This document outlines the agenda for an EWRT 1A class. It includes a discussion of problems with education and the genre of proposal essays. It assigns essay #3 on presenting an education problem and provides guidance on choosing and narrowing a topic, including brainstorming causes and consequences. Students are instructed to prepare for an upcoming library visit by watching videos on research resources and credibility. They will use the library during the next class to find sources for their essay on an education problem.

1. EWRT 1A CLASS 10

2. AGENDA
• Discussion: The Problems with Education
– Genre: “The Proposal” (Essays #3 + #4)
• Essay #3 Assignment
• Choosing and Narrowing a Topic
• In-class writing
• Prepare for Library visit during our next class
– Watch the videos on Library Resources and Internet Credibility

3. FIVE PROBLEMS WITH EDUCATION
• For your HW, you read two lists of
key problems or issues with
American K-12 education.
• Now make your own individual list
of at least THREE key
problems/issues with education
(you did this for HW).
– NOT limited to American
education.
– NOT limited to K-12. (Can talk
about college—especially
community college.)
• Which of these key problems on
your list have you had significant
personal experience with?

4. Next, in your Houses:
 Share your lists with each other.
Everyone should share all of their
problems.
 Each person should
describe/explain in some detail his
or her own personal experience
with one key problem.
 Be prepared to share your stories
with the class.

5. W H Y A R E W E
B R A I N S T O R M I N G
P R O B L E M S W I T H
E D U C AT I O N ?
(HINT: IT HAS TO DO WITH ESSAY #5)
I am glad you
asked!

6. PROPOSALS: WHAT ARE THEY? AND WHY
DO PEOPLE WRITE THEM?
From SMG, p. 322.

7. WRITING A PROPOSAL IN TWO
ASSIGNMENTS
• In a proposal, an author presents a
problem and then offers a solution.
• In Essay #3, you will complete the
first step of a proposal: presenting a
problem.
• In Essay #4, you will revise your
presentation of that problem and
then propose a solution.

8. ESSAY #3 ASSIGNMENT
• In-class essay. You can
use an outline that you
will prepare in advance.
You may not pre-write
the essay
• It must be at least 750
words.
• This essay also requires
MLA-style citations and
works cited page (which
you may prepare in
advance).
• Prompt: Write an essay presenting
to your reader a well-defined
problem in education today.
Describe in detail the causes and
consequences, and convince your
audience that this is a problem
worth solving. Address your
presentation of your problem to
your audience: one or more
members of the education board,
its leadership, or to outsiders who
may be able to contribute to
solving the problem.
• Note: you should not (yet) propose
a solution to this problem (that’s
for Essay #4).

9. ESSAY #3 POTENTIAL TOPICS
• Equitable Funding
• Social-emotional learning (SEL)
• Leadership
• U.S. Secretary of Education
• Opioid Crisis
• Minoritized populations
• School Shootings
• Teacher retention
• Classroom size
• Poverty
• Family factors
• Technology
• Bullying
• Student attitudes and behaviors
• Parent involvement
• Student health
• No Child Left Behind: Now, Every
Student Succeeds Act
Which of these did we already identify in our brainstorming?
Which of these do we need to talk about now?

10. ESSAY #3: RESEARCH REQUIREMENT
• While you can discuss your own personal experience, limit this to a
single example, and be careful not to turn this into a narrative essay
about your personal challenges in school. Rather than relying heavily on
personal experience, you should use facts, statistics, or data relevant to
the larger population affected by this problem.
• To this end, quote (and cite) at least two outside sources.
• Harry Potter does not fulfill this requirement.
• Your sources should be from books or articles from a popular magazine
or newspaper.
• You should locate this article using the library databases.
• You should include your quote(s) and citation info from these articles on
your outline.

11. CHOOSING YOUR PROBLEM:
BRAINSTORMING
• Based on your earlier list of three
problems (and our subsequent
class discussion/brainstorming),
choose TWO potential problems.
• Brainstorm at least one paragraph
about each of these potential
problems; include everything you
know about the issue or problem.
• Be sure you pay specific attention
to the CAUSES of the problem and
the CONSEQUENCES of the
problem.
• Causes
– What is the cause of this problem?
Are there multiple causes?
– How did this problem come into
being or how was it created?
– Ex.: A cause of school traffic
congestion might be the lack of
public transportation options near
that school.
• Consequences
– What effects does this problem
have--on students, educators,
and/or society at large?
– Ex.: School traffic may cause
students to be late to class, which
may cause them to do less well in
school.

12. NARROWING YOUR PROBLEM
• It’s likely that one of the topics you
wrote about seemed to overwhelm
you—especially when you started
to consider the causes and
consequences.
• For example: inequity.
– How many types of inequity are
there in education?
– What are the causes of inequity?
– What are the consequences?
• These lists are long! Could you
write about all of them? (No.)
• So now you need to narrow your
problem.
• Consider specific situations:
– Inequity of funding by school
districts in the state of California.
Do some school districts get more
money and why is this a problem?
– Inequity of funding for student
tracks. Why do “AP” or “gifted”
tracks receive more resources and
what effects does this have?
– Inequity of funding for academic
vs. non-academic programs. Why
is college sports funding a
problem?
– Inequity of funding between
programs. Why are athletics
funded more than art and music
and why is this a problem?
– Inequity of teacher salaries..

13. NARROWING DISCUSSION
• Choose one of the potential problems
that you wrote about in your
brainstorming paragraphs, one that
seems too broad or overwhelming.
• Now, share that problem with your
House and discuss ways that you could
narrow and focus your topic.
• Each House should be prepared to
share examples of narrowing with the
class.
• Examples of narrowing:
– Bullying -> Anti-gay bullying
– Poverty -> Lack of resources for school
supplies or books.
– Technology -> inequitable access to
technology resources.
– Student behaviors -> ADHD

14. CHOOSING A PROBLEM:
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
• Choose one of your potential
problems that seems most
interesting/promising to you.
• Make sure it is narrowed enough that
it doesn’t feel overwhelming.
• Write the following:
– A few sentences that state what the
problem is.
– A few sentences that explain why the
problem is serious.
– A few sentences that outline the
causes of the problem.
– A few sentences that describe the
consequences of failing to solve this
problem.

15. PREPARING FOR THE LIBRARY VISIT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwVe0eMEm0E&list=PLlzptBQp_D5jlybtmB-uxs8c4XbYLREN7

16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VulykYkSDg&t=10s

17. Read HP POA Chapter 15
Review these articles
· “8 Critical Issues Facing Education in 2018”
· “10 Major Challenges Facing Public Schools”
HW Discussion #14: Finish and post the paragraph you
started in class today that describes one problem you are
interested in investigating
Finish this at home:
Watch the videos on Library Resources and Internet
Credibility
Quiz: Library resources and internet credibility
Homework
Monday, we meet in the library lobby. The
librarian will give you an overview of how to
use the sources, and then you will have time to
find some sources for your essay #3.