TOW #9: Dumb Kids' Class

         Mark Bowden, a veteran writer for the monthly journal The Atlantic, often focuses his writing on the societal repercussions -- or possible repercussions --  of various political decisions within the country. His essay, Dumb Kids' Class, is no exception to this tradition. Following the presidential consideration of the 'No Child Left Behind' policy by the Obama administration (one which ultimately resulted in no change) Bowden published this article giving a unique perspective to education in this country. Telling of his early childhood in which he was placed in the so-called "dumb classes" before being promoted to the higher level classes, Bowden explores the idea of how early influences affect how children view themselves in the future. Through a satirical description of his time spent in the "dumb" class, strongly facilitated by his use of ironic statements, Bowden intends to show his audience -- the voting class citizen of America who could have a say in the consideration of the policy (at least theoretically) -- that categorizing children at an early age can be dangerous as it is something which remains with the child for life and often results in a parochial outlook toward ones abilities.
          By utilizing ironic statements to describe his childhood experience Mark Bowden successfully creates a humorous tone to his article, accentuating his idea that even with good intentions, the categorizing of students harbors negative results. Bowden begins this style with his description of "the invaluable lessons of the dumb classes" (45) which consisted of avoiding the "spit pit" (44) and how to draw blood without too much injury to yourself. By describing such lessons as "invaluable" and essentially the most important to such a class, Bowden shows how little emphasis was placed on a group of children who were considered academically inept. Bowden directly addresses this fact, stating that "children are exquisitely attuned to the way adults size them up, so there was never any mystery about where anyone stood" (30). In this way, he explains that it is these influences which ultimately lead to children who do not see any more worth than where they were placed. Most powerfully, and what brings the most success to his article, is his use of a similar ironic statement at the end, stating "It’s well and good to enjoy the world’s esteem, I learned, but better still to be underestimated" (54). This ending concludes his idea with the final thought that many children placed in these "dumb classes" are not expected to do anything exceedingly important in the future, and this idea is what leads them down that path precisely.