Analysis Of Position On Dodgeball In Physical Education By Rick Reilly

The persuasive techniques Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are used to assist the author in their claim and sound convincing. In the articles “Position on Dodgeball in Physical Education,” by The National Association for Sport and Physical Education, and “The Weak Shall Inherit the Gym,” by Rick Reilly, both authors use persuasive techniques to make their claims on dodgeball in physical education.

The article, “Position on Dodgeball in Physical Education,” created by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, short for NASPE, focuses on using logos throughout the article. To illustrate, when discussing keeping children and adolescents active it’s stated that, “61.5% of children aged 9-13 years do not participate in any organized physical activity during their non-school hours and 22.6% do not engage in any free-time physical activity”(986). In other words, NASPE believes that many children don’t get any physical exercise. Since dodgeball is a game that eliminates players, it won’t allow these children to get the exercise needed. By suggesting that children who don’t

For instance, Reilly thinks that those who want dodgeball removed are too soft and quotes, “Their kids will stumble out into the bright light of the real world and find out, yes, there’s weak and there’s strong and teams and sides and winning and losing”(1010). To put it in other words, Reilly believes that if the younger generation is pampered too much when they become adults and need to fend for themselves, they’ll struggle. By suggesting that, the emotional appeal of wanting what's best for your children will resonate well with readers who have children of their own and share a similar sentiment as Reilly. Clearly, Reilly's use of emotional persuasion of thinking about the children works well for presenting that dodgeball doesn’t need to be removed and benefits a child’s