Letters of the day: Critical thinking required

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/06/2010 (5889 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Re: Exam question angers B’nai Brith (June 9). One would hope that Manitoba’s Grade 12 students are, unlike their education minister, intelligent enough to understand that hatred and criticism aren’t synonyms.

 

SAM HEINRICHS

Winnipeg

 

Alan Yusim of B’nai Brith is reported to believe that a question on the provincial language arts exam "promotes anti-Israel hatred among some of the students who wrote the test." What was this exam question? "Explain whether or not you think people in the entertainment industry have a responsibility for making the world a better place."

Now I don’t much like the question either. It’s badly worded and I would have thought that a committee of teachers could have created a much better invitation to discuss, think, and write. The question, however, could certainly not be construed as inflammatory. It doesn’t lead the students to any conclusion about the responsibility of any nation for the suffering of children in any place. It deals with another issue entirely.

There is much ignorance and bigotry in the world and students must be taught to think critically and determine whether the information they are given is sufficient to enable them to reach reasonable conclusions. They cannot be taught such lessons by being exposed only to opinions that are not controversial

 

JOAN NEWTON

Winnipeg