TOW #30 - Letter to a New APELC Student

Dear New APELC student,

I am not going to lie to you: this course is difficult. It is unlike any other english class you’ve taken. My best tip for success would be from your first day to recognize the power in what you’re learning. You’ll be able to write a pretty decent essay on a topic that you may know nothing about, and complete it in a rather tight time constraint. For the rest of your life, regardless of your profession, you will need to know how to write, so why not know how to write effectively? We are surrounded by rhetoric all of the time: at school, at work, and even in our homes. So why not be able to recognize how and through what means someone is trying to convince you of something? 

If you are like I am and dread courses in school that leave you with little to no practically applicable knowledge, than you will love this course. Almost everything you will learn from the very first week can be applied outside of school and to your own benefit. That would be my single best tip: to understand and appreciate the power within the skills that you are learning.

In addition, make sure you do the readings. There’s simply no way around it if you plan to succeed in this course. 

Remember that you are in good hands. Any discussion led by Mr. Yost will leave you with new perspectives and insights, as well an deeper understanding of whatever is being discussed. Ms. Pronko is almost always available and more than happy to help. Even given that this is an AP course and deadlines are strict, if Mr. Yost noticed that many of us were having a difficult week, he had no problem making concessions and moving back dates when necessary. With these two in the classroom, you’ll never be without help.

All I have left to say is good luck! Whether or not you take this course seriously is up to you, but I can assure you that missing out on what’s being taught in this course would be an awful mistake. Complete the readings, ask for help when you need it, and take any extra-credit opportunities you can. Simply do your best and when its 1:30AM and you still don’t know the difference between a synecdoche and a metonymy, remember that it’s just school.

Best Wishes, 

Hassan Rashid

TOW #29 - Documentary Rhetorical Analysis of Food, Inc: Pt. 2

One of the major claims made in the film was that eating organic food is better than eating nonorganic food grown with pesticides, added hormones, or genetic modifications. While this claim may be true when looking at the health aspect, as there are numerous studies that demonstrate that health benefits of eating organic food rather than nonorganic food, there are many more factors that need to be considered. The most important being cost and affordability. 

For some families or individuals, eating organic food all the time simply may not be a financially viable option. In a perfect world, of course it would great if organic apples didn't cost nearly twice as much as nonorganic apples, but that simply is not the world we live in. And when it comes to caring for a family, priotitizing is a must. This means that money if first spent on the essentials: housing, transportation, clothing, utilities, and health insurance. Of course food is essential to life, but if a family is already struggling financially, why wouldn't they save money wherever they can? Unfortunately yet necessarily, food costs are often the first necessity that are cut or even minimized. While a one dollar hamburger may be terrible for one's health, it's hard to argue that there's a better option for one's wallet, in the short-term at least. Nonetheless, if a family is struggling to pay for the essentials yet decides to regularly pay for organic food, they will most likely find themselves coming up short when it comes to bill payments.

This dilemma of cost versus health demonstrates the greatest fault in current organic food production as well as the most prevalent reason that explains why eating organic food rather than nonorganic food may not be the best decision for everyone.