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Julia Liceaga Mr. Newman English 101: Rhetoric 1 October 2013 Bedtime Algorithms For centuries, a majority of parents have read their children night time stories filled with tales of a princess falling in love with her prince, a wolf who loves messing with pigs, and a boy who never wants to grow up. As a result of this tradition, the kids usually become better readers and writers as they grow up and continue through life. In her article Beyond Counting Sheep. Why math is the hot new bedtime reading, issued on February 25, 2013 in Time magazine, Bonnie Rochman applies ethos in order to introduce Laura Overdecks idea of using math problems as a new addition to families' night time routines in order to help the uneasy feeling most people have towards crunching numbers and is also successful in explaining the benefits and success of Overdecks program. To start off this piece, Rochman describes a pajama party consisting of twenty kids running around playing fun games that teach physics simultaneously. Ethos is first used to introduce Bilodeau, the genius behind the plan, who was trained at Princeton as an astrophysicist and founder of the nonprofit Bedtime Math. Further explained is the research and testing Overdeck and her husband have done using their own children. Once successful with her own children, she began to reach out to people everywhere with the help of libraries, apps, and games to spread the word. The main goal is landing Bedtime Math into science museums across the country.

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Rochman illustrates that "early math skills are a better predictor of academic success than reading ability," (52) and states that American students rank 25th out of 34 countries in math. The author continues her use of ethos as she includes Sian Beilock, a psychology professor at the University of Chicago. Beilock argues that U.S. children aren't doing as well as one would expect and also expresses "'...you never hear people bragging that they can't read but you hear people all the time saying 'I don't do numbers''" (52). As a result of implementing Bedtime Math into the lives of every family, the children will become more comfortable with numbers and therefore will reverse the trend in the United States. The success of the program has continued to skyrocket ever since it has begun. Rochman explained how Overdeck started off with e-mailing a few friends and relatives with math puzzles, but since then over twenty thousand people have signed up to receive messages and daily updates from her. As a result of all its users, the people have seen a multitude of success across the boards. Snacktime Math, which is a program of Bedtime Math, holds a summer camp for a New Jerseys Boys and Girls Club and gives every kid math problems daily. The article gives the results, more than seventy percent of the largely low-income students improved their skills after a six-week session, (53) so parents are able to notice the obvious benefits of math before bedtime. Some moms are now using their childs newfound love for math against them as a punishment. It was reported that one mom told her kid that if they didnt brush their teeth then there would be no math that night. The earliest level of education Bedtime Math offers is PreSchool, and even then researches, along with parents and teachers can watch the little ones become more comfortable with math every day. Because of the positive effects, Overdeck has

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started her new project for teenagers and adults which will release at the end of February and will hopefully follow the same trend of those younger age groups.

Work Cited Rochman, Bonnie. "Beyond Counting Sheep. Why math is the hot new bedtime reading." Time 25 Feb. 2013: 52-53. Print.

Purpose (20): Successful (A+ thru B): As stated in the Norton, Your goal in analyzing a text is to lead readers through careful examination [considering the rhetorical situation] of the text to some kind of interpretation or reasoned judgment Genre (20): Successful (A+ thru B): Exhibits a strong understanding of academic discourse Contains a thesis that argues for a particular reading of the article Demonstrates insightful evaluation Design/Layout (20): Successful (A+ thru B): Incorporates MLA formatting correctly A Works Cited page is formatted correctly and appears at the end of the essay Audience (20): Successful (A+ thru B): Uses vocabulary appropriate for a college audience Uses grammar and punctuation appropriate for a college freshman Assumes a level of intelligence and sophistication for the audience Offers an intriguing analysis of the article Stance (20): Successful (A+ thru B): Makes an argument for a specific reading of the article Clearly evaluates the success or failure of the article in achieving its purpose Thesis is supported effectively with examples from the text Includes a consistent tone that presents the authors take on the article