Revised Essay 2

Creativity Essay

Everyone is creative to an extent. Some nurture this talent by reading long books, others take the gift of creativity and turn it into a career becoming an artist. However, even though the word “creativity” tends to be applied to artistic activities this way of thinking is an essential part of everyday life. It is creativity that has led to great innovations in technology, business, politics and the way we as human beings interact with one another. Without creativity we would be spending all our time as a society never progressing or moving forward, our leaders would possess no greater a mind than your average everyday people, and we would be making the same mistakes over and over again because no one would be able to come up with a creative yet efficient solution. Nonetheless all of this could be avoided if the school board puts a greater emphasis on creativity by creating a class dedicated to it.

Henri Matisse, one of the best known artists of the twentieth century once said “creativity takes courage”. One may be asking why does this act of human nature, to be creative, takes courage. The reason is because creatively thinking requires a person to step out of their comfort zone to explore roads not yet taken. What most do not realize is that these are the qualities that a great leader must possess to push our nation forward. What our country needs is not someone who looks for solutions by choosing a path already explored plenty of times, we need someone who Is able to take a risk that most cannot, a risk that can be the difference between being a good country, or a great country. Challenging times require leaders who can lead others through the challenges. Now more than ever we need great leadership in our government, schools, businesses, hospitals and organizations. Good leadership won’t suffice. We need great leadership. The difference between good and great leadership is the difference between repeating a mistake and learning from it instead.                                                            Have you ever asked yourself what a peaceful solution rather than one that takes away the lives of innocent men, women, and children would look like? Probably not because the truth is that finding a solution that doesn’t involve a method used since the beginning of time (violence) is a very difficult thing to do, and this sort of problem solving requires one to think outside of the box, to think creatively. Maybe one day a solution for peace between all countries will arise but that most certainly will not happen if new methods are not utilized or created. Pursuing the construction of a class focused on this ability to solve problems creatively will benefit everyone tremendously in the future. By exercising and improving our capacity for creativity, we will learn to create better solutions to all types of problems not just political, but also economic and social, such as the problems we face in our everyday lives.

            Human beings have always progressed. This progression is what formed nations and civilizations for years and years. It is what has brought us to the point of understanding one another and realizing that we are all alike except for the minor differences that shape our personalities, and has brought us to accepting these differences without killing each other. Progression is the ability to notice when something is being done wrong and to turn this wrongdoing into something good and different, into something that makes us better people and our environments safer and more efficient. A creativity class would teach kids at an early age how to progress and make decisions that encourage innovation and progress that would best suit any environment that they were thrown in to.

            There is no negative effect to furthering a child’s education by giving them the ability to become better leaders, problem solvers, or innovators, there are only benefits. If one were to say that they believed that our children are the pathway to better brighter future and yet not advocate for a class that promotes this idea, then that person would be a fool. Creating a better learning environment for our children and teenagers, starts with implementing classes that utilize all parts of the brain, and creates a well-rounded student and human being. Hopefully LAUSD will consider this plea and see it as a new way to contribute to our present and to our future.

Revised Essay 1

Abigail Adams Essay (Q2)

In a letter written by Abigail Adams to her son John Quincy Adams who is travelling abroad with his father John Adams , then a United States diplomat and later America’s second president,  Abigail advises her son to take advantage of this opportunity to use his own knowledge and skills to gain wisdom and experience growth in developing his character and beliefs, persuading him to take his first steps to becoming a leader. There are many rhetorical strategies used by Abigail Adams to advise her son, among them are her use of an encouraging maternal tone, allusions, and pathos.

Throughout her letter, Adams uses her encouraging maternal tone to advise her son to make his parents and his country proud. She consistently uses the words “my son”, from the beginning starting off her letter with “my dear son”, to the end. She does this to remind him that although she speaks formally, with persistence and detail, she means well and is coming from the viewpoint of a loving mother who only wants her son to recognize his full potential. In another example of this she writes, “It will be expected of you my son, that, as you are favored with superior advantages under the instructive eye of a tender parent, you improvement should bear some proportion to your advantages”. She reminds him of the high expectations put on him due to his advantages in life, but also reminds him of the support and love he has from his parents as to not make him feel too pressured or abandoned on his journey.

Abigail Adams alludes to history and the past in order to invoke a sense of purpose in completing his journey, and in gaining the knowledge and wisdom he needs to grow. When she writes, “war, tyranny, and desolation are the scourges of the Almighty and ought no doubt to be deprecated, yet it is your lot, my son, to be an eyewitness of these calamities in your own native land, and at the same time, to owe your existence among a people who have made glorious defense of their invaded liberties, and, who, aided by a generous and powerful ally, with the blessing of heaven , will transmit this inheritance to ages yet unborn”. She alludes to America’s beginnings in becoming an independent country, because she wants to show her son that out of hardship and will, can come something even sweeter and greater than what one could ever imagine. Through her allusion she advises him to be aware of what is happening in the world, and to be grateful that he has the resources to learn from what life has to offer.

The strongest most influential rhetorical strategy Abigail Adams uses to advise her son, is her use of pathos. Her emotional appeal to her son is what binds all of the rhetorical devices together to create an encouraging maternal tone, as well as allow her to allude to the past without making the letter sound like a lecture. For example at the very end Adams wrote “ The strict and inviolable regard you have ever paid to truth, gives me pleasing hopes that you will not swerve from her dictates, but add justice, fortitude, and every manly virtue which can adorn a good citizen, do honor your country, and render your parents supremely happy, particularly your ever affectionate mother”. In this very strong quote of her letter she uses phrases such as honor your country, render your parents supremely happy, gives me pleasing hopes, and your ever affectionate mother, to let her son know that all that he is gaining from his journey, he is also giving back. That by achieving all that he can through his trip he is honoring and making everyone very proud. Abigail Adams uses pathos to motivate her son, knowing that this type of reward, which of pride and respect exists at the end of his travels, is enough to deeply touch that part that lies not just within him, but within everyone, that wishes to please, and to have worth.

There are many rhetorical strategies used by Abigail Adams to advise her son, among them are her use of an encouraging maternal tone, allusions, and pathos. Her letter to John Quincy Adams, her son shows the tender love and care a mother can have toward her son. She writes formally yet personally to get her point across, while still making it clear that her son has a support system created by his loving family to help guide him through any adversities that may be thrown his way. Through her rhetoric Abigail Adams is able to capture the perfect balance a mother must have in guiding her son towards the direction best suited for him, while maintaining logical and emotional appeal.