Argumentive Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Argumentive Evaluation - Essay Example This paper will critically evaluate how the author built his argument, his tone, mood, purpose for his argument and describe his audience. Stoll (248) argues that giving glitzy gadgets to a child who cannot read or write in class is of no good. He claims that is more painful to direct little children to computer screens than making them read a few pages of a book. However, the author fails to understand that introducing a child to technology at an early age prepares him/her for the modern world that is driven by technology day by day. It is easier to introduce technology to children because they learn faster than adults; thus, teaching them how to use computers even if they can hardly read or write gives them a chance to learn other things such as games, which is more fun than forcing them to read a page in a book. The author Stoll (248) also argues that teaching machines drive students away from reading and writing and even prevent them from attaining scholarships. This is because c omputers take the ability of students to understand questions before writing answers; thus, they substitute the ability of students to reflect and think critically, which involves originality, concentration and intention. Nevertheless, the author is hasty in concluding that computers substitute the ability of students to think critically. Computers do not provide straight forward answers to all questions. This means that students who use computers are required to read and understand the content provided in the computer so that they can choose the best in order to make their own conclusions. Thus, a lot of understanding and critical thinking is required. Moreover, the students are likely to have more fun while searching for information in computers than spending painful hours in the library reading many books. Hence, technology makes learning fun and effortless. As stated by Stoll (248), technology encourages intellectual passivity. He argues that students are likely to focus more on having fun than learning. As a result, they develop inability to exercise patience, persistence, and attentiveness. However, the author fails to explain how students develop distaste for these inabilities by using technology to learn. On the contrary, students are able to exercise patient, attentiveness and persistence when using technology. This is because for them to understand what they are doing they need to be patient and pay attention to the instructions given by their teachers. Moreover, Stoll (248) argues that taking learning as fun cheapens the process of learning and the product. This means that by integrating fun into learning, teachers no longer focus on teaching but entertaining students, which results in poor quality of education. The students also focus more on having fun than learning and scholarships lose their meaning. However, this is not true. This is because if teachers would focus only on teaching, the students would likely to get bored with time. The truth is that everybody gets bored with routine and especially being in a classroom all day without any form of entertainment. If students get bored in class, they may not understand anything that the teacher says. For this reason, incorporating fun in the learning systems makes the learning process even more fun and the students develop more interest in learning; hence, the improving the