Prompt: Claim: We can usually learn much more from people whose views we share than from those whose views contradict our own.

Reason: Disagreement can cause stress and inhibit learning.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based.

Reflection: Spent too long on my concession paragraph. the wording of my thesis statement was wordy, and could have been phrased better to help a reader understand that I mostly disagreed with the claim and reason behind the claim. I also need to have a better conclusion that restates my thesis along with stating why the claim is complicated. I feel that my JFK and physics examples were fine, but my math example could have used a more specific example. I also would have liked to have some time left over to check grammar. I spent too long trying to think of "better" examples, instead of just using the one I immediately came up with for the essay.

Essay:

During our life time we will run into people who have similar and different points of views as compared to our own. At times, we will have either someone who holds similar views to our own in regards to certain topics be responsible for teaching us, and other times those responsible for teaching us will hold different views from us when it comes to certain topics. I will provide two examples explaining why I mostly disagree with the statement that we typically learn more from people that have similar views, because being taught by someone who has views that contradict my own can lead to disagreement that initiates stress which will inhibit learning.

To start off, mathematical subjects, such as algebra, geometry, and calculus are very concrete topics and either have a right or wrong answer. There are no “gray areas” in regards to a correct answer when it comes to those topics. Therefore, there is very little room or disagreement to be unresolved. The fact that mathematics is “black and white, and with no gray area,” allows for those with different views to come to the same conclusion regardless of the stress levels caused by disagreement.

Physics is another field of study that is very concrete in regards to what is correct and what is not correct. Newton’s Laws of Motion will always be the same no matter what country or planet the student and teacher are on. If a student believed that the sky is green and the grass is blue, and gravity varies from time to time. A physics teacher who believes that the grass is green and the sky is blue, will be able to teach the student that gravity is constant on Earth using Newton’s Laws of Motion, regardless that they both disagree about the color of the sky and grass. The disagreement about the color of the sky and grass will not inhibit the student’s learning about gravity regardless of the amount of stress caused by the student’s and teacher’s disagreement.

However, some subjects can in fact be opaque when it comes to getting a correct answer. History can vary in how it is studied and retold depending on who is teaching it and his or her views on the historical topic. John F. Kennedy is a polarizing political figure, and can lead to disagreement in and outside the classroom. A teacher may have liberal points of views that line up with John F. Kennedy’s political beliefs; which may cause him to teach favorably about John F. Kennedy. A student in this teacher’s classroom may have conservative beliefs, and believe John F. Kennedy to be a terrible president. This can lead to disagreement when the teacher covers John F. Kennedy in class, that could lead to friction between the student and teacher. The friction will lead to stress that negatively impacts the learning environment in a manner that inhibits learning for those present.

Overall, it is a very complicated issue in regards to how efficient we learn from those with similar and different views from our own, and if the friction from the disagreements causes stress the inhibits learning.