110.The following appeared in a memo from the Principal of Sherwood Junior High School.
"It appears that the lighting in Sherwood High's classrooms, which have large windows but minimal overhead light sources, is impairing student academic performance and teacher morale. Records show that during December and January, the two months with the fewest hours of daylight, attendance rates fall, average daily class participation drops, and grades decline. Teacher resignations are also highest during these months. According to a study of Tundra Vocational School, which experiences entire seasons with little daylight, students' grade point averages increased when Day Glow light bulbs, which mimic sunlight, were installed in classrooms. This study suggests that Sherwood can improve students' academic performance and teachers' morale by using Day Glow light bulbs in winter."
The conclusion is :to improve students' academic performance and teachers' morale caused by the lighting, Day Glow light bulbs should be used in winter. The logic chain of the author is following: 1.during December and January,attendance rates fall,average daily class participation drops,and grades decline.Teacher resignatons are also highest during these months. 2.because these are the months with the fewest hours of daylight,it must be the light sources that make all the results--impairing students academic perfomance and teacher morale. 3.what's more, from a study of Tundra Vocational School,it shows that little daylight problems can be solved by Day Glow light bulbs because the bulbs mimic sunlight. 4.the same action should be put to this High School to improve students' academic performance and teachers' morale.
to analysis this argument, we can simply give alternative explanations. 1.all the problems showed above in winter days may not be the possible result of minimal light resources.The weather,temperature can also affect people's behavior and morality.If the winter is cold,may be simply keep the classroom warm will be better for students' performance.Teachers' resignation also does not necessarily mean that they are suffering morale problems, may be it is related to the salaries. 2.the study in Tundra Vocational School cannot be taken as a precise proof.Maybe it is because the decline difficulty in exams that makes students get higher scores,so the grade point averages cannot represent the performance of students----there is no other evidence that students really do better.This study also does not show how teachers get improve in their morale. 3.Even if we assume that increasing light resources can improve students' and teachers' condition,we still do not get further information about whether the bulbs are useful in mimic the sun light. 4.Even though we admit that the bulbs can help improve all the conditions in Tundra Vocational School,we still cannot make the analogy that the High School can also benefit from this kind of bulbs.
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