Summary writing workshop I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read by Francine Prose

Introduction Mandatory elements + efficient syntax entitled I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read written by Francine Prose first published in the 1999 September edition of Harper’s is a critique of the required reading in American high schools

FP blames American high school Lit FP blames American high school Lit. teachers for lowering the standards because: they lack passion they sacrifice complexity for diversity; they constantly lower ‘’the educational bar’’ they make mediocre choices: they do not choose works of merit some of them have stopped teaching Lit. altogether and replaced it by teaching what was already done in civics or ethics classes they have stopped to believe in their students’ capacities; by giving their boring classes, they prevent students from developing their infinite capacities and a deeper understanding of ‘’complexities of human experience’’.

Conclusion The rhetorical pattern used: from specific examples to a more general conclusion FP blames these educational methods for their inability to teach students to think, and therefore, for turning all our high school students into McDonald’s employees.