The discourse community I chose to write about is employees at an after-school program for kids attending elementary school. I chose to convey how children in elementary school receive too much homework, which makes the children frustrated and the employees at their afterschool program as well. I chose to write a letter to the chancellor of the department of education, David C. Banks, and principals at all elementary schools in America too. This letter is appointed to Banks because he has a powerful figure that can influence many principles and teachers at elementary schools. Once he reads my letter and hopefully agrees with my points, he will be able to express the truth to other workers within the DOE, mostly elementary school workers. This letter should also reach principals at schools since they’re the ones who can change their rules, and directly talk to the teachers at their school. I believe that a letter would be best for this situation because I want to directly reach principals and Banks. Also, it is not very likely that you would catch principals, Banks, or teachers at events where you can give speeches like these and they would actually listen. I want my audience to sit down and carefully contemplate and consider all of my points.
Within my letter, I would discuss how excessive homework affects both children and after-school workers. For one, too much homework can make children very frustrated and muddled. This can also make us workers frustrated as well. Children start to get distracted, bored, or unhappy and it’s hard for us workers to get them back on track. Also, assigning children too much homework takes up a lot of time in their day. For the four few hours that they are spending in afterschool, they are completing their homework for most of that time. This gives us after-school workers fewer opportunities to do our job. As after-school employees, we’re supposed to assist kids with their homework and complete activities, like drawing or puzzles, afterward. However, when teachers assign too much homework, we’re not able to complete those activities with the children. Lastly, I want to discuss how we are sometimes not able to help children complete their homework by the time their parents arrive to pick them up. This also makes parents frustrated because, after a long day at work, they have to go home and help their child complete their homework.
To start this letter, I will tell my audience how well they are trying to make sure students get the best education they can. Then, I will proceed to say how they can do better by not overwhelming their students and after-school workers with too much homework.
Princess- I think that if you want to write your letter to an audience that goes beyond the NYC DOE chancellor, that you should focus on NYC principals of elementary schools–all principals in America is too big. My only other concern is that you are actually dealing with a problem that is affecting multiple discourse communities, but your reasoning sounds good so I would say keep going but if you get overwhelmed by your topic, then speak with me so we can narrow down. Finally, make it clear why it is important that after-school employees have time to do the other activities with children that they are not able to do right now. What are kids missing out on? What would they gain if they could instead do these other activities that they currently can’t get to?