Riley's Discourse Anaylisis Paper

Wysocki and Writing Analytically have been great sources in helping me understand what to write about, and how to better understand what I was reading. Writing Analytically was probably the most helpful, especially in this paper. I was able to pull out the underlining argument in each of these articles so that I could figure out what conversation was taking place. By doing this I have narrowed down my question significantly and have a better idea of what is going on as far as education and poverty goes. As for Wysocki I was able to recognize credible sources simply by looking at the page. I was also able to use the page design to help me figure out the emphasis of the paper which I found really cool. It is nice to be able to glace over the article first and get the gist of what kind of article it is, and the major points just by looking at it.

"The Value of Pre-K: Mothers Discuss Preschool Benefits." NIEER. Web. 27 Feb 2011.

Mishel, larwence. "Education is Not the Cure for High Unemployment or for Income Inequality." Economic Policy Institute, 12 Jan. 2011. Web. 22 Feb 2011.

Bernstein, Jared. "Is Education the Cure for Poverty?" American Prospect, 22 Aug. 2007. Web. 27 Feb 2011.

Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, and Greg J. Duncan. "The Effects of Poverty on Children." Future of Children. 7.2 (1997): 55-71. Print.

Health and Human Services, “Improving Head Start." HHS.gov. n.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2011

It seems the major discussion among those interested in Head Start is the impact education has on poverty. There are several discussions and even arguments on the web over whether or not education will help or even decrease poverty in America. While some believe education does not have as much of an impact as we think, others believe it is essential. In my readings I have found that the outlooks between these two major arguments are different. For example those who are skeptical of early education seem to be looking at it in economical terms. How it will influence the job force. Those who are supportive of early education are more interested on battling the effects of poverty. They focus more on creating equality between children in poverty and children from high income families. Despite the difference in focus they influence the same topic. In his Economic Policy Institute Briefing Paper Laurence Mishel argues that poverty is not the result of a lack of college graduates. He believes it is a lack in employment opportunities. By wasting time and money on education we are failing to recognize and address the real problem, lack of jobs. To prove this he brings up the “beverage curve.” This is a system that shows the amount of unemployed workers per job opening. The particular graph in his paper goes back to December of 2000. It shows that 4.6 of workers are structurally unemployed. This means that they are unemployed due to lack of jobs not lack of skill. Jared Burstein in a sense agrees with Mishel. He claims that education is only part of the solution. He believes that although collage and early education are beneficial, the major problem we are seeing today is within the work force. We tend to think that since jobs have shifted more toward technology based positions the jobs available will require higher education. Burstein disagrees with this. He states that “according to the occupational projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the low-wage sector of our economy will be the source of much job growth over the next decade.” Meaning that low wage jobs are also increasing, lessening the impact high tech jobs have on the need for higher education. On the other side of the argument are those who think that early education is essential. In their essay Jean Brooks Dunn and Greg G Duncan bring up the fact that Early Education not only improves educational standing but also health, and the ability for children to create relationships. They find that by comparing the statistics of poor and non-poor children they could see that poor children do not fare as well, not only educationally but in other fields as well.
In a video done by the National Institute for Early Education Research mothers talk about the benefits of preschool on their children’s learning abilities. One mother talks about the improvement in her child’s reading abilities and confidence. Another mother talks about how her child had speech impairment and how preschool helped him develop better communication skills. Most of the articles on Early education, especially on Head Start tend to let the statistics speak for them. One of the most common cited sources among people who argue this point of view is the study done by Health and Human services. This study shows that children between the ages of 3 and 4 showed a significant benefit from the program. Although most of those supporting head start seem to have their sights set on simpler goals they are in essence getting at the same thing as those who argue against it. Whether or not education has an impact on poverty. This is a major concern in today’s society, and these arguments have a lot of influence on the actions our government is taking to get out of our current recession. There is an obvious disagreement as to whether or not poverty is due to lack of jobs or lack of education. Head Start is a great place to start in addressing this issue. Not only do they work to prevent poverty, but they also work to lessen the effects it has on children and their families. This means that they are also working to help the parents of the children get a footing in today’s society. I strongly believe that their mission plays a huge role in the relationship between education and its influence on poverty.