For this assignment, I'd like you to imagine yourself in a specific rhetorical position that differs in a number of ways from the position you often occupy as a student writer. Rather than write for some imagined, general audience, you'll be writing a specific form for a specific audience.

You are a full-time teacher--K-12, in whatever discipline you plan to teach--in a school district which is undergoing policy reviews. On the agenda of an upcoming school board meeting are a number of items dealing with cultural diversity, inclusion of students with disabilities, the use of standardized tests, and ability grouping of students. The following motions have been put before the school board, and they will vote on these motions after hearing from concerned parents and teachers. You have been asked by your colleagues--who respect your intellect, grace, and impressive reasoning powers--to make a presentation to the board on one of the issues. You may choose whichever motion you like, but please focus on only one.

Motion 1: The district will adopt a fully inclusive stance on students with disabilities, placing those students in whatever classes best create a least restrictive environment (LRE) for the individual. The needs of the disabled students will be the only factor in judging what creates the LRE

Motion 2: The district will return to the basics of education--reading, writing, mathematics, science--and abandon its experiments in multicultural and bilingual education. History, literature, art, and humanities courses will return their focus to the great thinkers of the western tradition taught in previous decades.

Motion 3: In addition to the formal observations of administrators, the district requires that teachers be evaluated on the basis of their students' scores on the Stanford Achievement Test. Pay increases and promotion will be linked to these test-based performance indicators.

Motion 4: The district, which has been employing heterogeneous ability grouping for the past decade, will implement homogenous ability grouping. Three tracks will be established in most disciplines: Honors, Standard, and Basic. Test scores and prior grades will be used to place students into the most appropriate classroom setting.

You are limited to ten minutes speaking time (it takes about two minutes to read a double-spaced page of 12-point Times text). Since you are speaking to people who probably don't know you, you'll need to introduce yourself, including where you teach, what grade and/or subject, etc. You'll also need to consider the fact that this is an oral presentation, so you must make your words as vivid and memorable as possible. If you quote someone, you need to tell the school board who it is you're quoting, as well as what you're quoting from. Your purpose in doing this is to help the board reach what you believe to be the best possible decision. The board may vote for one of three options: pass the motion, deny the motion, or table the motion. If a motion is tabled, it is removed from consideration for the time being.

Remember, the school board is made up of a diverse group of people. A few will probably agree with your position from the start. But a few will completely disagree with you. Still others will be unsure of their position on the motion. Tailor your presentation in such a way that you maintain all members' interest, and make allowances for viewpoints that contradict yours. Good luck.