Argument110[快刀杀鸡]7/28 作业 by ajohnares

ajohnaresUID: 2661147

ARGUMENT110 - 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."



In this argument, the Principal of Sherwood Junior High School recommends using Day Glow light bulbs in winter, which is assumed to enhance students' academic performance and teachers' morale. To bolster this recommendation, the arguer cites the following facts:(1)Students' attendance rates, average daily class participation and grades decline and teacher resignations are highest during December and January, the two months with the fewest hours of daylight; (2) Tundra Vocational School witnessed an increase of student's grade point when they used Day Glow light bulbs. Close scrutiny of the each of these facts, however, reveals that they lend little support to the recommendation.

A threshold problem with the argument involves that the arguer fails to substantiate the causal relationship between the minimal lighting and the declination of students' performance and teacher morale during the particular two months. It is entirely possible that other factors, especially significant in December and January, resulted in these consequences. For example, the weather during that time may be harsh and exclude the students from the school, leading to the apparent fallen attendance. And the traffic conditions might be congested and discourage both students and teachers from attending school. The terrible performance of students at school may be attributable to the cold temperature in winter, but not the lighting equipments. Moreover, common sense informs us that the declination of grades is most likely to be related with the difficulty of the courses and the conduct of teaching methods. Without ruling out these alternative explanations, the arguer could not convince me that the dimly-lit lighting is the cause of the poor performance of students and teachers.

Second, the arguer fails to take into account the other possible reasons for which the Tundra Vocational School experiences an increase of students' grade point. Perhaps the administration of this school turns more effective and efficient, creating a learning environment more suitable for students to acquire knowledge. Or at that very moment the teachers have gone through a series of training lessons, which to a large extent enhance the quality of teaching. Since the arguer provides no evidence to exclude these possibilities, I remain unconvinced about the recommendation that Sherwood should use Day Glow light bulbs in winter.

Even though I assume that the foregoing presumptions are actually the case, the arguer still commits a fallacy of false analogy. We are not informed whether the relevant circumstances, including the former illumination of lighting and the academic level of the students in the two schools, are essentially the same. It is equally possible that in Sherwood the sunlight is even dimmer than that in Tundra, and thus Day Glow light bulbs will not suffice to work in Sherwood. And it is dubious whether the students' performance will be improved apparently if the students in Sherwood inherently behave terribly.

Last but not the least, the arguer fails to consider other effective access to addressing the problem. Perhaps light bulbs of other brands, other than Day Glow, will better satiate the needs of the school and have a lower price. If so, the recommendation made by the principal will be further undermined.

In sum, the recommendation relies on a series of doubtful assumptions that render it unconvincing as it stands. To support the recommendation, the arguer needs to provide clear evidence that using Day Glow light bulbs does contribute to the performance of students' academic and teachers' morale, which involves detailed investigation about the reason for the downfall of the performance and so forth.