Education Rhetoric — and those left out of it

            In Monday’s post, we discussed the rhetoric Nixon and Spence used on their websites. While comparing their language, we discovered a hole in their plan’s rhetoric.

What about the kids who don’t graduate or go to college? 

            Nixon’s rhetoric promotes his achievements as Governor and his plans to increase opportunities for higher education as a way or improve the economy.

“Gov. Nixon believes that in this global economy, a college education is more important than ever – and that any Missouri student who works hard and wants to attend college should have that opportunity.”

            Spence’s language relies on a relationship between education and the economy. 

“Without a doubt, job creation is my number one priority. That is why it makes perfect sense for me to push an aggressive education reform agenda. Education and economic development go hand in hand.”

His policies promote “higher education” to prepare students for their part in a “21st century workforce.”

            The most interesting part of Spence’s page is the final bullet point of his education plan. He recognizes that many Missouri students find success by pursuing paths that don’t include a four- year college degree.

“Many Paths, Same Success- A four-year college degree is not the only path to a successful career. We need to assist trade schools and community colleges, as well as set up an alternative platform for the students that simply want to learn a life skill and go to work.”

This got us interested in what kind language is used to describe the education Missouri students need to get jobs.

These info graphics from Complete College America illustrate two principles.

1: Higher education is becoming a more important for a strong economy.

2:  Far too few students earn a 4-year college degree 

Here’s the gap: If so many students aren’t going to college or aren’t finishing their degree, why isn’t this the focus of education rhetoric? 

According to an August 2011 report from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, manufacturing contributed $63 billion of direct and indirect benefits toward the 2010 Missouri gross state product and continues to play an important role in Missouri’s economy.

Where’s the rhetoric describing the plan to promote job-training skills so our graduates are prepared for the jobs available on the economy?

Which candidate is supporting programs that teach students trades that will transfer into careers?   

The problem is, parents don't’ talk about their students like their kid will be the one to drop out. They don’t expect their kid to be the one to struggle to graduate from college.

We all want our kids to go to college. And candidates want to be able to send all kids to college, and have them use their degree to build Missouri’s economy. 

But that’s not the state of reality we live in. 

            Why do we allow our candidates to use rhetoric that doesn’t reflect reality?

If we expect anything, shouldn’t we demand a realist plan for our children?

Or are those words too much to ask? 

Education Reform

Education is still an issue across the country as funding for public school funding continues to be cut.

To Nixon, education is more than a policy but a value which must be protected. His education rhetoric focuses on two areas:

1: Funding for public schools during the recession

2: Providing ways to make college more affordable to students.

“For Governor Jay Nixon, public education is a value.”

His message highlights the increase in high school graduation rates and raising standardized test scores during his administration.


The language that he uses indicates that he believes education is more than a policy. As the incumbent, his rhetoric focuses on what he has done instead of what he will do. 


For Spence, the issue of education is inseparable from the economy.

If our children are not educated in a system that works well then the economy and workforce will suffer. Spence explains that a child’s education is key to whether or not they can succeed in the current economy and job market.
“Our children cannot be competitive in the 21st century workforce if we fail them in their formative years.”  

Spence repeatedly refers to the would be high school graduates as part of a “1st century workforce” while Nixon promotes the possibility of more affordable higher education.

Nixon’s policies are vague and he get away with it. He, as the incumbent, can rely on his experience and explain what he has done in detail instead of his plans.

Spence details a very rigorous education reform plan that he titles, Back to the Basics. This plan not only provides ways for students to get the most out of school, but also concentrates on assisting other options students have, such as attending a trade school. Not just college.

Journalists tend to lean more towards reporting how funding for education and how education reform affects the state budget. This trend of rhetoric is more common with Spence’s message that education and the economy are connected.

The journalism coverage of education links money and education quality, but follows Nixon’s emphasis on college performance of students across the state rather than how education funding can affect the workforce.

Overall, the rhetoric of education comes back to money, whether it has to do with funding or educations, connections to the economy. http://www.all4ed.org/files/Missouri_wc.pdf

Nixon and Spence: The same man?

This week, we examine the language Missouri Gubernatorial candidates Jay Nixon and Dave Spence use to describe themselves as individuals.

We've examined Nixon’s  “Meet Jay” section on his election website and identified the rhetoric he uses to define himself. 

As the incumbent, Nixon blends his personal identify with his status as governor. 

This section of his website is designed to present his personal story to the voters. Nixon attempts to establish a personal connection and shrink the distance between himself and the voters. For instance, Nixon:

            -Establishes a personal connection to the area

                        “A native of De Soto, Missouri…”           

            -Associates his upbringing with relatable values

“Gov. Nixon was raised in a family of public servants. His mother, the late Betty Nixon, was a teacher and served as president of the local school board. His father, Jerry Nixon, was elected mayor of De Soto and was a judge for the community."

-Touts his strong ties to vague concepts

“Growing up in a home with these strong examples, Nixon learned at a young age that faith and family come first – and giving back to the community comes next. It is a philosophy that has guided him throughout his career in public service.”

            -Discloses personal details about his family

“Gov. Nixon and his wife, Georganne Wheeler Nixon, have two sons, Jeremiah and Willson. They belong to the First United Methodist Church in Jefferson City.”

           

            -Highlights government experience

“In 1986, he was elected to his first term in the Missouri State Senate, where he would represent the people of Jefferson County for six years. As a State Senator, Gov. Nixon reached across the aisle to pass several major pieces of legislation, including an expansion of pre-natal care for expectant mothers.” 

 

In Spence’s “Meet Dave” portion of his website, he attempts to create a relatable persona and to highlight his work ethic and experience in the private sector. He:

    -Identifies himself as Dave more often than Spence

           The page refers to the candidate as “Dave” 13 times, while it uses the more formal “Spence” only nine times.

           

     -Establishes relatable values

           “Spence grew up in the working-class neighborhood of Overland.”

“The work ethic he developed as a young man served him well later in life.”

         

              -Establishes a personal connection to the area

                         “Dave graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1981 and went to work                              full-time for the family business.”

            -Creates a sympathetic narrative

One approach Spence incorporates is sharing his personal story about his small family business. The business’s failure invokes sympathy and makes him seem more relatable. Nixon doesn’t attempt to court sympathy, and Spence’s story draws a stark contrast between his average life and Nixon’s status as celebrity. 

The candidates use similar values and approaches to frame themselves. Both highlight their experiences, share personal details and establish relatable values.

This makes us wonder: If their descriptions are so similar, why do their personal narratives matter so much to us as voters? 

Welcome to Word Watch

Welcome to Word Watch! 


As communication students and journalists, we share a passion for words. The 2012 campaign and media coverage offers us an incredible opportunity to examine rhetoric and the manipulation of words. 


The media pays attention to language when candidates chooses their words poorly.  These events and the intense, but fleeting coverage which accompanies them, disregards the subtleties of rhetoric and its influence on journalism. 

For example, when Democrats or Republican discussed environmental policy during the 2012 nominating conventions, they covered many of the same issues, but the difference, as Jeremy Fugleberg from the Casper Star Tribune points out in a 2012 article, comes down to one, not-so-small thing — rhetoric. 

During the Democratic National Convention, President Obama disucssed environmental policy and used the phrase "climate change," (see above video).

Despite its original conservative origins, "climate change" is considered a neutral term and is often used by journalists in an attempt to be unbiased.

Obama avoided the typically liberal term, "global warming." Instead, he framed the phrase with connotations invoking fear and a serious tone by claiming it isn't a "hoax," and it poses a "threat."


When Rick Perry denied the existence of the environmental phenomenon, he used the phrase "Global Warming" —the wording typically used by liberals. His presented it as an incorrect, corrupt and misleading theory, and associated those connotations with the phrase typically used by liberals. 

If you think these phrases are coincidental — think again.

According to a 2007, Minnesota Public Radio article, environmental policy rhetoric is loaded with intentional political meaning —

"In fact, a 2002 memo encouraged Republicans to go with climate change because it 'sounds a more controllable and less emotional challenge,' whereas global warming sounds like it has "catastrophic connotations."

Ultimately, politicians have to choose phrases, rhetoric and language to describe a policy. This means either adopting language used by a candidate or borrowing obscure rhetoric from a policy wonk and hoping the reader understands. 

The language the media adopts is advanced. By spreading a party’s rhetoric, these seemingly unbiased journalists advance something more powerful than any advertisement or editorial — they spread a party's language.

These small phrases change the way we think about politics, candidates and the world. 


Words are too important to ignore. So we decided to watch them for you and help you, our readers, become better consumers of media by raising awareness of political rhetoric's influence.
Our focus is on the 2012 Missouri gubernatorial race between incumbent Democrat Jay Nixon and challenger Republican Dave Spence.

Each week, we will choose a policy area and examine rhetoric used by the candidates’ advertisements, speeches, websites and direct-mail pieces along with any other campaign literature we can get our hands on.

We welcome and encourage interaction! Please comment or suggest a topic you'd like us to investigate!