Rhetorical Analysis Essay On Education Equality

Emphasize Education Equality Arguments possess a large role in our society, especially in government. Each policy made within our nation is opposed by certain citizens. These positions in politics are fought for through organized debates or speeches. Through these speeches, politicians must persuade their audiences to believe in their policy. One politician that successfully completes the task is John B. King, Jr. During the last few months of Obama’s presidency, John B. King, Jr. held the position of the United States Secretary of Education. Throughout his time in the position, he focused on creating a program to replace the No Child Left Behind campaign, so public schools across the nation could receive the funds and assistance they required.
He appealed to his audience’s emotions by using pathos through the description of a former student of his. One of King’s former students, Herman, was shot and killed at a young age by another young man. King uses pathos through his description of Herman and through his emphasis on the fact that “the potential of both young men was lost to their families and the world” (King) after the incident. King’s use of terms like “potential,” “lost,” and “world” creates a sense of devastation to the members of the audience. With this use of pathos, King expresses the seriousness of equality in education by relating it to this devastating event. By appealing to their emotions, he shows his audience that reform must transpire to prevent this situation from repeating itself. King used Herman’s story to show the destruction inequality in education can create. This revealed what students’ futures may hold if the government does not address the lack of funds and assistance for public schools across the nation. The Every Student Succeeds Act gave more responsibility to the state in education, so it was important for King to give an example of what could happen when opportunity is lost. By giving his audience responsibility, he is placing the future of students in the state’s hands. King effectively used this as a way to convince states to participate, and by 2017, 16 states had already reclassified their school
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