Good Example Of Assessing Your Convictions Essay

I said true to the following statements: (1) Freedom is a fundamental right; (4) Cheating on an exam is unethical; and (11) Humans, like other animals, are simply elements in the natural world.
I consider them true because they are generally acceptable in fields such as religion, ethics, and science. For example, freedom is a fundamental right because the constitution – at least most constitutions – grants their citizens the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Most religions also consider freedom as a fundamental right. On the other hand, honesty is a universal virtue. Since cheating is a dishonest act then it would also be considered unethical worldwide. Finally, it is a scientific fact that just like animals, humans are also living creatures; and hence, are parts of the natural world.
The following statements are false in my standpoint: (1) Pets are people, too; (2) Lazy people don’t deserve handouts; (3) Geminis can’t make decisions. In particular, pets will never be people but their owners can treat them as people. On the other hand, laziness is not a basis for who gets handouts; rather, the basis is the person’s socio-economic status. Lastly, there’s no logical basis in the statement that all Geminis can’t make decisions. The ability to make decisions depend on a number of factors – maturity, experience, skills, and others – but not on their zodiac sign.
The following issues are those that I’m still uncertain about: (1) Same-sex couples make an excellent parents; (2) America is the greatest nation in the world; and (7) Democracy is the best form of government. To ascertain if something bears truth or not, previous experiences may be used as bases and in-depth knowledge about it may be gained through research. Another way is to examine how the statement was formulated -- whether it is from hearsay or from facts proven by authoritative people or by experimentations.

Close Reading: Point/Counterpoint

Education is an aspect of life, which is vital in one’s personal and professional growth. As Plato said, “The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life” (qtd. in BrainyQuote). The government is giving importance to the education of the youth in order to provide them with enough training for their college lives. However, there is an issue raised about the race and education in our state. This issue is about the “resegregation” of students across the schools in the state. There are recognized persons who support and oppose this “resegregation”.
Dennis Parker, Director of the Racial Justice Program, has written an article about “resegregation” in the schools of our state. Parker stated that Northern districts have a big number of Latinos and Blacks attending segregated schools (cited in Karaim 728). Parker added that having an underfunded school is the result of the discrimination on the segregation of housing for each district (Karaim 729). Parker explained that in a district where housing discrimination is observed, the schools in that district would also be considered underfunded since the fund is not given importance in these districts. This is also because students are segregated due to their color, ethnicity, and race (Karaim 729). However, Parker did not only dwell on segregation as one of the problems in the educational system. Parker said that the educational system is deprived and that the students who are segregated racially, ethnically, and economically are placed in schools, which have fewer resources and have teachers that are inexperienced. However, these schools are faced with higher costs of expenses in educating these disadvantaged students (Karaim 730).
On the other hand, Roger Clegg, President and General Counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity refuted that there is no child that attends a segregated school. Clegg stated, too, that it is true that there are racial disparities in schools but a Black child does not need a White child to learn in school (qtd. in Karaim 731). Clegg also added that African-American children are most likely to grow in single-parent homes, go to schools that are underfunded, and have peers who are not that very much interested in studying (Karaim 732). Moreover, Clegg elucidated that other people acknowledge the fact that the school is substandard, yet they do not accept the reforms to make it better. These include participation in initiatives such as competitions among schools, merit pays for teachers, and more choices for parents and students (Karaim 733). Furthermore, Stephan and Abegail Thernstrom from Clegg’s article also explained that there is no increase in the racial imbalance in schools and that White students attend schools that are composed of diverse races (in Karaim 734). However, Therstroms clarified that Hispanic and Black students are not exposed to White students now because there is a decline in the number of White students in the school-age population (cited in Karaim 734). The Therstroms also said that there is no rationality to the premise that racial balance improves the academic achievement of students (as cited in Karaim 735). Clegg asserted that we should stop counting how many White, Black, or Hispanic students there are in a classroom and instead improve the schools (cited in Karaim 736).
Employing the four questions in Parker’s article, his premise is that discrimination among the houses in the Northern districts exists because if Latinos and Blacks are living there, it implies that the schools that will be erected in that area will have insufficient resources since that neighborhood will be thought of as inferior. The argument of Parker of having a substandard school because the students who study there are racially segregated from others will not be given utmost attention, which means that there would be no equal educational opportunity for segregated schools. Parker saw this setback that Latinos and Black students are not prioritized as much as the White students. His claims are strong and the details he provided are relevant because he stated that having housing discrimination will just add to the poverty concentration of that district (cited in Karaim 729). The arguments of Parker are non-circular since he stated that living in districts where housing discrimination is evident leads to schools, which are also segregated.
In Clegg’s article his premise is also true that a classroom does not have to be racially balanced to promote learning (as cited in Karaim 731). However, in his premise that an African-American child is most likely to live in a single-parent home is quite weak since not all African-American children experience living in a single-parent home, with friends who don’t like to study. There are also African- American children live in a home where their parents live together and they may also have peers who encourage their studying. His arguments are also non-circular since there is no concrete evidence that there is a need for Hispanics, Black, and White students to be in one classroom to promote learning.
Between the arguments, I can say that Parker’s argument is more logical than Clegg’s since he pointed out the results of having housing discrimination will further yield in schools being unattended to by their local government since they teach the color races. This discrimination, when it comes to ethnicity and race, is a common sight in our state. In Clegg’s argument, he only emphasized ignoring whether a school does or does not cater to color races. The important point is that the schools’ educational system should be improved. Parker’s argument shows how because of segregation, the color races are burdened in the school where they are forced to study. This is the argument the Clegg cannot counter-act.

Works Cited

BrainyQuote. “The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life.”
brainyquote.com. BrainyQuote, 2015. Web. 8 Jan. 2015
< http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/plato384971.html>.
Karaim, Reed. “Race and Education: Are US Schools Becoming Resegragated?” CQ
Researcher 24 (2014): 721-744. Print.