TOW 27: Chris Pronger has a Headache

The brain is quite hard to figure out. Neurologists study the brain day in and day out as they try to discover the secrets behind our, arguably, most important organ. In recent years, professional sports, most notably football, have made strides towards protecting the heads of players against concussions and more serious ailments related to the head. Hockey has taken part in this reform movement, and former Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger is a perfect reason as to why the NHL has to change. Sports Illustated's Brian Cazeneuve explains the hardships of Pronger to his audience of casual sports fans, telling about how one accident on the ice created millions of headaches, both literally and figuratively, for the defenseman. The most effective technique the other uses involves simple statement and lack of figurative language. In a piece geared towards both creating sympathy for Pronger and advocating for greater head protection in hockey, Cazeneuve keeps his piece easily readable and free of any complicated terminology in hopes of reaching more hearts with his writing. His simple statement is truly powerful when explaining the injury Pronger suffered, where the follow through on the slap-shot of Maple Leafs center Mikhail Grabovski punctured Pronger's right eye, and the new routine he must battle, shortening his attention span without migraines and headaches to less than one hour. The presentation of this horrible event achieves Cazeneuve's purpose, as the reader understands what changes must incur to prevent more headaches in professional hockey and spare future Chris Prongers.

TOW 26: Grading the MOOC University

As a student becoming acclimated in the college selection process, I can tell first hand that there is a consistent theme that runs throughout all college visits that makes many applicants feel safe in applying: a solid teacher-student relationship. With the rise of online courses and handling learning and studies digitally, the education system is starting to lose this connection and opportunity to correct one's mistakes. Author AJ Jacobs of the New York Times uses his personal experience with online courses to inform his audience about the his evaluation of these systems and the implications that these programs could have on how we learn as Americans. He establishes this point with his use of contrast in the criteria he uses for his evaluation. The program receives a bad report in terms of teacher-to-student interaction, but a solid grade in student-to-student interaction, revealing an interesting series of questions for readers to consider. Is this really valuable to students learning things? Could this place an emphasis on cooperation in the workplace in the near future? Does this situation embrace or push students towards cheating? All of these inquiries arise from the format and division Jacobs uses in his piece. Jacobs achieves his purpose and makes a strong point, stating that, while having courses available at your fingertips is valuable and useful when extra assistance is necessary, nothing beats the current college experience institutions are able to offer. This article has brought me new insight as to how I can most effectively collect the best information from my future in college.

We've Wasted Our Timeout (TOW 25)

          In terms of major conflict, the world has been dormant lately. Still warm after having been engaged in heated competition with the Soviet Union during the events of the Cold War, the United States was licking its wounds domestically, as were Russia, China, and most of Europe. Resolving underlying conflicts was unimportant, since nations were so fixated on their imminent danger. Author Thomas Friedman contemplates what the world could now see from this brewing conflict, and he writes an article trying to persuade readers that the world could surely be headed to another worldwide battle. The most evident rhetorical device he uses to help display this message is a metaphor connecting the situation of global politics to that of a timeout. Friedman links the two when he writes, “After all, in sports, timeouts are when you catch your breath, try to make sense of what is coming at you at high speed, figure out what has been working and what has not, design a play to win the game and then collaborate on its execution.” In a time that the world must be collaborating to find solutions to clear problems, nations are isolating themselves and simply regrouping. The comparison Friedman draws is perfect to describe the danger that is imminent in the near future of the globe. Friedman, in his article considering his opinion on what the world has become and what direction it is currently headed, effectively conveys his message and, as a result, achieves his purpose in the text.