“If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.” is a quote by Maya Angelou. Angelou in this quote was trying to illustrate that if something is not working one person, they have to change their perspective on how they view the information presented, and approach it with different motives. This article, “The Seduction,” by Paula Marantz Cohen ties to what Angelou is trying to convey. The article shows how a teacher changed her attitude towards teaching her students. Realizing that her method of teaching was not effective towards the students learning, she learned to open her mind to new ideas to get a better result. Cohen in this article persuades the readers that students who are not English majors …show more content…
Stating this, it shows that her experience throughout the years transformed her to realize that her way of teaching is not passing down knowledge to the students.The article demonstrates that she changed her attitude when she had children; who according to the article have different characteristics that showed her that one cannot only teach from one perspective. Understanding her mistakes, she humbles herself to the audience to show that nobody is perfect, and every day is a learning process. The article illustrates, “The ones who do are the ones I used to gripe about: those who went directly to the SparkNotes, who didn’t proofread their papers, and who gave rote responses in class.” (Cohen). By stating this, it shows that she is being honest and admits that she was not teaching everybody the same way; she only teaches those that she see as herself. Due to the honesty toward the students, it creates a bond between her and her students. Because she was honest in her teaching, it helps persuade the student to engage more in reading. It also demonstrates that she was able to understand everybody’s way of learning, which makes the students who are not English majors more engaged with the text they might see as boring more