Questions for "Why Education is Not an Economic Panacea" by John Marsh
1. Find the place in the essay where Marsh most clearly and succinctly articulates his thesisabout the degree in which education, especially higher education, can or cannot serve as a panacea for the social ills in this country. (It might be in an uncommon place, so look through the entire essay.)
2. What are the othercommon positions and argumentsabout the degree in which education can or cannot serve as a panacea for the social ills in this country? How does he distinguish his position from these other common arguments?(If you want to make a drawing or diagram, please do so.)
Ethos:
1. Marsh's argument largely depends on ethos and therefore, on his life experiences. What information do we know about Marsh's life? Explain how his life experiences act as evidence for his argument. Be specific. This is a complex question that should take a substantial amount of time to answer.
Target Audience:
1. What experiences does he assume his audience shares with him (particularly about education)? What values does he assume they share?
2. What information does he expect his audience to know? (What literary and cultural references does he use? Pay close attention to the level of vocabulary he uses-find specific examples of words.)
3. Therefore, who is the "we" in Marsh's essay? Characterize the "we" in as much detail as you can. (You could start to answer this by explaining who the target audience is not.)
4. What political affiliation does he assume of most of his audience?Find any place where he references politicians or political beliefsas they relate to views on the place of education in fixing inequality.Why would he reference these politicians or highlight their particular political beliefsin order to make his argument-especially if they run contrary to those of his audience?
Consider:
- In light of these questions, how effective do you think Marsh's essay is in reaching his target audience? How convincing is his ethos-based evidence? Why?
- How might readers with different value commitments evaluate his evidence? Why? What are the advantages and disadvantages of relying heavily on personal experience in the way that Marsh does?