Analyzing James's Visual Rhetoric

I find it interesting to read some of my classmates’ blogs and see how they relate concepts we learn in class to topics of their own interest. One particular blog post that stood out to me was written by my classmate James. Here is the link to the post:

http://jdavid88.blogspot.com/

The first thing that caught my eye about this post was the visual images. The words “About 50%” are written in large white letters across a black page, and this leads me to wonder what the rest of the advertisement says and how this will relate to James’s post. I then referred to the title, which I found clever because it was set up like a math equation, and is relevant to teaching. Reading the title allowed me to see that James was encouraging his audience to take action, which is the goal of a persuasive post. After reading a bit more, I find that James’s post is about how low income students are less inclined to graduate from high school, and how this is a problem. There is a picture of an overcrowded classroom shortly afterwards, which keeps my attention. It makes me wonder how classrooms can be overcrowded if more and more students are dropping out of school. The visuals are what initially drew me into James’s post and made me want to read the supplemental text that came with the images.

James is able to effectively engage the reader of his blog by presenting situations the reader can relate to. He allows the reader to take on the identity of a low income student who is not being challenged by presenting questions such as “why don’t high schoolers push themselves to graduation?”. This makes the reader think about the ethos of low income students, and what they aspire to do with their lives. James provides many examples of the frustrations faced by low income students that obstruct their higher education. He then transitions into why there is a need for dedicated, caring teachers who genuinely care about their students and can challenge them enough to stay in school. James uses logical paragraph structure to present a growing problem, and a possible solution to that problem. Each paragraph has one main idea, and transitions into the next.

Next, James presents the opposing viewpoint, about why people do not want to enter the teaching profession. He uses evidence from a scholarly journal to show that factors like low salary and under appreciation are enough to sway people away from wanting to become teachers. However, James uses several different kinds of evidence to refute this notion, and support why teaching is a valuable profession that those who truly want to reach out to others should embark upon. He ties in personal experiences, by quoting his coworker about the social benefits of the job, such as extended vacations and health benefits. But more importantly, James uses expert evidence to show the emotional gain from teaching, and how giving back to others outweighs any tangible benefits. He establishes common ground with the audience’s belief system. Most people want to be empathetic and reach out to those in need, and James structures his argument by appealing to these values, and relating them to the teaching profession. He goes on to end his post with a somewhat gloomy picture of an empty ceremony. This foreshadows what could happen if there is a shortage of dedicated teachers. Overall, James makes strong statements using visual images and supports these images using text. The text is easy to read and understand, and James presents the viewpoint of frustrated low income students and dedicated teachers to allow readers to delve into these identities and realize the importance of the teaching profession.