resulting in a nostalgic sense from their own
personal experiences.

Ethos

Throughout the essay, the author exuded authority; she did it in a variety of ways,
including tone, but mostly by establishing his personal reputation when she states that she works
at CASEL, the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, where they provide
resources and techniques for schools and classrooms. “At CASEL, the Collaborative for
Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, We provide materials and approaches for schools and
classrooms to help them establish an environment that incorporates SEL into all aspects of kids'
learning and supports fair outcomes for all.” (Schlinger).This is significant because readers can
see that she has experience in building a positive school atmosphere for students, which will
assist to reduce disruptive conduct in the classroom. This was important to note because her field
of work is the subject of her article, and it demonstrates to the readers that she is well-versed in
the subject as represented throughout the piece. This form of ethos was effective because her
own work background gave the readers confidence in what she is discussing, and this helped
strengthen her argument.

Logos

One way the author used logos in her article was by claiming that what happened to her
son was not unique and by giving examples for her claim. One instance where he did this was by
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stating, “in a recent survey published by the Rand Corp., nearly 60% of district leaders reported
that discipline had become a moderate to major concern” (Schlinger). The author further
supported his claim, still using logos as his rhetorical tool, by claiming, “I’ve talked with district
leaders, educators, administrators and parents across the country who are overwhelmed by an
increase in disruptive behavior ranging from vandalism, delinquency and classroom outbursts to
far more severe concerns around harming themselves or others” (Schlinger). She gave the
readers her take on the subject, then supplied instances to back up her argument, allowing them
to see her point of view and develop their own judgments based on the examples and data she
presented. and this gives readers a fantastic example of how logos were employed in her article
because she made a claim and supported it with plenty of data and facts.

Conclusion

In the article, “Disruptive behavior is on the rise in our children. They need empathy and
healing.”, Melissa Schlinger,her use of pathos, ethos, and logos was excellent in allowing readers
to form their own opinions on the subject. The author's use of pathos allowed the readers to
connect with her on a more intimate level right away, allowing them to sympathize with her. The
author made excellent use of ethos; she established her personal credibility not only via her job
experience at CASEL on the topic, but also through her son's personal experience.

Finally, her use of logos allowed readers to absorb a large amount of information and
develop their own conclusions based on the evidence and example offered by the author. When
examining the author's statements, the rhetorical devices she utilized are crucial, and the success
of the devices is up to the readers to decide.
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Work cited

Bavoleck, S.J. (2003). Developing empathy in families.

Melissa, S. Disruptive behavior is on the rise in our children. They need empathy and healing.