In "Idiot Nation", Michael Moore talks about the collapse of the American education system and the three main reasons behind it: the ignorance of politicians, the shortage of teachers and the rise of American corporations . Moore first points out how ignorant the president and politicians are by stating that the president simply cannot identify whether Africa is a nation or a continent. Next, Moore attributes the lack of education funding to the fact that politicians would rather build bombs than improve our education system; this leads to a lack of resources, overpopulated classrooms and a decrease in books available to students. He then notes that low teacher salaries, caused by insufficient education funding, result in a shortage of qualified teachers, leading to the failure of the education system. Additionally, Moore discusses the rise of Corporate America, which is another factor corrupting the education system. To get funding from Corporate America, schools reduce the time students spend in class, forcing students to watch company advertisements and helping companies conduct research during class. Throughout his excerpt, Moore uses exemplifications, surprising statistics, rhetorical questions, and simple but clear reasoning to effectively express his ideas and convince readers of his arguments. One strategy Moore uses in his excerpt is exemplification. He clarifies his points by providing examples that help strengthen the credibility of his arguments. For example, to demonstrate how ignorant American officials are, Moore provides numerous examples, such as describing William Clark, "President Ronald Reagan's nominee for deputy secretary of state," who "had no idea how our allies in Western Europe ... .half sheet...year without principal!” (136).From these examples we can see that readers can easily imagine the situations described by Moore; this helps readers understand Moore's points clearly Moore's strategies are effective in conveying his message and convincing readers of the truth of his position. The use of logos increases Moore's credibility and convinces readers of his arguments, while the use of simple reasoning and purposeful questions helps. readers to focus and understand his points. Therefore, Moore is able to make his points by using these strategies. Works Cited Moore, Michael. “Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing.” Ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, Bonnie Lisle, 2010. 128-145.