Close Reading # 2

You can find this article at:                                                                                           http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2013/09/paying_attention_is_a_skill_schools_need_to_teach_it.html

In the article "Attention Must Be Paid," the Author Barry Schwartz attacks the media and advancing technology for shortening the attention spans of the new generation, as well as education systems for not "nurturing" our attention spans and requiring us to lengthen them. He also points out some steps in the right direction he thinks more educators should take. Three aspects of rhetoric Schwartz uses most powerfully to do so are figurative language, diction, and details.

Schwartz does a nice job of sprinkling his article with a fair amount of figurative language without smothering it. His main use of figurative language is his comparison of the attention span to a muscle. He talks about how teachers failing to require students to expand their attention spans is like a personal trainer telling someone to stop lifting weights if they complain about being weak (Schwartz). By comparing the attention span to a muscle and teachers to an ineffective trainer, Schwartz highlights the lack of productivity and accomplishment that comes from catering to the needs of students who lack motivation to stay focused for long periods of time. Another example of figurative language is seen when Schwartz says "It is easy to find villains in this war on attention. The news media, both print and broadcast, bear more than a little responsibility"(Schwartz). Comparing the situation to something as violent as war makes his argument seem more personal and makes his attack on the media's role on attention spans more powerful. The use of figurative language in this article takes it to the next level in pointing out the negative affect of the media and teaching techniques on the attention spans of the new generation.

Diction also plays a big part in shaping Schwartz's essay and proving his point. He uses specific diction strategically, only using it for things he wants to highlight. When he is describing the media and the education systems that are causing the problems, the diction for the most part is not specific. He uses words like "teachers and principals and parents," "media," etc. When referring to the problem, he only uses specific diction once, and that is when he is talking about TED talks. This is so that he at least has one specific example to support his argument, but he can still keep it general to encompass a wide category. He uses lots of specific diction when he is talking about a solution to the attention span problem. He mentions the success of "KIPP schools" and the "SLANT system" and the return of longer articles such as David Grossman's "The Yellow River," and even longer form TV shows such as "Breaking Bad" (although he argues whether this helps or hurts, it's a step in the right direction). The use of specific diction in these cases highlights the steps Schwartz thinks should be taken in the struggle of shortening attention spans.

A similar trend can be seen with details. The work seems to go further into detail when describing possible steps educators can take towards "nurturing" the attention spans of students. For example, rather than just mentioning KIPP schools, Schwartz goes further and explains their SLANT technique that makes their students successful and helps them have longer attention spans. Again, the more in depth detail seen when describing an organization that Schwartz thinks is addressing the issue the right way shows what he thinks should be done to keep up the attention spans of students in an age where technology allows information to be spread in "brief," "oversimplified" ways.