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Despite persistent H1 N1 rumors, and after several grueling weeks outside of class researching and writing the Junior Theme, both of your teachers were in clear agreement that it was a fantastic return to form on Friday.
No matter where you stood on the issues, clearly, American Studies is BACK.
One thing I really learned in class was how important it is for us to continue to rely on face-to-face communication. Most of us love the tech, but looking back on the previous post, it was striking to me how quickly the
virtual discussion (below) diverged from the
intended focus.
But another important point was that even though the comments began to devolve into borderline nasty discourse, (referencing a beast of burden defined
here), I still feel that we are all a pretty tolerant, respectful bunch of people. Doc OC and I briefly considered deleting a few comments, but realized that this is a teachable moment to remember that
we shouldn't assume the worst, and that it's best to critique the ideas, not the person.
So, in the interest of debating the ideas, can we continue this discussion in a civil way?
My main concern is that there was a lack of critical thinking regarding the various terms we toss around rather casually. Can we agree upon certain "operational definitions"? For instance, the term, "
theory". Here is the definition I will use, taken from Kenneth Miller in the
On the Media piece cited here:
[theory]: a unified testable explanation that actually explains how different facts, how observations, how fossils, how facts about genetics or molecular biology, how these can all fit together.
So the interesting thing is that theory actually represents a higher level of understanding than fact. Fact is just a single isolated, repeatable observation. A theory is something that explains how all these facts fit together.
And we use the word “theory” like atomic theory, for example, not because we're not sure that atoms are real – we're pretty darn sure – but rather because atomic theory explains all these isolated observations and facts.
My other concern was with what is
a common logical error, made by many of us in the heat of the moment. It's sometimes called a "
negative proof fallacy", which basically means that if you can't provide evidence that my idea is wrong, then my idea is right. The problem with that, of course, is that we all know from many discussions that
the burden of proof is on the person making the argument, not the person who is perceived to need convincing.
So, in a blog post that ended up being far too long,
bring the evidence for your particular point of view. Stay focused on ONE thing at a time for clarity's sake. Be realistic about the limits of Church/State interaction in U.S. public schools. And, if you need help embedding links, you know where to find me!
The New York Times recently featured an article entitled, "Gatsby’s Green Light Beckons a New Set of Strivers". As you think about what it is that you desire most, consider the responses of these urban and immigrant students in a Boston high school.
