Also, I have spoken with students of previous Lang classes and have heard that the books we plan on reading next are phenomenal. I believe substituting this book in for Freakonomics or Mountains Beyond Mountains would be a mistake.

I believe that Holt, Emerson, Kidder and lockhart would agree that this is a worthwhile read for our class. Addressing the oppositions view, The purpose of this class in not necessarily to read overly challenging books with rich language and syntax but, rather to read book that awaken our love for learning and our creative minds, all while observing styles of certain writhers.

Writing is an art form. in May, we will all sit for an exam where we will be asked to create a few short works of art in this medium. all artists know that the secret to creativity is inspiration and, frankly just hearing about this book has inspired me more than reading the several hundred pages of Boswell’s London Journal. I feel that I will do better on the AP and become a more cultured citizen by reading this book. That, I would argue is more important than the simple oratorical flimflammery of other works and I hope to read this book as an assignment for this class sometime in the next few months.

It also seems like the book is filled with musical inaccuracies. Here is a well-written review of the book from Amazon that identifies and corrects some of them: http://www.amazon.com/review/R11GUSBQR1XJO9/

A quote from yet another reviewer:
“It is filled with narcissistic anecdotes that do nothing except to highlight the author’s sense of self importance.”

Simply put, this book is the antithesis of what we should be learning in a college-level rhetoric class. If we are to read it, then we must read it as an example of what not to do.

Within Clarkstown North a true education is only possible with students who work hard in their classes. The teachers at North make learning fun and interesting for those who are willing to learn, but embracing the love and passion for knowledge is still up to the student. After all a teacher can only open the door, it is the student that must decide to walk through it. Those who are reluctant to learn, or those have trouble meeting academic standards are subjected to just meet the minimum requirements for graduation.
Students that are in higher level classes are all students who have this drive to learn more. Everyone in the class is there to learn as much as they can on their subject and the teachers are there to spread their own wealth of knowledge on the subject matter in preparation for an AP or IB test. However these class separations just polarizes the more talented and enthusiastic individuals from the less talented and motivated ones.

Higher level classes are treated differently from other classes; they receive more attention and review as a necessity of preparing for a standardized test. The nature of the course gives these students a more complete, rounded education. Not everyone at North can be subject to AP, IB, and honors courses to become well rounded students. Others in regents and intensive courses may feel that the system has given up on them, killing off that passion to learn by telling them “you are in a class where we just meet the bare minimum, the New York State standards”. Those who fall into the lower level pool, are stuck in a cycle of self-deprecation, the student does not try as hard because it is only a lower level class, the teacher does not try as hard because it is only a lower level class. How can such an environment foster the inner curiosity of a student? It simply cannot. North simply cannot foster the will to learn in everyone, nor can she give everyone a well-rounded education. There will always be people who fall through the cracks, no matter how hard the system tries.