What Does it Mean to be Educated, and Who Decides?:
Entering a Conversation about Education
In essay #2, you will consider Freire's ideas alongside those of James Loewen, both of whom write about educational best practices from different perspectives. You will synthesize their ideas, teaching your readers what you find most significant. This will require you to consider how each writer would analyze the concepts of the other, identifying common ground as well as at what places the writers diverge. Remember that a synthesis requires more than summarizing other scholars' work; instead, you will use their work as a basis for your own argumentative thesis.
Consider Freire and Loewen's arguments as they might apply to collegiate education. Construct an argument based on what you've learned from these readings about how you think collegiate education is best approached. If you like, you can draw from your own experiences, but keep in mind that both Freire and Loewen should be directly quoted and/or paraphrased in your paper.
In this essay, you will construct your own argument that makes a contribution to the larger conversation about education suggested by Freire and Loewen. Although you will support your argument with material from Freire and Loewen's essays, the central argument of your essay-the thesis-must be your own.
Your audience is educated peers who have read Freire and Loewen closely. This means that you will not need to summarize the content of each essay; rather, you will draw from the texts to support your own assertions. You'll want to consider at all points how to persuade your readers.
Guidelines for Essay #2 Length/Due Date: approximately 800-1,000 words.
References: Essay #2 will include formal references to the assigned readings, enough references to support your thesis. Such references will utilize quotation or paraphrasing, and they will include in-text citations (the author's last name and page number in parentheses; however, use only the page number if the author's last name is mentioned in the text leading up to the quote or if the previous in-text citation included the name of the same author).