Bethany Frerichs
WRIT-202
03/18/2013
Final draft
Analysis of “We should cherish our children’s freedom to think”
“We Should Cherish Our Children’s Freedom to Think” is written by Kie Ho and expresses his belief of the education in the US. Throughout the article he argues that the American school system “is not perfect, but it is a great deal better than any other” (Ho, 2007, p. 114). His arguments are reflected through his thoughts and experiences but are weakened by vague evidence.
Ho (2007) states that since public school has provided children with opportunities and direction to fulfill their creativity, the US has developed into a country of innovation. He strongly supports this claim with his own experience and idea. On a (2007)“excursion to the Laguna Beach Museum of Art, where the work of schoolchildren was on exhibit” (p. 113) Ho got the idea that supports his argument. (2007) When public schools give students opportunities to participate in creative activities, the general public assumes that this freedom to choose is universal. This is not true according to Ho’s different personal sources. (2007) A Polish refugee, a German friend and a Lebanese believe that the American education system is far behind their home countries. Ho’s evidence for his first argument favors his reasoning, but is vague on documenting sources. This weakens his argument a lot and results in less persuasive evidence. He assumes that the idea of people who thinking freedom to choose is a norm without any supporting evidence and that the information from his friends is trustworthy knowledge. Furthermore, Ho (2007) makes a comparison between the imagination of his childhood in Indonesia and his son at school in the US. Ho explains that, (2007)“When I was 12 in Indonesia, where education followed the Dutch system, I had to memorize the names of all the world’s major cities” (p. 113). While (2007) his son at the same age grew up in California had not much knowledge