In chunk three of
Freakonomics (chapter 5 and 6) , Stevin Levitt and Stephen Dubner attack two major issues: "what makes a perfect parent" and "would Roshanda by any other name sound as sweet"?. With their abstract and unbiased approach, the duo confront their first questions with a series of factors that effect a child's success through parental involvement and economical stance. Levitt concludes that parental involvement, like participation in the PTA; English as a primary language spoken at home, a maternal age over thirty(when the child was born), highly educated parents are all positive factors that correlate to high standardized test scores. In Chapther 6, the authors extend the discussion of parenting with an overview of more economic aspects of parental choices. Primarily focusing upon the parents labeling of their children, Dubner and Levitt refer to previous research and conclude that a low income name, like De Shawn, has a lower chance of obtaining a job than someone named Jake (even with the same credentials). Levitt states that the employers interpret the socioeconomic correlation between name and stance, believing that a "white" name is an indicator of a less problematic, and more diligent worker. Finally, the book ends with a brief reminder that their are limits to the ability to predict every outcome, through an economic analysis, with the success of Roland G. Fryer, an African American, whom was raised in an impoverished, unstable family environment but "made it out" and became a well-renowned Harvard economist.
Tone: Practical, straight forward
Rhetorical Terms:
- Logical appeal: when proving that their rational is most practical after disproving all other conjectures.
- Allusion: to historical context, like Julius Caesar "alia iacta est"/the die is cast
- Statistics: making the authors argument more persuasive due to its credibility(the chart on education vs. names)
Questions:
- If you had a child would you rather allow them to participate in a play- date with a friend whom had a gun in their household or a pool in their backyard? Even after Levitt and Dubner stated that their was a higher chance of death by drowning.
- Why do employers consider the value, or weight a name if he/she has excellent credentials?
