Are Computers Compromising Education Analysis

Language Analysis – “Are Computers Compromising Education?”

In the letter “Are Computers Compromising Education?”, A. Jones, the principal of Hightower College, explains his reasons for banning the use of computers in classrooms, informing parents of the many issues that it would have imposed on students. Jones addresses the issue in a very reasoned but concerned tone, which gradually becomes more assertive as he attempts to completely convince parents to agree with his contention, that Australia’s “computer-based ‘education revolution’ represents a false promise to the Australian public”, as it inflicts a variety of health hazards on students and is preventing them from learning “the essential social and intellectual skills that they need …show more content…
Also, in case his position as principal doesn’t give him enough credibility amongst the parents of his college, Jones appeals to the authority of Todd Oppenheimer, a leading social theorist in the US, who states that a computer-centred classroom means “downplaying the importance of conversation, of careful listening, and of expressing oneself in person”. This use of reliable evidence works with reason and logic to convince parents that Jones arguments are accurate and sensible, and that “students’ brains are becoming deadened” as they are “sadly being lost in today’s technological age”, which is stifling vital qualities in them and “fostering negative …show more content…
Since money is one of the main driving forces in everyone’s lives, this use of persuasive language effectively influences parents to approve of the principals decision solely through their desire to be financially secure. Jones eliminates any reason for parents to oppose his views through appeals to their sense of fear and their morals and values, by referring to this issue as a “worrying phenomenon” and claiming that the constant use of computers has “a detrimental effect on children’s learning abilities… and could have other damaging effects on the brain”. The negative connotations in words like ‘detrimental’ and ‘worrying’ add to his alarming tone in order to arouse fear and anxiety in parents by suggesting that if they push for laptops to be made available in classrooms, they would be doing a great deal of harm to their own children. This compels the parents of students at Hightower College to share in the principal’s point of view that the school should not be “prepared to compromise the learning abilities of students in support of a