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This article explores the potential of utilizing Foucault's genealogical analy-sis to further our understanding of how it is possible that people are actually convinced to "take on" some of the various subjectivities which are consti-tuted in discourse. The Putman-Weir Survey, a 1924 educational reform text from the province of British Columbia, is examined for its creative use of rhetorical idioms and progressive knowledge. These facets are utilized not only to discredit the Commission's opposition but also to compel the reader to identify with the substance and objectives of educational reform. In particu-lar, the classification and description of public submissions to the Survey Commission are analyzed in detail.