Chapter 12: The Basics of Argument
Lab Activity 58: Argument in a Periodical Article
 
Objective
To determine the claim and support in a periodical article.

arrow.gifStep 2: Refer to the editorial column "Transmitting Civilization" in the Lab Manual to answer the following questions.

12     The ancient Greeks considered sport serious play, a civic—meaning moral—undertaking. It is because man's noblest activity is active engagement, as talented performer or informed spectator, with worthy things such as beauty. Including the beauty of strenuous exertion in conformity to exacting rules and high standards. By using our bodies beautifully, we come to appreciate beauty and discipline—the restraint—that is its prerequisite and civilization's premise.

13     Gifted teachers such as Bojorquez and Valleskey master the patience required for the unending business of transmitting civilization down the generations, transforming biological facts—children—into social artifacts called citizens. It is wearying work, and it is a wonder teachers can summon the stamina for it. Ralph Waldo Emerson wondered: "It must be admitted that civilization is onerous and expensive; hideous expense to keep it up;—let it go, and be Indians again, but why Indians?—that is costly, too; the mud turtle and trout life is easier and cheaper, and oyster, cheaper still."

14     CDI is inexpensive. Operating on a financial shoestring—a frayed shoestring—CDI is a gift to a few of this city's public schools. It makes one marvel at what educational improvements could be achieved with small sums in the service of something much scarcer than money—imagination.

—Will, The Daily Press, 25 Mar. 2004: p. A11


      1. "For a few hours a week, Valleskey's students restrain their anarchic individualism to perform as a dance troupe."

Anarchic means  

 
 
 
 
      2. "Think of training young minnows in synchronized swimming."

Synchronized means  

 
 
 
 
      3. "Bojorquez, whose experience has immunized her against educational fads, admiringly watches her pupils perform under Valleskey's exacting tutelage and exclaims, ‘They are learning about reading right now.’"

Immunized, as used here, means  

 
 
 
 
      4. "Bojorquez and Valleskey, like all teachers, function under the tyranny of the 9/91 formula: between ages 6 and 19, a child spends 9 percent of his life in school, 91 percent elsewhere."

In this context, tyranny means  

 
 
 
 
      5. "In contemporary America, ‘elsewhere’ means immersed in the undertow of popular culture's increasingly coarse distractions. In Los Angeles, where most public school pupils are Latino (Kennedy School is almost entirely Latino), ‘elsewhere’ often means homes where English is barely spoken."

Contemporary means  

 
 
 
 
      6. "That begins when Valleskey, a one-woman swarm, bounces into the room and immediately, without a word of command, reduces the turbulent students to silent, rapt attention."

Turbulent means  

 
 
 
 
      7. "They concentrate to emulate Valleskey's complex syncopation of claps, finger snaps, and thigh-slaps by which she sets the tone of the coming hour: This will be fun because things will be done precisely right."

Emulate means  

 
 
 
 
      8. "Her credo is: Every child can do it."

Credo means  

 
 
 
 
      9. "Valleskey's California Dance Institute is, essentially, Valleskey and a few teaching assistants and musicians, sustained by a few exceptionally discerning philanthropists."

Philanthropist means one who  

 
 
 
 
      10. "By using our bodies beautifully, we come to appreciate beauty and discipline—the restraint—that is its prerequisite and civilization's premise."

Premise means  

 
 
 
 
      11. The topic of the selection is  

 
 
 
 
      12. What is the central idea of the selection? 

 
 
 
 
           "1The children have high-energy encounters with high-quality popular culture—Ellington, Gershwin, Copland—that is a far cry from hip-hop. 2Bojorquez, whose experience has immunized her against educational fads, admiringly watching her pupils perform under Valleskey's exacting tutelage and exclaims, 'They are learning about reading right now.'
     3They are, she marvels, learning about—experiencing, actually—'sequencing, patterns, inferences.' 4She explains: "You don't only listen to language, you do it.' (paragraphs 3 and 4, "Transmitting Civilization")

13. Sentence 2 is a ___________. 

 
 
      14. Sentence 3 is a ____________. 

 
 
           1Virtues, says Valleskey, are habits, and dance, as taught by CDI, is habituation in many of the skills of learning, as well as the components of good character. 2Dance, properly taught, is like sport, properly understood. (paragraph 11)

15. Sentence 1 is a ________. 

 
 
           "1The ancient Greeks considered sport serious play, a civic—meaning moral—undertaking. 2It is because man's noblest activity is active engagement, as talented performer or informed spectator, with worthy things such as beauty. 3Including the beauty of strenuous exertion in conformity to exacting rules and high standards. 4By using our bodies beautifully, we come to appreciate beauty and discipline—the restraint—that is its prerequisite and civilization's premise." (paragraph 12)

16. Sentence 1 is a __________. 

 
 
      17. Sentence 2 is a ______. 

 
 
      18. Sentence 3 is a ______. 

 
 
      19. Sentence 4 is a ______. 

 
 
      20. What is the overall tone of the editorial column? 

 
 
 
 





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