Week 5 Assignment
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School
Texas State University *
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1310
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Communications
Date
Apr 3, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by BrigadierGiraffePerson1037
Week 5 Assignment – Jordan Mayorga
1. (100+ words) Emerging p. 250, Questions for Critical Reading 1:
What is the role of art? After writing your own thoughts in response to the question, reread
Ma’s essay, paying attention to his thoughts about the benefits of art. Does his argument confirm or challenge your ideas?
I believe that the role of art in our society is to function as a creative outlet for humans to express
their perceptions, thoughts, and ideas. Art has the capacity to reveal hidden or unknown emotions, providing a means for others to perceive the world through the artist's lens. Furthermore, it can serve as the catalyst for innovative ideas or creations. While some may perceive art as primarily for recreational or entertainment purposes, its significance extends beyond mere leisure. In Ma's essay, he contends that art should be integrated into the focus of education to enhance flexibility of thinking, stimulate imagination, and cultivate empathy in students' lives. Given Ma's assertion that art plays a vital role in education, cognitive processes, and empathy, and my belief that it fosters new thoughts and ideas, I think it is safe to say that we share a common perspective.
2. (100+ words) Emerging p. 250, Questions for Critical Reading 2:
Ma draws from neuroscience to make his argument. Note the places in the essay where he discusses empathy. How does empathy function in thinking and decision making?
Empathy functions in thinking and decision-making because it enables humans to consider situations from various perspectives before reaching conclusions or making closed-minded decisions. Empathy opens our minds to new pathways of imagining situations from others' points
of view, rather than solely relying on our own perspective shaped by our individual experiences. According to neuroscience, human brains have dual neural pathways for thinking—critical and empathetic. However, only one channel can be active at a time. While critical thinking may appear more logical and sometimes harsh, empathetic thinking focuses on emotions and understanding of circumstances. Integrating elements from both pathways of thought allows us to make well-rounded and thoughtful final judgments.
3. (100+ words) Emerging p. 87, Questions for Critical Reading 1:
What is the relationship between education and success? As you reread Coates’s essay, look
for places where he talks about the goals of education and the consequences of failing (or even succeeding) in school. How are these inflected by race and class?
The relationship between education and success is typically highly correlated. The more attention you pay in school, the better grades you receive, the college you get into, and the degree you earn, all contribute to what our society defines as success. However, it's not equally easy for everyone. In Baltimore, where the author is from, education is portrayed as the sole pathway to success, or at least the only way out of prison or death for the black community. In Coates's community, education isn't just a place for learning but also serves as an escape from the streets.
4. (100+ words) Emerging p. 87, Questions for Critical Reading 3:
What solution was Coates able to find for the problem of education? Consider the role that critical thinking played and locate passages that suggest his definition of critical thinking. In what ways is his solution related to the work you do in this class?
Coates's solution to education acknowledges that learning isn’t a one-size-fits-all equation, and each student may need to be approached differently. In his essay, he says, “I was a curious boy, but the schools were not concerned with curiosity. They were concerned with compliance,” demonstrating his ability to think critically by criticizing the education system. He suggests it prioritizes conformity over curiosity, aligning with his solution that education shouldn’t be taught as if there is only one way, and other alternatives need to be explored. Coates mentions that when he used to get in trouble at school, his grandmother would make him write and answer questions about why he got in trouble, causing him to interrogate and bring himself into consciousness, allowing him to think critically. In this class, I read articles, anecdotes, and essays
and then write about them by answering questions, which allows me to think critically, just as Coates did.
5. (100+ words) Emerging p. 88, Questions for Connecting 3:
Yo-Yo Ma offers a very different vision of education in “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education” (p. 246). Synthesize his goals for education with Coates’s lived experience. Does Ma make assumptions about race and class when thinking about education? Does Coates experience through his mother the kind of education Ma imagines?
Yo-Yo Ma envisions a new world of education that includes art as a focus with the intention of fostering creativity and empathetic thinking, and even going as far as changing STEM to STEAM. Ma wants an education system that thinks and teaches empathetically, diverse, and accepting of all cultures. One that won’t punish children who don’t operate or retain knowledge from typical styles of teaching. One that won’t force children from troubled communities to be left behind for the streets, like the one Coates was a part of in Baltimore. Coates's experience of answering questions about his behavior at school allowed him to engage in critical thinking that made him conscious of his self-sympathy and rationalization of misconduct, as well as the flawed education system that seems the only escape route from imprisonment or death for the black community. While Ma imagines a system that recognizes children like Coates and helps them express themselves while acknowledging their differences, allowing for multiple routes to success.
6. Write a clear, concise thesis statement for “Necessary Edges” or “From Between the World and Me.”
Fully sixty percent of all young black men who drop out of high school will go to jail, signifying that over half of troubled black youth statistically face imprisonment. This raises the question: Why? Our current education system seems inherently biased against youth from troubled communities, lacking empathetic thought and penalizing them for not conforming to educational norms, quick to leave them behind in the streets.
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