Debate: Emotion v. Reason

Debate: Emotion v. Reason

A great example of someone who (I assume) means well but relies on emotion and appeal to pity to make her argument versus someone who relies on reason and appeals to objective criteria to make an argument.

Boston.com / News / Education / K-12 / MCAS / A Test of Wills

Marcella I think of MCAS as a classist, racist test. It is unfair, and it contributes to leaving behind the very students it claims it wants to help. It doesn't take a genius to see that children from affluent communities and with educated parents do very well on the test. And who doesn't do well? Special-education kids. Trade-school kids. Minorities and underprivileged kids.

Marina If you look at the actual test questions, they are not in themselves racist or classist. The test is not constructed poorly. It is very important to have standardized tests such as MCAS to ensure that all kids, no matter what their background, are striving to achieve the same level.

Marcella Many children are disadvantaged from the moment they are born. The idea that these children are to be given the same kind of test as kids who have come to school already so much more advanced is bogus.

Marina You're saying, well, kids come to school from different levels so they should be given different standards so we can say they've made enough progress. And you think that's OK? Isn't that just kind of an excuse for a teacher to say, well, this kid's parents can't read, so I have to set a lower standard? I agree that children come to school with different levels and learn at different rates. But when you graduate high school, you have to have a certain base level of skills, a base standard that everyone should have reached.

It only gets better from there. Joe Bob says check it out.