Initially, in paragraphs 1-3, the author outlines the story and death of Mr. K, a former teacher of the author who was extremely strict. By providing this story, the author expresses a personal connection to traditional teaching, attributing his own success to these methods. In addition to the aforementioned personal connection, the author later expresses in paragraph 4 that both the author and American educators need to help “our students.” By using the term “our students,” the author conveys a personal connection to the students' current performance. Later, in paragraph 8, the author shows strong conviction when he refers to the points raised in the argument as “a rallying cry inspired by my old teacher and supported by new research.” Furthermore, the author expresses more confidence in Mr. K's teachings, stating in the last paragraph that Mr. K's achievements are a "lesson we can all learn from." In addition to an obvious personal connection to the content of the article, the author also uses his own academic background, having attended Yale and worked for popular news outlets, to conduct research to adequately support the arguments with hard evidence. Throughout the article, Lipman repeatedly cites research from respected sources such as psychologists, the U.S. Department of Education, and universities to directly reinforce the idea of