Week 10

All human action takes place within a way of looking at and interpreting the world. As schooling now stands, very little is done to help students grasp how they are viewing the world and how those views determine the character of their experience, their interpretations, their conclusions about events and persons, etc. In teaching for critical thinking, we make the discovery of one's world view and the experience of other people's world views a fundamental priority. From Critical Thinking by Richard Paul.

Assignment 1:
        If you could make the World a better place over the next 10 years,  what five things would you want the current American government and United Nations to do.

Examples
1.  I would encourage a more representative United Nations security council.

2.   I would encourage and support family planning.

3.   I would increase tax spending on children's health and education..

4.   I would discourage government intervention in the marketplace except to control monopolies, maintain a strong central bank, and promote international trade.

5.   I would teach the truth about advertising and promote an open Internet.

Assignment 2:
     Write a world view statement.  Say whatever you want but follow standard English grammar and usage and make every word count. 

Example

My World View by Mark Coker

“Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone.”  I don’t recall if this quote is exact, however it does sum up my belief.  It makes a much more beautiful world when it is shared with joy.  Sorrow is a simple thing to find; it doesn’t hide.  The world is full of sorrow: unemployment, homeless, murder, rape, robbery, death, famine, child abuse....the list goes on.  The nightly news and newspaper headlines scream out about the unjust in the world.  The feel good stories are buried, a synopsis here and there, never the first or leading story.

This is sad. All I have to do is look around; beautiful things are happening around me.  The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing.  I go to the park and see all the parents out with their children. I watch them rooting on their kids at the soccer and baseball fields.  I attend crowded auditoriums full of parents watching their children perform in school musicals and plays.  I watch grandparents strolling through the park, hand in hand, enjoying their latter years together.  I see volunteers cleaning streets, business owners keeping graffiti removed from their store walls. 

The beauty is all around us. At some point we just need to open our skeptical eyes to see the little boy picking a flower for his Mother just to make her happy, and the Mother taking the flower, which in all actuality is probably just a piece of clover or dandelion, and smile and give him a hug to know that within the hearts of us all is a beauty just waiting to surface.  Walking through the world with our heads held high, a “hello, how are you” on our lips, and a smile always there to be seen, is certainly a better option than walking through the world waiting for the next crisis.  Sorrow is easy to find. Take a minute to find the joy--it is ever so much more rewarding.