Rhetorical Analysis Essay The link below is what the essay is supposed to be over https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbihoXj0QwM

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

The link below is what the essay is supposed to be over

Rhetorical Analysis Essay The link below is what the essay is supposed to be over https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbihoXj0QwM
1 ENGLISH 1301: Essentials of College Rhetoric Texas Tech University Unit III: Understanding Perspective Project 3: Rhetorical Analysis Prompt Select a text from the options provided by your teacher and write a rhetorical analysis of this artifact. Using a variety of rhetorical terms and concepts, assess the effectiveness of the author’s claims and overarching argument, as well as their various c hoices and strategies throughout the text. Further Explanation This assignment does not ask for you to provide simply a litany of terms or a “grocery list” of interesting rhetorical aspects of your choice. That is, you do not want to just “talk about” som e rhetorical features of your artifact. Instead, this assignment invites you to put your rhetorical knowledge to work by using the concepts that pertain most meaningfully to your artifact to evaluate the effectiveness of the rhetor’s choices and strategies . In short, for this paper you will make an argument about the effectiveness of a text and how it works rhetorically or has specific effects for a specific audience (or audiences) in its specific context(s). Your argument may be that a text is effective, i neffective, partially effective, or effective for some audiences but not others, because of certain rhetorical aspects of the text or ways it responds to (or doesn’t respon d to) the rhetorical situation. Your audience for this rhetorical analysis is other rhetorical scholars. While your instructor will be reading and grading this project, he or she will be reading it as a “general rhetorician.” Consequently, you do not need to define rhetorical terms from class that you’re using, but you shouldn’t assume a reader has intimate knowledge of the text you’re analyzing. Rhetorical Terms You Might Deploy in This Essay During this unit, we will introduce and cover the following rhetorical concepts, which you might deploy in this essay: Kairos Identification Situate d Ethos Invented Ethos Rhetorical Distance Pathos Enthymeme Logos Arrangement Mythos Values Cultural Logics Ideology (and others) 2 Expectations & Guidelines This is an academic paper with some structural constraints. In order to earn a C, your project shoul d conform to these guidelines: • Be 4-5 pages long with 1 -inch margins, double -spaced, in a readable 11 –12 pt. font • Include an accurate and fair summary of the artifact you are analyzing as the opening paragraph(s) • Include accurate description of the aspects of the rhetorical situation or context as they pertain to your artifact (this means identifying its purpose, audience(s), exigence, and relevant information about the rhetor) • Include a clear thesis that makes an evaluative claim about the artifact’ s effectiveness (a particularly effective thesis also helps readers by providing a “roadmap” of the essay) • Use at least three rhetorical concepts in sophisticated discussions of the artifact’s effectiveness (that is, concepts are not just deployed as a pas sing aside, but are instead integral to your analysis) • Have an effective title that is inviting to readers and helps readers preview the purpose and subject of your analysis • End with a conclusion that synthesizes your claims • Use MLA to cite the artifact an d any secondary research you’ve conducted, including in -text citations and a works cited page • Use clear language, and be carefully edited In order to earn an A or B, your essay should conform to the following degrees of excellence: • Your paper includes all the minimum requirements listed above. It thoroughly analyzes your artifact, offering a rich description of it and its context, but more importantly, goes beyond the superficial to analytically and critically explain the rhetoricity of the artifact. • Your e ssay is organized in a fashion that is appropriate for your argument and logically and carefully arranged. • The claims made in the paper cohere in order to make a coherent argument (through the use of transitions and linking back to the thesis ). • Paragraphs cohere, are clearly ordered, and transition smoothly. Paragraphs contain appropriate analytic topic sentences, which are supported with clear, concrete evidence and sound reasoning. • The paper makes points clearly and succinctly, avoiding wordiness and emp ty sentences. The paper’s argument is clearly stated in a thesis statement. • The paper’s conclusion moves toward the “so what,” making the analysis not solely an academic exercise, but an analysis that matters for readers. • The paper follows stylistic and fo rmatting conventions for standard academic English. Sentences are interesting, varied in form, and fairly free of surface errors.

Instructions: Congratulations! You have just signed a contract to purchase your first home. Your purchase price is $300,000 and you plan to put 20% down. Calculate your monthly principal and interest

Instructions:

Congratulations! You have just signed a contract to purchase your first home. Your purchase price is $300,000 and you plan to put 20% down. Calculate your monthly principal and interest payments for the life of the loan for

• a 15-year mortgage at 2.875%

• a 30-year mortgage at 3.25%.

Compare and contrast these two options.

• What are the Pros and Cons of each?

Requirements:

• Add the specifics for the type of media, length, and format.

• Submit a Word document or Excel spreadsheet.

• At least 1 page in length.

Be sure to read the criteria below by which your work will be evaluated before you write and again after you write

Please respond to a minimum of two peers. Include in your response: Do you agree with the relationship as described by your peer?Can you think of other variables that might help explain the relationsh

Please respond to a minimum of two peers. Include in your response:

  • Do you agree with the relationship as described by your peer?

    • Can you think of other variables that might help explain the relationship between the two variables they chose?
    • If no relationship was found, can you offer any reasons why not?
  • Was the correlation they computed strong enough to use to predict one variable from the other?

Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.

Please respond to a minimum of two peers. Include in your response: Do you agree with the relationship as described by your peer?Can you think of other variables that might help explain the relationsh
Joanna For this discussion, I have chosen from the categories of economic characteristics employment status and housing characteristics housing tenure. The two variables specifically I have chosen are employed and owner-occupied housing, to see if there is a relationship between being employed and home ownership. The area the data is for is Grant Township, a subdivision of Lake County Illinois for 2013 through 2018. I hypothesize that there will be a positive relationship between the number of individuals employed and the number of owner-occupied housing. The scatterplot is as follows: The correlation coefficient is -.0369, a negative number close to zero. A correlation coefficient of zero, or close to it, means that for every increase, there isn’t a positive or negative increase (Glen, 2021). This concludes that there is no detectable relationship between the two variables I have chosen. My hypothesis that a relationship exists between the two has been refuted by the data. The reason I think I did not find a relationship is that many other factors may affect home ownership in addition to being employed. For example, when people get married, they normally would no longer have separate homes, but share one home. The number of people employed includes those aged 16 and up, who are legally eligible to work, therefore, if the increased employment numbers included school-aged teens or young adults, they are not likely to own their own homes, but rather still live with their parents or guardians.   The township may use the correlation between variables to determine how to best serve the community with businesses looking to build on available land or make improvements to high-traffic areas that bring in revenue for the city. According to Glen (2021), the Pearson correlation is not able to tell the difference between dependent and independent variables. . I don’t think there can be a definitive conclusion that one variable causes the other, only that there is a relationship as often there are multiple variables that can contribute to the outcome of another.
Please respond to a minimum of two peers. Include in your response: Do you agree with the relationship as described by your peer?Can you think of other variables that might help explain the relationsh
Mackenzie , For my two variables, I chose the number of people who have a bachelor’s degree between 2014 through 2019 and the number of people whose income was between $50,000 – $74,999 between 2014 through 2019.  For this situation, the correlation coefficient was positive at 0.105 between the two variables. Something I thought was interesting is that for some of the time, whenever one of the variables would go up or down, the other remaining variable would follow. This correlation is positive.  The benefits of this information would be to show the connection between those people who have obtained a bachelor’s degree earning higher incomes.  With my findings, I am finding it hard to either accept or reject my null hypothesis because I didn’t find my information to be super consistent. I do think that there is an overall weak relationship between the two variables.   

Write discussion thread You have been studying the Person and Deity of Jesus Christ. In chapters 11 and 12 of Everyday Theology, and in chapter 23 of Introducing Christian Doctrine, you read about Jes

Write discussion thread

You have been studying the Person and Deity of Jesus Christ. In chapters 11 and 12 of Everyday Theology, and in chapter 23 of Introducing Christian Doctrine, you read about Jesus and support to His deity (being God). Each of these chapters provide several important supporting arguments that are seen in and outside of Scripture that support the deity of Jesus and his work. In chapter 23 of Introducing Christian Doctrine, Erickson presents departures from the full deity of Christ through history. And on page 84 in Everyday Theology, Etzel and Small share some opposing views to the full deity of Christ. The full Deity of Christ though remains central to the Christian faith and entire narrative of the Scriptures. After reviewing this week’s readings and videos, respond to the following prompt. Why is the deity of Christ so important to the Christian faith?  What important implications can be drawn from the deity of Christ? In your answer, provide one example of a popular view from today’s culture that rejects or diminishes the full deity of Jesus Christ today.  In other words, what is a prevailing view of Christ found in today’s culture that diminishes the deity of Jesus? Provide one to two supporting responses that you feel are the strongest in supporting the deity of Christ and their important implications.

DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONSYou will participate in 2 Discussions throughout this course. For each discussion, you will submit a thread of at least 300 words.Threads should demonstrate course-related knowledge, with a focus on applying theology to real life. Any sources used must be correctly cited. Refer to the “Course Policies” in the course syllabus for the formatting expectations in this course. You should also include your final word count at the end of your thread. The flow, clarity, and substance of your replies will affect your grade. Simple agreement with a classmate’s thread is not sufficient for Discussion replies. You must evaluate your classmate’s thread, give constructive feedback, apply biblical principles, and meaningfully contribute to the class discussion on the topic. Your thread and all replies must be substantial and thoughtful in nature. These interactions are intended to mimic conversation. In conversation, there are statements, as well as questions. Remember you must not only engage with the provided prompts, but must also engage with your classmates as well. Substantive answers will reveal signs of active listening, application of content, and engagement.

You have been tasked with developing a business continuity plan for the university. Begin by making a list of all of the tasks that are required to complete the assignment. You must first begin with

You have been tasked with developing a business continuity plan for the university. Begin by making a list of all of the tasks that are required to complete the assignment.

You must first begin with a risk assessment and business impact analysis. Write a draft memo to the president of the university explaining the need for a business continuity plan. Be sure to include your recommendations on how you would implement a successful plan. (NOTE: Do not actually send this memo). The assignment must be a minimum of 1-full page in length with a  minimum of 2 outside sources. Please be sure to follow APA guideline

Name of topic: Leadership and Management Purpose of this Exercise: The purpose of this exercise is to make you analyze the concept of Leadership and management by taking example from the real-life sit

Name of topic: Leadership and ManagementPurpose of this Exercise:The purpose of this exercise is to make you analyze the concept of Leadership and managementby taking example from the real-life situations.Situation:Consider yourself as you have joined a workplace two years ago, that is based on leadership andmanagement roles. You had gone through the interview procedure. After the completion ofpreliminary interviews-based rounds you were selected and appointed for certain projectmanagement roles. During your two years of Service, you have met various employees rangingfrom managers, director, and other staff members. You have also met with the CEO of thecompany during some meeting sessions.Task:Part 1: Choose a company of your choice where you were appointed based on the above-mentioned criteria. Elaborate the leadership styles adopted by that company to conduct theinterview process. (200 words)Part 2: Discuss about what do you think about the formal leadership styles that are followed bythe company? Give your viewpoints. (200 words)Part 3: After the Covid 19 Pandemic, do you think that the leadership styles should betransformed? State the reason for your choice. Explain with the help of example. (200 words)

instructions:

It has 3 questions and should be wriiten above than 200 words and references are must for assignmen.

can u plz see attached file

can u plz see attached file

can u plz see attached file
Topic: Cloud computing R.2 Abstract of a Quantitative Research Article Overview: The term “abstract” is a homophone which can mean one of two scholarly writing activities. One, is the abstract that you will write to introduce your dissertation. The other meaning is a shortened writing assignment whereby you write a condensed summary of an academic journal.  For this week, we will focus on writing a scholarly abstract of a quantitative journal. More information about writing an abstract can be found via the web resource “Writing Scholarly Abstracts.” Directions: View the rubric and examples to make sure you understand the expectations of this assignment.  Create a 1-2 page (more is fine) single-spaced Analysis of Research abstract published quantitative scholarly article related to your mock dissertation topic/research question. Additionally, this assignment functions just like assignment R.1 only it reviews a quantitative article instead of a qualitative one. Brevity and being concise are important as this analysis is intended to be a brief summation of the research. Each abstract must therefore consist of the following in this order: Bibliographic Citation – use the correctly formatted APA style citation for the work as the title of your abstract, displaying the full citation in bold font. Author Qualifications – name and qualification of each author conducting the research Research Concern – one paragraph summary of the reason for the overall research topic Research Purpose Statement AND Research Questions or Hypotheses – specific focus of the research Precedent Literature – key literature used in proposing the needed research (not the full bibliography or reference list) Research Methodology – description of the population, sample, and data gathering techniques used in the research Instrumentation – description of the tools used to gather data (surveys, tests, interviews, etc.) Findings – summation of what the research discovered and the types of analysis that were used to describe the findings (tables, figures, and statistical measures) See examples to help guide your writing:   Quantitative Abstract Samples.pdf 

Workplaces that are diverse and inclusive tend to be more successful than those that aren’t. Unfortunately, not everybody sees it that way, and being diverse and inclusive in the workplace is often mo

Workplaces that are diverse and inclusive tend to be more successful than those that aren’t. Unfortunately, not everybody sees it that way, and being diverse and inclusive in the workplace is often more challenging in practice than it is in theory.

Diversity has many dimensions, including the following.

  • Race and ethnicity
  • Gender
  • Sexual orientation
  • Religion
  • Ability
  • Age

For this assignment, you will respond to one of the following workplace scenarios.

Scenario 1: Challenging Hiring Decision

You are on the hiring committee for a key role in your organization. After a thorough and lengthy process, the committee has narrowed the field to two final candidates: Candidate A and Candidate B. The interview process has concluded, and now it is time to make a decision. Will you hire Candidate A or Candidate B?

Both Candidate A and Candidate B meet all of the requirements for hiring in terms of education and experience. That said, Candidate A went to a more prestigious university than Candidate B, and Candidate A also has slightly more job experience than Candidate B. In the interview process, both candidates answered the questions very well, demonstrating high levels of knowledge. Candidate A was a bit smoother and more confident, but Candidate B occasionally hesitated before responding but also seemed more genuinely enthusiastic. Candidate A is a traditional applicant, and Candidate B is from a historically underrepresented minority.

Later today you will be meeting with the hiring committee to make the final decision. Your task is to write a short message to share with the rest of the hiring committee in which you recommend hiring either Candidate A or Candidate B. Be sure to explain which factors were most important to you.

Scenario 2: Diversity in Advertising

You work for a company that produces a variety of popular and tasty breakfast cereals, and you spend a good deal on television and web-based advertising. In your ads, you strive for diversity of all kinds; however, one recent advertisement generated controversy. In it, a happy family with two mothers, a young son, and a toddler daughter are shown eating breakfast and engaging in lighthearted antics. Bits of cereal are tossed about, milk is spilled, and so on.

In response, members of an organization representing what they refer to as “traditional family values” have written numerous messages of protest and have posted them on social media. They feel that this portrayal of a nontraditional family is “morally wrong” and they are threatening to boycott your company.

Your task is to write a response to this organization and to post it on your website as well as your official social media platform sites. Your goal is not to engage in a war of words with this organization, but simply to make it clear that your company values diversity, and that you will continue to portray that diversity in your advertising materials.

Whether you choose Scenario 1 or Scenario 2, the length requirement for this message should be about the same—no more than one page.

Assignment 1. Read this selection of poems: poems–online. What did you think of the posted poems? Any favorites? Least favorites? What type of literary devices did they use? Most importantly though,

Assignment 1.

Read this selection of poems: poems–online.

What did you think of the posted poems? Any favorites? Least favorites? What type of literary devices did they use? Most importantly though, how did they make you feel? Refer to the lesson and use excerpts from the text to support your points. (Mention all poems, not just your favorite/least favorite. The response should be 300 words and include excerpts from the poems as well as references to the lesson.

Assignment 2

  • Read these song lyrics.and listen to their songs: Uncle Sam Goddamn Links to an external site., Piano Man Links to an external site., and Sympathy for the DevilLinks to an external site.

What did you think of the song lyrics alone? How did they make you feel? For the lyrics with accompanying music posted, did the music benefit your experience? Mention all the songs, and use excerpts to support your points.

Assignment 1. Read this selection of poems: poems–online. What did you think of the posted poems? Any favorites? Least favorites? What type of literary devices did they use? Most importantly though,
Introduction To Poetry Billy Collins I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide or press an ear against its hive. I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out, or walk inside the poem’s room and feel the walls for a light switch. I want them to waterski across the surface of a poem waving at the author’s name on the shore. But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it. They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means. The Cloths of Heaven W. B. Yeats Had I the heaven’s embroidered cloths,Enwrought with golden and silver light,The blue and the dim and the dark cloths Of night and light and the half-light;I would spread the cloths under your feet:But I, being poor, have only my dreams;I have spread my dreams under your feet;Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. SiblingsBY PATRICIA SMITHHurricanes, 2005 Arlene learned to dance backwards in heels that were too high.Bret prayed for a shaggy mustache made of mud and hair.Cindy just couldn’t keep her windy legs together.Dennis never learned to swim.Emily whispered her gusts into a thousand skins.Franklin, farsighted and anxious, bumbled villages.Gert spat her matronly name against a city’s flat face.Harvey hurled a wailing child high.Irene, the baby girl, threw pounding tantrums.José liked the whip sound of slapping.Lee just craved the whip.Maria’s thunder skirts flew high when she danced.Nate was mannered and practical. He stormed precisely.Ophelia nibbled weirdly on the tips of depressions.Philippe slept too late, flailing on a wronged ocean.Rita was a vicious flirt. She woke Philippe with rumors.Stan was born business, a gobbler of steel.Tammy crooned country, getting the words all wrong.Vince died before anyone could remember his name.Wilma opened her maw wide, flashing rot. None of them talked about Katrina.She was their odd sister,the blood dazzler. My Papa’s Waltz By Theodore Roethke The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother’s countenance Could not unfrown itself. The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle; At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle. You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt. CIGARETTES By Colin Halloran French for ‘small cigar’,ignite and let smolder,like memories. Hemingway and Miro:Paris’ smoke-screened glamourin grainy black and white. On high risk missions,light to cut tensionincrease alertness. Post firefight, one slowlong drag will ease thestress, unleash the mind. On a cool night’s watch,beneath the cover of a cup,inhale to stay awake. But when all is done,and little said,and battles are behind us, we smoke to helpour hands forgetthe weight of rifles.
Assignment 1. Read this selection of poems: poems–online. What did you think of the posted poems? Any favorites? Least favorites? What type of literary devices did they use? Most importantly though,
“Uncle Sam Goddamn” Brother AliWelcome to the United Snakes.Land of the thief, home of the slave.The grand imperial guard where the dollar is sacred and power is God. Smoke and mirrors, stripes and starsstolen for the cross in the name of God.Bloodshed, genocide, rape and fraudwritten to the pages of the law, good lord.The Cold Continent, latch key childran away one day and started acting foul.King of where the wild things are. Daddy’s proudcos the Roman Empire done passed it down.Imported and tortured a work forceand never healed the wounds or shook the curse off.Now the grown up Goliath nation,holdin open auditions for the part of David.Nothing can save ya, you question the reign.You get rushed in and chained up,fist raised. But I must be insanecos I can’t figure a single goddamn way to change it.Welcome to the United Snakes.Land of the thief, home of the slave.The grand imperial guard where the dollar is sacred and power is God. “Sympathy For The Devil” Rolling Stones Please allow me to introduce myself.I’m a man of wealth and taste.I’ve been around for a long, long yearStole many a man’s soul to waste. And I was ’round when Jesus Christhad his moment of doubt and pain.Made damn sure that Pilatewashed his hands and sealed his fate. Pleased to meet youHope you guess my name.But what’s puzzling youis the nature of my game. I stuck around St. Petersburgwhen I saw it was a time for a change.Killed the czar and his ministers.Anastasia screamed in vain. I rode a tank,held a general’s rankwhen the blitzkrieg ragedand the bodies stank. Pleased to meet you.Hope you guess my name.Ah, what’s puzzling youis the nature of my game. I watched with gleewhile your kings and queensfought for ten decadesfor the gods they made. I shouted out,“Who killed the Kennedys?”When after all,it was you and me. Let me please introduce myself.I’m a man of wealth and taste.And I laid traps for troubadourswho get killed before they reached Bombay. Pleased to meet youHope you guessed my name.But what’s puzzling youis the nature of my game. Just as every cop is a criminaland all the sinners saints.As heads is tails,just call me Lucifer,’cause I’m in need of some restraint. So if you meet mehave some courtesy,have some sympathy, and some taste.Use all your well-learned politesseor I’ll lay your soul to waste. Pleased to meet youHope you guessed my name.But what’s puzzling youis the nature of my game. “Piano Man” Billy Joel It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday. The regular crowd shuffles in. There’s an old man sitting next to me making love to his tonic and gin. He says, “Son can you play me a memory? I’m not really sure how it goes. But it’s sad and it’s sweet and I knew it complete when I wore a younger man’s clothes.” Sing us a song you’re the piano man. Sing us a song tonight. Well we’re all in the mood for a melody and you’ve got us feeling all right. Now John at the bar is a friend of mine. He gets me my drinks for free. And he’s quick with a joke or to light up your smoke but there’s someplace that he’d rather be. He says, “Bill, I believe this is killing me.” As a smile ran away from his face. “Well, I’m sure that I could be a movie star if I could get out of this place.” Now Paul is a real estate novelist who never had time for a wife. And he’s talking with Davy, who’s still in the Navy and probably will be for life. And the waitress is practicing politics as the businessmen slowly get stoned. Yes they’re sharing a drink they call loneliness, but it’s better than drinking alone. “Bartender” Dave Matthews Band If I go before I’m old, oh brother of mine, please don’t forget me if I go. Bartender please, fill my glass for me with the wine you gave Jesus that set him free after three days in the ground. Oh and if I die before my time, oh sweet sister of mine, please don’t regret me if I go. Bartender please, fill my glass for me with the wine you gave Jesus that set him free after three days in the ground. I’m on bended knee. I pray, Bartender please. Oh, when I was young I didn’t think about it, but now I can’t get it out of my mind. I’m on bended knee. Please, father, please. Oh, if all this gold, should steal my soul away, oh dear mother of mine, please redirect me if this gold… Bartender, you see, this wine that’s drinking me came from the vine that strung Judas from the devil’s tree roots deep, deep in the ground. I’m on bended knee. I pray, Bartender please. I’m on bended knee. Please, mama, please. Oh, when I was young I didn’t think about it, but now I just want to run and hide. I’m on bended knee. Bartender, please.

Hi can you write one paragraph of approximately eight to ten sentences describing a teacher (current teacher excluded), even one whom you may not have particularly liked, who ultimately made a positiv

Hi can you write one paragraph of approximately eight to ten sentences describing a teacher (current teacher excluded), even one whom you may not have particularly liked, who ultimately made a positive impact on your life.  Strengthen this analysis of your teacher by quoting his or her exact phrases that inspired you while making sure that you correctly place quotation marks around this person’s words.  In your paragraph, also identify the main quality that the writer of “The Unforgettable Miss Bessie” admired in his former teacher.

Hi can you write one paragraph of approximately eight to ten sentences describing a teacher (current teacher excluded), even one whom you may not have particularly liked, who ultimately made a positiv
“Unforgettable Miss Bessie ” Carl T. Rowan (1925 -2000) Introduction She was only about five tall and probably never weighed more than 110 pounds, but Miss Bessie was a towering presence in the classroom. She was the only woman tough enough to make me read Beowulf and think for a few foolish days that I liked it. From 1938 to 1942, when I attended Bernard High School in McMinnville, Tennessee, she taught me English, history, civics – and a lot more than I realized. Miss Bessie ’s Teaching Style I shall never forget the day she sc olded me into reading Beowulf . “But Miss Bessie, ” I complained, “I ain ’t much interested in it. ” Her large brown eyes became daggerish slits. “Boy, ” she said, “how dare you say ‘ain ’t’ to me! I ’ve taught you better than that. ” “Miss Bessi e,” I pleaded, “I’m trying to make first -string end on the football team, and if I go around saying ‘it isn ’t’ and ‘they aren ’t,’ the guys are gonna laugh me off the squad. ” “Boy, ” she responded, “you ’ll play football because you h ave guts. But do you know what really takes guts? Refusing to lower your standards to those of the crowd. It takes guts to s ay you ’ve got to live and be somebody fifty years after all the football games are over. ” I started saying “it isn ’t” and “they aren ’t,” and I still made fi rst -string end – and class valedictorian – without losing my buddie s’ respect. Miss Bessie ’s Background During her remarkable 44 -year career, Mrs. Bessie Taylor Gwynn taught hundreds of economically deprived black youngsters – including my mother, b y brother, my sisters, and me. I remember her now with gratitude and affection – especially in this era when Americans are so wrought – up about a “rising tide of mediocrity ” in public education and the problems of finding competent, caring teachers. M iss Bessie was an example of an informed, dedicated teacher, a blessing to children, and an asset to the nation. Born in 1895, in poverty, she grew up in Athens, Alabama, where there was no public school for blacks. She at tended Trinity School, a private institution for blacks run by the American Missionary Association, and in 1911 graduated from the Normal School (a “super ” high school) at Fisk University in Nashville. Mrs. Gwynn, the ess ence of pride and privacy, never talked about her years in Athens; only in the months before her death did she reveal that she had never attended Fisk University itself because she could not afford a four -year course. At Normal School she learned a lot ab out Shakespeare, but most of all about the profound importance of education – especially, for a people trying to move up from slavery. “What you put in your head, boy, ” she once said, “can never be pulled out by the Ku Klux Klan, the Congress, or anybody. ” Miss Bessie ’s Vast Knowledge Miss Bessie ’s Bearing of dignity told anyone who met her that she was “educated ” in the best sense of the word. There wa s never a discipline problem in her classes. We didn ’t dare mess with a woman who knew about the Battle of Hastings, the Magna Carta, and the Bill of Rights – and who could also play the piano. This frail -looking woman could make sense of Sh akespeare, Milton, Voltaire, and bring to life Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. Believing that it was important to know who the officials were that spent taxpayers ’ money and made public policy, she made us memorize the names of everyone on the Supreme Court and in the President ’s Cabinet. It could be embarrassing to be unprepared when Miss Bessie said, “Get up and tell the class who Frances Perkins [ U.S. secretary of labor during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the first woman ap pointed to a cabinet post] is and what you think about her. ” Miss Bessie knew that my family, like so many other s during the Depression, couldn ’t afford to subscribe to a newspaper. She knew we didn ’t even own a radio. Still, she prodded me to “look out for your future and find some way to keep up with what ’s going on in the world. ” So I became a delivery boy for the Chattanooga Times . I rarely made a dollar a week, but I got to r ead a newspaper every day. Miss Bessie noticed things that had nothing to do with schoolwork, but were vital to a youngster ’s development. Once a few classmates made fun of my frayed, hand -me -down overcoat, calling me “Strings. ” As I was leaving school, Miss Bessie patted me on the back of that old overcoat and said, “Carl, never fret about what you don ’t have. Just make the most of what you do have – a brain. ” Among the things that I did not have was electricity in the little frame house that my father had built for $400 with his World War I bonus. But because of her inspiration, I spent many hours squinting beside a kerosene lamp rea ding Shakespeare and Thoreau , Samuel Pepys and William Culle n Bryant. Miss Bessie ’s Impact on Mr. Rowan No one in my family had ever graduated from high school , so there was no tradition of commitment to learning for me to lean on. Like millions of youngsters in today ’s ghettos and barrios, I needed the push an d stimulation of a teacher who truly cared. Miss Bessie gave plenty of both, as she immersed me in a wonderful world of similes, metaphors and even onomatopoeia. She led me to believe that I could write sonnets as well as Shakespeare, or iambic -pentamete r verse to put Alexander Pope to shame. In those days the McMinnville school system was rigidly “Jim Crow, and poor black children had to struggle to put anything in their heads. Our high school was only slightly larger than the once -typic al little red schoolhouse, and its library was outrageously inadequate – so small, I like to say, that if two students were in it and one wanted to turn a page, the other one had to step outside. Negroes, as we were called then, w ere not allowed in the town library, except to mop floors or dust tables. But through one of those secret Old South arrangements between whites of conscience and blacks of stature, M iss Bessie kept getting books smuggled out of the white library. That i s how she introduced me to the Bront ës, Byron, Coleridge, Keats, and Tennyson. “if you don ’t read, you can’ t write, and if you can ’t write, you might as well stop dreaming, ” Miss Bessie once told me. So I read whatever Miss Bessie told me to, a nd tried to remember the things she insisted that I store away . Forty -five years later, I can still recite her “truths to live by, ” such as Henry Wad sworth Longfellow ’s lines from “The Ladder of St. Augustine ”: The heights by great men reached and kept Were not attained by sudden flight. But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward in the night. Years later, her inspiration, prodding, anger, cajoling, and almost osmotic infusion of learning finally led to that lovely day when M iss Bessie dropped a note saying, “I’m so proud to read your column in the Nashville Tennessean .” Miss Bessie ’s Later Years Miss Bessie was a spry 80 when I went back to McMinnville and visited her in a senior citizens ’ apartment building. Pointing out proudly that her build ing was racially integrated, she reached for two glasses and a pint of bourbon. I was momentarily shocked, because it would have been scandalous in the 1930s and ‘40s for word to get out that a teacher drank, and nobody had ever raised a rumor that Miss Bessie did. I felt a new sense of equality as she lifted her glass to mine. Then she revealed a softness and compassion that I had never known as a st udent. “I’ve never forgotten that examination day, ” she said, “when Buster Martin held up seven fingers, obviously asking you for help with question number seven, ‘Name a common carrier. ’ I can still picture you looking at your exam paper and humming a few bars of ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo. ’ I was so tickled, I couldn ’t punish either of you. ” Miss Bessie was telling me, with bourbon -laced grace, that I never fooled her for one moment. Miss Bessie ’s Legacy When Miss Bessie died in 1980, at the age of 85, hundreds of her former students mourned. They knew the measure of a great teacher: love an d motivation. Her wisdom and influence had rippled out across generations . Some of her students who might normally have been doomed to poverty went on to become doctors, dentists, and college professors. Many, guided by Miss Bessie ’s example, became pub lic-school teachers. “The memory of Miss Bessie and how she conducted her classroom did more for me than anything I learned in college, ” recalls Gladys Wood of Knoxville, Tennessee, a highly respected English teacher wh o spent 43 years in the state ’s school system. “So many times, when I faced a difficult classroom problem, I asked myself, Ho w would Miss Bessie deal with this? And I ’d remember that she would handle it with laughter and love. ” No child can get all the necessary support at home, and millions of poor children get no support at all. This is what makes Miss Bessie so vital to the minds, hearts, and souls of this country ’s children.