CONSLUSIVE STATEMENT: Analysis:
“We can do better. Our children deserve a consistent
intellectual foundation. Facts are things that are true. Opinions are things we
believe. Some of our beliefs are true. Others are not. Some of our beliefs are
backed by evidence. Others are not. Value claims are like any other claims:
either true or false, evidenced or not. The hard work lies not in recognizing
that at least some moral claims are true but in carefully thinking through our
evidence for which of the many competing moral claims is correct. That’s a hard
thing to do. But we can’t sidestep the responsibilities that come with being
human just because it’s hard.”
Writing Prompt: THIS IS A TEST: In a topic-driven, well-developed
paragraph, SUMMARIZE McBrayer’s argument by explaining what the quote (above) means in the context of the essay as a whole.
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Roger Tinsley
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
ENGL 1003
15 October 2015
McBrayer Summary of quote in context
This quote means that we should not tell our children lies and should put the truth with facts in our children's minds. Also that we should only use evidence driven and proven facts to back up our opinions that may just turn into facts. We all are human beings and we do make mistakes but we shouldn't give up after just one failure, we should keep on and on until we find the evidence we need to change our minds about a certain topic. For example the new theory that some people are born "gay" because of certain genes. They have not found no CONCRETE EVIDENCE to support this claim because being gay is a choice a opinion not a FACT. It is hard work to keep the outside world from poisoning children's minds but we have to try until we can't try any longer.
Andrew Falgiano
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
10/15/15
ENGL 1003
McBrayer starts his argument off by saying we are not doing our part as peers to our children. "Our children deserve a consistent intellectual foundation”, in today's generation there is not one constant story about religion. McBrayer says “facts are things that are true, opinions are what we believe in.” a lot of our generation doesn’t believe in the word of god or jesus christ, because they were told something by someone or have read something that seemed like it made since with out really researching the subject and getting better details about it. Being a believer of christ is honesty a very difficult thing ill be the first one to tell you. Following in the footsteps of christ is very difficult, and thats what i feel like McBrayers trying to get across to us is that yeah its hard to be different from the rest of the media and everything else that surrounds our generation, but “we can’t sidestep the responsibility that come with being human just because its hard”.
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ReplyDeleteIn this article explains how we impact children. He uses the quote, “We can do better…. Come with being human just because it’s hard.” This quote explains how we impact others in what we say and do. For example, teaching kids that they are born in whatever way they are is okay because that’s how God made them has been taken to an extreme. Kids grow up and in middle school already identify themselves as gay, bi, or straight. We must do a better job of teaching kids with facts and not teaching them through opinions that are not backed up with facts. We need to do a better job of guiding the younger generation in the right direction so that society does not continue to become more accepting of ideals that are not moral.
ReplyDeleteIn this article explains how we impact children. He uses the quote, “We can do better…. Come with being human just because it’s hard.” This quote explains how we impact others in what we say and do. For example, teaching kids that they are born in whatever way they are is okay because that’s how God made them has been taken to an extreme. Kids grow up and in middle school already identify themselves as gay, bi, or straight. We must do a better job of teaching kids with facts and not teaching them through opinions that are not backed up with facts. We need to do a better job of guiding the younger generation in the right direction so that society does not continue to become more accepting of ideals that are not moral.
ReplyDeleteNate Holladay
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
English 1003
16 October 2015
Summary- McBrayer
Justin McBrayer uses his article entitled “Why Our Children Don’t Think There Are Moral Facts” to talk about the issue with the way kids are being taught to think about something when they hear it. Mr. McBrayer tells us about his experience with Common Core education and his son’s teacher’s strategies. Basically, the teachers are setting young kids up to reject any idea of a moral value. It all comes from the idea of distinguishing a fact from an opinion. The problem with the way of thinking being taught is that the teachers are not teaching what’s right and what’s wrong, but rather just having the students analyze the statement and not search for any moral truth. Therefore, students being taught this concept year after year have no sense of morals by the time they reach college- level education, and it’s caused our nation of youthful adults to make bad decisions.
Dustin Parsons
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
Freshman comp
10/16/15
Quote in context
This quote is straight to the point. It is saying that our kids and the newer generations need to hear the truth and facts rather than people's opinions. This shows to be true in the first few lines where McBrayer says "we can do better. our children deserve a consistent intellectual foundation." Then goes on to say that "facts are things that are true. Opinions are things we believe. Basically he is saying that if we tell our children facts and how it really is instead of our own moral opinions or beliefs then they will grow to be better people. Later on in the quote, the author talks about our morals and how we want all of them to be true but we need to find the morals and beliefs that are true and dwindle out the opinionated ones and the ones that are not true. I think that is a good point because a lot of people will die by their opinions that are not always true and it puts false information into the heads of our newer generation and kids because they are so absorbing of things that we say and things that they hear that it will stick with them for a long time.
Dumar Camacho
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
Freshman Composition
16 October, 2015
McBrayer Summary
School education is teaching a lot of good things while also teaching kids and teens things that we might not all agree with. The way the school would differentiate a fact from an opinion is not all true. “Facts are things that are true. Opinions are things we believe. Some of our beliefs are true. Others are not. Some of our beliefs are backed by evidence. Others are not.” This is what is really true to where the sign that was in school said that facts are only things that can be proved. McBrayer believes that are children deserve better and we should not go away from that because it might be hard sometimes.
Megan Pliauplis
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
Freshman Composition
16 October, 2015
The quote above from McBrayer's " Why Our Children Don't Think There Are Moral Facts" means that we need to start teaching our children that opinions can also be proven and you can also have an opinion on a fact. McBrayer talks about how when he visited his son's open house night and noticed that on the board, the teacher had a definition of a fact and an opinion. The fact definition was "something that is true about a subject and can be tested or proven". The opinion definition said "what someone thinks, feels or believes." Then, a little bit later on in the article, McBrayer talks about how he talked with his child about how you could believe in a fact and it would still be considered an opinion according to what he is being taught. His son was very confused. This shows that the way the school is teaching children is wrong. When they grow older, they will be forced to have all sorts of opinions and some of those opinions may include facts, which may be hard for some of them to realize. Even though it is hard, we must teach our children that there are different ways to have an opinion and different ways to prove a fact.
Andrew Griffin
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
Freshman Comp.
10/16/15
We Can Do Better
The essay that McBrayer wrote is basically saying that there are opinions and there are facts, just because you have an opinion, doesn’t mean it is a fact. Our world has fallen into the idea that there are no teams, no winners, no losers, and no right or wrong. This has reflected badly on our youth, in many ways, but the subject of sexual sin, is one of the worst. Sex before marriage; normal, divorce; who has time for counseling any ways, and Homosexuality, is no longer a sin, it is fine, celebrated even. People who were “born this way” are now celebrated as the heroes of modern society, this is where we are letting the youth of today fall into sin, as mentors, parents and teachers, we should be providing a scriptural world for them to grow up in, instead we are failing them. It is for this reason that I say, “we can do better.”
Dina Fajardo
ReplyDeleteProfessor Kirk
ENGL 1003
16 October 2015
Mcbrayer Summary
The article is about the definition of opinion and fact, or at least on how schools are defining it to children. Having an opionion doesn't mean it is or not a fact. “Facts are things that are true. Opinions are things we believe. Some of our beliefs are true. Others are not. Some of our beliefs are backed by evidence. Others are not.” Just because there are morals some people believe, does not mean it isn't true just because there are others who don't believe them. This is what Mcbrayer wants parents to teach their children.