Critical Thinking
Part 2
Learning goals for this unit:
1. I can consider more than one point of view
2. I can make connections between social and moral issues
3. I can express and support personal reactions using evidence from the text
4. I can read and understand words in a difficult text using context clues
1. I can consider more than one point of view
Goal 1
Ask yourself:
• How do I form my opinions?
• Do I think carefully before I make a judgement? Or do I say the first thing that comes to mind?
• Are my opinions truly my own?
• Do opinions come solely from ourselves, or are there outside influences?
Point of View
Your opinions or point of view is based on your own personal experiences in your life:
• Parents
• Friends
• Teachers/coaches/leaders
• What you see happening to others
• What you see in the media • TV, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
*All of these factors influence how you see the world around you and shape your opinions or point of view
Point of View
Before you can make good judgements about an issue, you need to:• Think about your initial reaction – is it logical and based on fact, or is it based
on emotions or selfish reasoning?
• Consider both sides of the issue – why does the other side feel the way it does?
• Consider the evidence you would use to back up your own points
*You may not change your mind after considering another’s viewpoint, but your viewpoint is more valid if you act with an open mind.
When you fail to consider someone else’s point of view, you are showing bias.
Examples of bias:• Your friend only likes country music and refuses to even listen to your
favorite rock band. Your friend tells you that country music is the only music worth listening to.
• If you are biased towards a certain sports team, you’ll think they are best and might argue that referee or umpire calls against that team are wrong, even if the calls are fair.
• If friends are arguing and you always take one person’s side, you may have a bias in favor of that person.
• If a judge or jury is called biased, the verdict may not be fair.
• If a news program is biased, they may only report stories that show a particular point of view.
Media Bias
2. I can make connections between social and moral issues
Goal 2
What is the difference between a social issue and a moral issue?
Social Issue:
A social issue is a problem that prevents society from functioning normally. It affects a considerable number of the people within that society.
Moral Issue:
A moral issue is any issue that involves a difference of belief about what is right and what is wrong. Your morals are shaped by your worldview.
I can express and support personal reactions using evidence from the text
Goal 3
I can read and understand words in a difficult text using context clues
Goal 4
Sometimes you won't understand every word in a reading passage. One thing you can do to figure out new words is to use context clues.
• The CONTEXT is the words, sentences, and ideas that come before and after a word or phrase.
• When you read a passage, highlight any new words that you don't understand. Then, look in the context to find clues--words or phrases that hint at what the new word means.
Remember, you don't have to understand every word in a reading! Circle only the new words that are key to understanding the passage.
Article:Ethicists criticize treatment of teen, Texas patient
• Read the article while you highlight words that are unfamiliar.
• Any time the article sparks a question or causes confusion, make notof it in the margin of the text.
This article features 3 different cases: Jahi McMath, Terri Schiavo, and Marlise Munoz
Jahi McMath
• Died from complications of a tonsillectomy.• Hospital has declaired Jahi brain
dead.• Her parents still remain hopeful of
recovery.
• Jahi McMath resides in a special care facility with feeding tubes.
• Jahi’s family maintains that she’s alive because she’s maturing, reportedly having grown normally and shown signs of puberty and no organ decay.
• Terri went into cardiac arrest in her Florida home on February 25, 1990. She was resuscitated, but had massive brain damage due to lack of oxygen. After two and a half months without improvement, her diagnosis was changed to that of a persistent vegetative state.
• In 1998, Schiavo's husband petitioned the courts to remove her feeding tube in accordance of Florida law. He was opposed by Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler. her feeding tube was removed for the first time in 2001, only to be reinserted several days later.
• In February 2005, a judge again ordered the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. Several appeals and federal government intervention followed.
• After appeals through the federal court system upheld the original decision to remove the feeding tube, staff at the Pinellas Park hospice facility disconnected the feeding tube on March 18, 2005, and Schiavo died on March 31, 2005.
Terri Schiavo
Marlise Munoz
• Marlise Munoz suffered a blood clot in her lungs while she was 14 weeks pregnant. Doctors soon determined that she was brain-dead, but kept her on machines to keep her organs functioning for the sake of the fetus.
• Erick and Marlise Munoz already had one son, but both the hospital and Erick’s family agreed the fetus inside Marlise could not be delivered this early, and not much is known about the fate of children born to mothers who have suffered brain death.
• Munoz's attorneys said the fetus had significant abnormalities, including a deformation of the lower body that made it impossible to determine a gender.
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