Thursday, March 6, 2014

Week 7 Text Response



A Little Civility, Please
Mark Davis is the author who many years of experience in writing for the Dallas Morning News and hosted his own radio talk show for WBAP Dallas-Fort Worth. With his authority on making critical debates he wrote a very to the point article about how students need the right to be able to “disrupt” normal days to spark structured and well thought out controversies and learn at the same time about the right way to go about it.

The story that caught his eye is about a Junior kid in high school that wore a T-shirt labeling President Bush as an international terrorist. Needless to say Mark Davis agrees that this form of controversy is not constructive in a learning atmosphere. Basically ignoring the kid would send the message that it is OK to make such statements. He gives examples of constructive and nicer ways to go about debates and the benefits of learning how to debate. He also accounts for what used to be allowed in public schools verse what is currently allowed in public schools.

I have to say I agree with Mark Davis for the most part. I think that it is important for a young adult to learn how to make logical and meaningful debates. But one thing I don’t agree with is his belief that the discussions should only be done in the appropriate classes. I do know that lately in my old high school a certain extracurricular group made by a few students with the ambition to bring liberal ideas from the students to the attention of the faculty. The group was quickly shut down due to the complaints of a few parents. Students should be able to have an extra group about liberal subjects pertaining to their surroundings as long as there is a knowledgeable person willing to regulate and support them. Young adults care about learning who they are; being able to have a voice about their own small world could be encouraging and inspiring.

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