Education of the 21st century

Every family is different. Especially when it comes to views on education. Some parents would rather home school while others don’t want their children to get anything less than a private school education. My parents were perfectly fine with public schools, as are a decent amount of the population. The Harvard Family Research Project was started to help children succeed and thrive in their education. I will be using the TRACE argument to better help me analyze this online argument. The first letter in the TRACE argument is T. This stands for text and asks the questions, “What issue does this text explore? What claims does it make? What genre or form does the text take? What multimedia elements does it include?” The Harvard Family Research Project is a written, or typed, website that covers a lot of areas when it comes to families. For starters, the creators of this website have done extensive research in areas such as Complimentary Learning, Family Involvement, Out-Of-School Time, Early Childhood Education, and Evolution. The creators of this website are also trying to make learning fun for children, and they also stress the importance of involved parents. There is also a link for web chat so people can interact with each other. On the website, the creators have published numerous articles about the research and their findings. Also, on the homepage there are links for you to click on where you can follow the Harvard Family Research Project on select social media sites. The second letter in TRACE is R. The R stands for reader and asks the questions, “Who is the target viewer or audience? What opportunities for viewer feedback does this text provide?” The audience for this project is huge. It could be anywhere from children in middle school to middle-aged adults. It is designed to help children and parents by making learning fun for both of them and to also stress the importance of parental involvement in education. With the audience being this large, there are plenty of opportunities for viewer feedback. There is a “Contact Us” link at the bottom of all pages that allows for any reader to contact the Harvard Family Research Project. When contacting them, you can stress any questions or concerns. You can also voice your opinion or tell them that you agree with their views and what they are doing. The next letter is A. Like the text and reader, the author is a very important part in analyzing argument. The author tab in the TRACE argument asks the questions, “Who is the author or producer of this text? What information about the author does the text include?” Heather B. Weiss is the founder and director of the Harvard Family Research Project. The two senior research analysts are Carolina Buitrago and Margaret Caspe. Jamarcus Purley is a research assistant and Lorette McWilliams is a research analyst. All of these people gather the information that is posted in the articles and on the website. Helen Lewis is the communications director who oversees social media and the website. From what we know about these authors, we can conclude that the text has been well researched and that all of the corners have been covered. We then come to the C in TRACE. This stands for constraints and answers the questions, “What does this information tell you about the author’s perspective or bias? How does the text’s genre or form affect the argument being made? How do the multimedia elements included affect the argument being made?” I don’t believe the authors are biased. The authors kept the information and research very professional and did not give off any personal beliefs or views. In my opinion, this website does a very good job at putting that information out for everyone to see. This genre of argument is difficult because anyone can read it. With that being said, websites usually get more feedback than other genres of argument strictly because anyone who types “family” into google can find this website. As for multimedia elements, there really aren’t any on this website. There are a few pictures but no videos or graphics. It’s mostly just written texts. In my opinion, it may be beneficial for the creators to attach some videos of their research being put to work. It may help readers to better understand their methods if they see it in action. I see the lack of multimedia elements being a constraint for this website. Finally, we come to the E in TRACE. Exigence asks the question, “What issue or event motivated the author to create this text?” The authors wanted to shape the way children and youth of the 21st century learn. All they want is to see children succeed and thrive. Their research is based around key issues that have risen and they also want to stress the importance of family involvement as well as community involvement. They saw where there was room for improvement in the education of children and youth and decided it was time for a change. That was their motivation for starting the Harvard Family Research Project. As you can see, the Harvard Family Research Project has their work cut out for them. There is always going to be a way to improve education. The TRACE argument analysis helped me to break down exactly what this project is trying to accomplish and what might be holding them back. This analysis has been successful at breaking down this argument to see the core. Also, it has helped distinguish whether or not the author is biased as well as the information presented. All in all, it has broken down this argument and made it easier to understand.