The race to educational reform in the USA: the race to the top

Abstract

From the cognitive perspective of embodiment and relying mostly on the powerful and revealing tool of metaphor, we approach the issue of education in the Obama administration's discourse trying to unveil the ideological preferences hidden behind the use of the different metaphors. It is assumed that this body of metaphors will contribute to the political and cultural understanding of such strategic issue to a nation. The analysis of speeches on education by leading figures plus the media reflection of educational problems (Washington Post) will let us see from a close distance how education is talked about. After the analysis of the four metaphors, it will be seen that traditional values such as individualism and competition are being imposed against other values such as social justice and equity.

Keywords:

• cognitive linguistics
• pictorial metaphor
• metaphor
• discourse analysis
• education