Lucille Acuna

Dr. Chao Li
ENG 2089
2 February 2023
Analyzing an Argument Exercise

Prompt: The following appeared in a memorandum from the mayor of Wistfold: “A recent study
revealed that the number of children requiring medical attention for illnesses in our town is 40
percent higher than in the neighboring town of Champsfield. Last year the Champsfield school
district implemented an educational program called “Kerzac Plus” that promotes healthier habits
among children. Because pre-packaged convenience foods have less nutritional value than fresh fruits
and vegetables, Kerzac Plus guidance led to banning the sale of candy bars and soft drinks in
Champsfield schools. Kerzac Plus also provides informational posters and live presentations for
children that explain the importance of healthy foods and exercise, as well as the risks of making
unhealthy lifestyle choices. The clearest explanation for the lower medical needs of Champsfield’s
children compared with Wistfold’s is the introduction of the Kerzac Plus program to promote student
health.”

Although the healthier alternatives of food could be a plausible explanation for the lesser
need of medical attention for the children in Champsfield, there are other reasons that
Champsfield could have a better rate of children not going to hospitals. A few main reasons that
children from Wistfold may have more medical needs could be due to a lack of funding that
leads to a depletion of sanitary resources within their schools and/or a heavier academic load that
leads to a lack of sleep.
Many children tend to have a habit of rubbing their faces, coughing without their mouths
covered, or not washing their hands after touching high-touch surfaces like playgrounds, school
desks, and shared school supplies. In most cases, teachers are the ones providing cleaning
supplies or sanitizers for their students. If teachers are making less money at Wistfold schools
than Champsfield, there’s a higher chance that they won’t have sufficient funds to continue
providing these necessary resources for their students –if at all, especially into the cold and flu
season. A lack of cleaning products and sanitizers could explain a higher rate of sickness in a
school. Assuming that Champsfield schools pay their teachers slightly more or have better access
to sanitizers, soaps, and wipes, it would lead to less of their students encountering illnesses on a
regular basis. In addition, knowing that Champsfield students are given informational resources
to read about their foods on campus, there’s a higher chance that those students are also slightly
more educated about clean day-to-day habits as well (perhaps their classrooms have
informational graphics about ways to prevent illnesses.)
Another plausible reason that there is more medical attention in Wistfold could be due to
an unbalanced school-day that results in lesser hours of sleep for those students. Assuming that
all children are people under 18 years old, we can infer that middle and high school students are
factored in this study. With many middle and high school students, there’s a high possibility that
many students are not receiving an adequate amount of sleep each night, giving them a higher
chance of being susceptible to illnesses. It is very possible that schools in Wistfold are generally
known to be higher-ranking or have a higher status than schools in Champsfield in terms of
academic rigor. With that follows the assumption that there is a heavier workload of homework
or after-school activities that students spend their time indulging in. If a school day ends at
around 3:00 PM, any extracurricular activities wrap up by 5:00 or 6:00 PM, and homework and
studying still needs to be done, there is a very high probability that students will stay up late
finishing tasks for all of their classes. After exhausting mental, emotional, and physical days it
would make sense that students are getting more sick and needing to go to the hospital more due
to illnesses.
Although diet is a vital part to maintaining good health, it absolutely isn’t the only reason
that students may be susceptible to illnesses within their school. Many illnesses are a result of a
culmination of poor living habits that can include poor diet, poor hygiene, and poor sleep
schedules.