After reading the second chapter of Ancient Rhetorics, I’d like to you reflect on the terms “kairos” and “rhetorical situation.” In your own words, explain what you think these terms mean. Then, I’d like you to apply your sense of these terms to the debate about the stress that high school students face. Based on our reading, respond to two or three of these questions: Why do you think this issue is urgent now? What communities find this issue urgent? What kinds of arguments are favored in the commentators we’ve read? What are the power dynamics involved in this debate? Which voices are being heard and which voices aren’t? What lines of argument are appropriate and which are not? As you respond to these questions, ground your discussion in the articles we’ve read, citing specific examples when you can. As you conclude your response, pick one piece and explain how its writer crafted his or her argument effectively in response to this rhetorical situation.
Post your response here as a comment before class begins on Monday. Aim for 250-350 words. I look forward to reading your response.
“Rhetorical situations”, or “kairos”, yield a proper time to use rhetoric in conversation or to prove a point. To put it simply, it’s similar to being in the right place at the right time. In opportune moments, also known as “kairos”, people use rhetoric to persuade or be influential over another party. In the article regarding stress that high school students face, the authors are presented with a favorable time to address the situation because of the prominent nature of standardized testing in our society. In recent years, high school students are being put under tremendous amounts of stress because of the SAT or ACT and teachers are being forced to push as much information at them as possible. The authors of the various articles take this time to write these persuasive articles about our education system’s pitfalls because it is so relevant to students these days. In the commentators we’ve read, the argument about stress beginning before high school and the argument that homework is becoming less effective are incredibly favorable. School is becoming increasingly rigorous, even during primary school, which Nancy Kalish points out by reporting that children are throwing up from the pressure of their workload. Furthermore, Harris Cooper’s article arguing that homework is having “diminishing returns” uses rhetoric well. After a full day in school, students assigned over five hours of homework start to retain less and lose their motivation. “Rhetorical situations” and “kairos”, as the book states, “can’t be wholly anticipated or replicated” (44). They tend to appear during times of crisis or controversial moments.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the previous comments, Kalish really makes the most persuasive argument in response to this rhetorical situation. Teachers feel helpless in the classroom when they see their students struggling because of the mandatory curriculum our society demands. They have no choice but to teach what the school or state says even if they have first graders with hours of homework. Kids need time to develop and learn fundamentals of life not solely academia. The stress is leading into bad habits later in life which could be easily prevented. The problems with academics these days, also known as this rhetorical situation, are well argued by the commentators, especially Nancy Kalish.
Generally speaking, “kairos” refers to the timing, whether fleeting or stable over time, in confronting an issue through rhetoric. These issues are considered forms of rhetorical situation: a topic in which exudes arguments from all sides and launch discussions revolving around the issue. “Kairos” does not stop at timing; rather, it extends to the ability of the rhetor to identify and recognize the time, place, and outside arguments in which to address the rhetorical situation.
ReplyDeleteThe design of the educational system will never cease to be a current issue. As long as technology and the span of knowledge is modified and increasing in human society, the manner in which education is viewed will change as well. This evolution will not rest only with the content being taught, but will also influence the way it is taught in relation to the mental health of a child. In learning more about the world, we will simultaneously learn about the effects of education on children. Unfortunately, in this process of expanding knowledge, parents will probably push their children even harder to accelerate this process and succeed in gaining new knowledge. This push may, however, lead to a demise in this process and instead place knowledge expansion in a rut. In the article Reconsider Attitudes About Success, Kohn supports the idea that the push for children’s academic success “leaves little room for exploring ideas.” In expanding Kohn’s comment, if this crusade for kids to excel continues, there is a possibility that the progression of technology will halt in its tracks. If this is the case, the urgency of reviewing the educational system is beyond crucial at this point in time. It is not an option for the youth of this world to be pushed into a state of unwillingness to learn, otherwise, the progress of the world will no longer continue.
It seems to be the general consensus that education and schooling needs an overhaul so as to decrease stress in students. Most, if not all, commentators in the Stress and the High School Student addressed the idea that childhood has all but disappeared. As Hemphill points out in her article What Happened to Childhood, the amount of extra-curricular activities and A.P. courses kids are involved in inhibits their ability to recognize that character is just as important as school. She suggests that such activities be limited so that students may have more time to participate in activities they enjoy and develop their own personality. In general, each of the other authors support this idea as well.
In order for progress to occur, students must be allowed to explore their lives outside of school and have a childhood. Clara Hemphill provides a solution to this problem quite directly. She suggests that if parents and teachers allow students to recognize that perfect grades, test scores, and super-elite universities do not necessarily lead to a higher quality of life. She implies here that students do not need to attend the highest ranked universities in order to make good money and enjoy their lives. By backing off on the “necessities” of students’ extracurricular activities, we can allow them to explore their lives and accelerate the progression of technology.
The meaning of the word kairos is more or less the opportunity, or appropriateness, in context. One has the “best” kairos for a band-aid when someone skins there knee. A rhetorical situation is just the subject and time that one is using rhetoric for/during. The issue of over-stressing students is urgent now because colleges are becoming more and more competitive. Students are trying to do too much to get colleges’ attentions, and it’s starting to have some nasty side effects. This issue is most urgent to parents, students, and teachers; although, we don’t much here from the colleges on this debate. Students, teachers, parents are all noticing that the condition of students’ health is diminishing. According to The New York Times’ Op-Ed video on Advanced Pressure, some colleges aren’t even accepting the AP credit that some high school students are killing themselves over. “What’s the point?!” yell teachers, students, and parents. Neither of the parties wants to see students suffer for “a better college”. And the best way to display that is in a respectful manner. No one needs to be rude and brash; it’s not as professional. My belief is that Harris Cooper did this well. He was professional about his article. Expertly used in his article was his language. The article moved flowingly and with ease. Also, I think Cooper had the best argument, supported by a solid explanation. He effectively used empirical data to strengthen and solidify his argument. I feel that nothing is more effective for an argument than fact that supports opinion.
ReplyDeleteEvery rhetorical situation brings about its own set of challenges, which relates to kairos. Kairos refers to a more situational kind of time or what we may call, “opportunity”. Karios is not about duration of time but rather a certain kind of time. Karios, therefore, refers to a time when rhetoric language is appropriate or when one is attempting to prove a point. Kairos is extremely important to ancient thinkers, so important that it became a mythical figure. Kairos pays close attention to the always-changing arguments discovered with a particular connection to a specific issue. Kairos requires that rhetors see writing as well as speaking as a special time to create arguments and make knowledge.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of kairos is urgent now because high school students are become more and more stressed out as time goes on. The stress does not just stop at high school, it continues on until college where you may not be pressured to do well, but you still should. I think the people that may find the issue of kairos as urgent are teacher and/or professors. Teachers/professors realize that the curriculum is only getting harder and that there is a certain time when students are able to retain information easily and when they are not. Also, the SATs and the ACTs or any other standardized testing is only given at certain time during a high school student’s junior or senior year. Therefore, there is a certain time at which theses tests should be taken and prepared for. Kairos refers to these certain times. During these times rhetors seek to influence readers or viewers the most.
After reading chapter two, I was able to evaluate the terms “rhetorical situation,” and “kairos.” Each word or term has a different meaning, yet they are fairly similar. Rhetorical situation refers to a conversation or discussion or any form of rhetoric taking place and the variables that make it unique. Whether it is those involved, or the topic of discussion, each add to rhetorical situation. As for the word karios, I see it as a word that means to seize an opportunity or take advantage of something while you can. Kairos is about doing what you want, when you want it. Now it is not to say that it means be young and crazy because that is not what the definition entails. What it means, to me at least, is that while you are young and crazy, take advantage of the opportunity. As college students we have been presented with the chance to do something great here at this university and to not take advantage of that would be a poor choice. Stress and high school students can be incorporated into these terms because right now, the U.S. is ranked so low in math and science, and colleges are setting more strict admission requirements. Out of all the information we have read, right now there is so much pressure on youth in America, there is no wonder teenagers are stressed. As for the communities who find this urgent, they vary in all sorts of ways. The Hispanics and African Americans of Harlem are concerned that there children aren’t getting any education and then there are the middle to upper class white citizens who are concerned about which Ivy league their child will go to. While we haven’t read about it or watched it, there is an advertisement for a man in Harlem who has a dream for education. If he could go one block at a time in reforming education in his neighborhood, eventually the whole city will have an education. Alfie Kohn used his bit in the N.Y. Times to effectively demonstrate how we have lost sight of what is important in education. How in pursuit of being the best, we forgot about the most important part of the future, the children, their hopes, and their dreams.
ReplyDeleteI have grown up hearing phrases like “seize the day” and “seize the moment” almost everywhere I look. As I got older, rather than hearing it as a motivational quotes, my friends get it tattooed on their ribcages because “it means a lot” to them. I had never heard the word “kairos” until the first day of class and was curious to find out exactly what it meant. After reading, I think that it has similar meaning to those cheesy phrases that grace the lower backs of many people. Simply put, I think it means to seize your opportunity. In connection to “rhetorical situations”, I think that it means take the opportunity to use the situation to your advantage. Because these situations cannot be “anticipated or replicated”, one must be quick on their feet and know when to have their moment.
ReplyDeleteBy publishing the articles right now, the authors are using the timing to their advantage. There has been a lot of debate about standardized testing recently and the quality of public education. This issue is urgent now because educational institutes all over the country are either over-working their students, or educating them in a way that does not invigorate their minds enough to make them do well. In some places, according to Nancy Kalish, workloads given to kids in elementary school is making pupils stressed out and literally sick to their stomachs. Elementary school is meant to mold minds and give students a good work ethic and basic knowledge. Not make them dread school from the moment they get there. No matter what, parents will complain about their child’s education. Either not enough work to keep them going, or too much work which causes them to be stressed out. These authors used the rhetorical situation to their advantage and picked a hot topic in today’s society.
In the second chapter of Ancient Rhetorics, the two terms that are focused on are rhetorical situation and kairos. Rhetorical situations are situations that include a rhetor, an issue and an audience. It basically means that the rhetor has an issue to tell the audience about. Each situation is unique. Rhetorical situations create arguments. Kairos is a special notion of space or time according to Ancient Rhetorics. It is not the notion of time like minutes or hours but it is the time when it is best to carry out an action. One example of kairos comes in joke or story telling. The punch line of a joke or story must be told at the right moment in time. One thing about rhetorical situations and kairos is the urgency of the situation. The debate about the stress that high school students face is very urgent because it is a very current issue that high school students are facing every day. Communities that find this issue urgent are schools that are well known for high success and college acceptance rates as well as schools that want to gain higher rankings in polls about success.
ReplyDeleteMark Moe does a good job using rhetorical situation in his piece about the stress of high school students. The second chapter of the book discusses the fact that in rhetorical situations writing and speaking are used for exploring issues and making knowledge. Moe uses his words to carry across the point that it should not matter where a student goes to college but what they do while they are there and how they use their time.
In the second chapter of Ancient Rhetorics, rhetorical situation and kairos are highlighted. Rhetorical situation refers to the context of a rhetorical event containing an issue and an audience. The word kairos suggests a special notion of space and time. It refers to the opportunity and critical time.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Alfie Kohn’s article, kairos is an urgent right now because it applies to the future of our children. Education is a continuous cycle that will always exist. Children are being pushed to succeed on standardized tests and grades. Colleges are slowly transforming to not require SAT and ACTs. This issue is urgent because as time passes, the education practices are changing as well. This issue is urgent to almost all communities. Each community has multiple education facilities and it affects everyone who has children that attend schools or want to go to college. Teenagers are getting more and more stressed out as they reach high school and college. According to Alfie Kohn’s article from the New York Times, Kohn effective crafted his argument about changing the structure of the educational system. Kohn states that as time passes college are not requiring standardized test scores or accepting AP Credits. Karios plays a role in this showing that time is in the essence to continue ones education.
Rhetorical situation is unique. Also, Rhetorical situation can create an argumentative issue. Kairos is more about a certain of time, such as opportunity. In the book, Kairos indicated as a “window”, means the most important of the time for an advantageous. (P45) Kairos is based on the rhetorical situation that already given. The rhetorical situation is the high school student that are facing a lot pressures from their school.
ReplyDeleteThe pressure that the high school students are facing now is urgent, because it can cause different bad result. For example: Last year, there was a high school student committed suicide in my high school, because of the pressure of study. If the high school does not have that much pressure, will they choose to die? I don’t think so. Also, the pressure would make students cause some health problem. For example: The pressure made me feel sick and hurt my body. The voice that we have being heard is that the high school students get too much pressures from school. However, we did not heard any voice of that the high school did not give too much pressures to their students.
Moe did very good on rhetorical situation for his article. The book wrote that “the rhetorical situation include the rhetor of course: her opinions and beliefs, her past experiences, as well as her position on an issue at the time she composes a discourse about it. ...... also includes the opinions and beliefs of her audience at that time and in that place.” (p48) I think Moe did wrote his opinion which was he think the way of education needs to be change. Also, it is my opinion too as an audience after read his article.
The term kairos is used to refer to a space in time. However, this term isn’t a normal reference to time. Instead, it refers to time as more of an opportunity that one must seize. It can be long or short, but it refers to the use that someone makes with the time that they are given. In rhetoric, the use of kairos is what molds the argument into what it becomes. By taking advantage of the time given, you are able to form your argument and think about the response that you want to give or the point that you want to make.
ReplyDeleteIn the debate about stress in High School, authors are taking advantage of the argument about education by writing articles and giving the public insight from different points of view. They are seizing the opportune moment (kairos) in a very popular and controversial debate. The issue is urgent right now, because society has currently been questioning the strategy to acquiring a good education as well as the importance of grades vs. actual knowledge acquired. This issue is urgent not only in specific communities, but I believe it is urgent across our nation as a whole. Education is the most important thing that we are able to pass on to generations to come, and our society must have a communal view about how it should be valued.
Denise Pope has a very well crafted argument that offers a solution to make the school day less stressful by shortening the required hours in school, lengthening passing periods, and using block schedules. This argument is a compromise that looks to be very successful. She approaches this rhetorical situation with intelligence and effectively uses kairos to address the correct audience and successfully make a compromise on the situation presented.
Kairos (καιρός) is literally the opportune moment. In ancient times, rhetoricians would have to use this moment to sway a person or a group of people towards their argument. I believe that kairos is the exact “tipping point” on which someone can do something. In the book, Crawley and Hawhee use the example of telling a joke, while being aware of kairos would allow the joke teller to deliver the punch line at exactly the right time. I have always thought of kairos as more of a longer period of time. Kairos to me has been relishing the moment, and using it to your fullest advantage. For example, one could exploit kairos to its fullest potential if he used his talents to their fullest. If someone had a once in a lifetime chance, then seizing that moment would be in line with kairos.
ReplyDeleteThe book describes the opportune place to use kairos is in a rhetorical situation. Crawley and Hawhee confirm that all rhetorical situations are different, and they might even fluctuate greatly over the course of time. Because of this, kairos is key in conveying what needs to be said or swaying someone’s opinions at the right moment and in the right way.
When applying kairos to the situation about high school education that was discussed in the past blog posts, it is obvious that the situation needs to be addressed immediately and with all possible haste. The future of our generation, and therefore the country (if not the world) is at stake. If kairos were to be implemented then it would become instantly clear that the only way to fix the whole situation is to do it now. The more time that it takes to repair this problem, the worse it will get. Putting off things has never made them better, not in the history of the world. Procrastination will only have a continued detrimental effect on the entire situation.
When it comes to the high school education debate, the people that are all too often left out of the equation are the students themselves. If administrators would just do their job and pay attention to what kinds of feedback they get from the students, they would realize that the problem needs to be fixed now. Students are always complaining about too much useless homework; I did it, I know my parents did it, and I see my siblings do it every week. But if administrators would just take the incentive, and be wise about their use of kairos, then this whole issue would (hopefully) be solved. In the very least, someone would be doing something about it.
As I wrote before, Denise Pope’s article was the most compelling. Her use of rhetoric was not at all pushy, but rather resorted to the use of rational arguments presented in coherent way. This was much better than some of the other arguments, who not only failed to convince me as a reader but also did not present their arguments in a way that made sense.
After reading the second chapter of Ancient Rhetorics, the two terms rhetorical situation and kairos are defined. A rhetorical situation involves when a rhetor performs a speech in front of an audience. The speech that the rhetor displays usually states an issue. Each rhetorical situation takes place in a unique time and place that is not always assumed. Kairos is an ancient Greek word, that is defines the supreme moment in reference to time. It is the unique time where a specific action will take place. Kairos focuses on the changing of arguments over time, and how they relate to one common issue. Kairos is related to rhetorical situations because they both involve a specific time and place for an action of importance, also a urgent situation.
ReplyDeleteHigh school and college students in society are under a large amount of stress and pressure. This issue is current and apparent in every aspect of learning. It is a urgent situation since today’s society does not focus on the learning of students, but the grades they receive. The SAT’s and AP exams are a mass amount of information in one test. Students study for months for one simple test, that supposively shows if you know the information or not. These tests come with stress on a student and this issue is prominent in schools that wish to receive high acceptance rates for colleges.
Moe relates to rhetorical situations through the stress and expectations for students. Chapter two also states that knowledge comes from the issues of writing and speech for rhetorical situations. Is the point of high school and college just for the GPA and status? Moe uses these examples to prove that it is not where a student attends college it is what they gain from their learning. Learning is not just a letter grade or the university you attend, it is the growth of a student from their experiences as a student.
Kairo’s is the way you write and if it is appropriate in the way you write it. College’s are becoming more and more competitive which is making it harder to get accepted. Some students do too much stuff and overwhelm themselves with trying to get into colleges. Students are taking more AP classes, which they think it will help them get into certain schools. Some schools do not even accept these courses. This is proven in the New York Times Op-Ed video on advanced pressure. What is the point of taking these classes if they are not even accepted? Harris Cooper did a great job at explaining this. He used his language wisely and professionally. Also, he had a very solid argument and had solid facts to back up his ideas.
ReplyDeleteKairos is defined as a word or term that means the opportune time. it as a term that is used to describe a moment that is important, a moment or time period that should be taken advantage of. It is like a period of time when something notable or special takes place. For example, when Barack O'Bama was elected the President, this was a point in history when something very special took place given the circumstances sixty years ago. This term related alot to the high school student and the stress that kids are under. In relation to kids, i think this is an opportune time to take advantage of what they have in front of them. The sky is the limit for kids these days, and its a shame to see the, bogged down by expectations and guidelines. Parents put so much pressure on their kids that they aren't realizing how special and amazing life can be, and how lucky they are to have these opportunities.
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