Surprised by Logos

When Mr. Tallman announced that we must write a blog post about some sort of rhetorical appeal, I immediately knew where I would go. The column on the left side of the Metro section of the Boston Globe always has some sort of appeal to pathos, whether it be a story about gang violence told from the perspective of the mothers of victims or a success story of some extraordinary kid. But, to my surprise, I found that this Sunday's column was much more of an appeal to logos. The article, by Yvonne Abraham, discusses Gavin Middle School in South Boston. Previously a school where 75% of the students scored less than proficient on the math MCAS, the school has turned itself around very quickly and very efficiently. The reasons why constitutes the bulk of the article. The first step Superintendent Carol Johnson took was to turn the school into the city's first in-district charter school, using a non-profit school management organization called Unlocking Potential. The newly christened UP Academy immediately saw math MCAS "proficiency" rates jump almost 25%, with English "proficiency" rates jumping 22% as well.
How did they do it? Not through any sort of radical new teaching method but through simple, logical steps that any school could pretty easily take. First, lengthen the school day. As obvious as it sounds, more time in school equals more learning. Second of all, hire extra teachers. The extra personnel allows for more tutoring hours with the students more collaboration between the teachers and extra professional days, simply because each teacher has more time outside the classroom to better their performance inside the classroom. Finally, UP Academy puts emphasis on teacher evaluation, giving the teachers the knowledge they need to improve their classroom.
What makes this an appeal to logos, though, is the relative lack of statistics. Yes, there were the before and after percentages I mention above, but Ms. Abraham makes no effort to prove that the steps taken caused those changes, instead merely pointing out a correlation. What proves to the reader that these steps have been effective is that they are logical. More time in school equals better grades: it makes sense. It doesn't require statistics or numbers to be persuasive, because it speaks to reason and logic.