Tone and Diction

The tone in Cummins passage is very indignant. The authors use of diction saying that teachers are “overworked, overloaded, and stretched to the limit”[Cummins 15] due to working “50 to 70 hours a week” [Cummins 15] is very logical and shows how indignant the author feels about “teachers being told that Saturday workshops were mandatory” [Cummins 15]. Instead of just saying that teachers are worked hard the author uses words such as “overworked, overloaded, and stretched to the limit” [Cummins 15] which really adds effect to show how hard teachers are working and how much they have to work. The author also uses pathos in making the reader feel sad for teachers as they have to do all that work without “receiving the daily rate that coaches receive” [Cummins 15] for working extra hours. The author does not view this as “a small problem” [Cummins 15] and this is an “extremely important issue to teachers” [Cummins 15]. The author also uses logos in the passage by saying that “If teachers are being required to put in more time during the week and on weekends, then shouldn’t they be paid more?” [Cummins 15] just like how “coaches receive a daily rate of pay for extra days worked” [Cummins 15] which makes the author seem more indignant and displeased at teachers not getting any extra pay as he is making complete sense in what he’s saying. The author also sees it as being unfair for teachers because “Teachers have planned well because they have family and community responsibilities on Saturdays” [Cummins 15] which also shows how indignant the author feels about teachers having to work Saturdays. The reader feels sympathetic for teachers as he or she reads this due to the author saying how “overworked, overloaded, and stretched to the limit” [Cummins 15] they are and how they have to put in “50 to 70 hours a week”[Cummins 15] without receiving “ a daily rate of pay for extra days worked”[Cummins]. It convinces the reader of how unfair and how much of an injustice it is to ask teachers to work Saturdays. It’s very indignant of the AFT to ask teachers to work Saturdays.