High School Declaration Assignment

[Bismarck]

My younger brother who is a high school student was assigned to write a paper on why the declaration of Independence was a "selfish" document. The premise was of course that it only helped rich white men. I found this particularly offensive as the Declaration led to the freest most prosperous society in the history of the earth, benefitting all people. It is unfair to judge 18th century people by 21st century standards. What do you guys think? Is this as ridiculous as it seems to me or is the declaration a selfish document?

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

My younger brother who is a high school student was assigned to write a paper on why the declaration of Independence was a "selfish" document. The premise was of course that it only helped rich white men. I found this particularly offensive as the Declaration led to the freest most prosperous society in the history of the earth, benefitting all people. It is unfair to judge 18th century people by 21st century standards. What do you guys think? Is this as ridiculous as it seems to me or is the declaration a selfish document?

This has Social Justice Warrior written all over it.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

It's important to look critically at all such documents, even those considered sacrosanct.

[Zioneer]

It's important to look critically at all such documents, even those considered sacrosanct.

[Antonio the Sixth]

It's important to look critically at all such documents, even those considered sacrosanct.

Definitely.

That said, I wouldn't call the Declaration "selfish" as much as suffering from severe cognitive dissonance.

[Simfan34]

Does the assignment require him to defend that position, or merely evaluate it? If it is the former, I find it rather remarkable-- it doesn't so much inspire critical thinking as it does force the student to take a hostile position.

[angus]

Is this as ridiculous as it seems to me or is the declaration a selfish document?

Whether it is or isn't selfish isn't the point.  The point is to make a persuasive argument that it is selfish.  It's a good exercise.

It's like you're on the debate team and you have to prepare a debate about capital punishment.  You don't get to choose whether you're arguing the affirmative or the negative.  You just take your assignment and go with it syllogistically and persuasively.  What your subjective beliefs tell you is a different matter altogether.  

[Хahar 🤔]

The founding fathers were all turds except for Tom Paine, and people who speak about the United States in absolutes are morons.

[Penelope]

This has Social Justice Warrior written all over it.

lol

Does the assignment require him to defend that position, or merely evaluate it? If it is the former, I find it rather remarkable-- it doesn't so much inspire critical thinking as it does force the student to take a hostile position.

After all, the best way to encourage critical thinking is to ask a student to regurgitate their own opinions on an issue.

[politicus]

Is this as ridiculous as it seems to me or is the declaration a selfish document?

Whether it is or isn't selfish isn't the point.  The point is to make a persuasive argument that it is selfish.  It's a good exercise.

It's like you're on the debate team and you have to prepare a debate about capital punishment.  You don't get to choose whether you're arguing the affirmative or the negative.  You just take your assignment and go with it syllogistically and persuasively.  What your subjective beliefs tell you is a different matter altogether.  

Yeah, thats what I thought. But teenagers hate assignments were they have to argue  against their own beliefs.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Is this as ridiculous as it seems to me or is the declaration a selfish document?

Whether it is or isn't selfish isn't the point.  The point is to make a persuasive argument that it is selfish.  It's a good exercise.

It's like you're on the debate team and you have to prepare a debate about capital punishment.  You don't get to choose whether you're arguing the affirmative or the negative.  You just take your assignment and go with it syllogistically and persuasively.  What your subjective beliefs tell you is a different matter altogether.  

Yeah, thats what I thought. But teenagers hate assignments were they have to argue  against their own beliefs.

Attorney's do hat every day.  Yeah suck it up and do it.  No big whup.

[ElectionsGuy]

Ridiculous. There should always be choice in a persuasive essay like this, where you can take multiple stands. Forcing students to pick a side and advocate for it, especially when its one they may not agree with or its controversial, is so unprofessional by the high school that it should be reported and changed. Plus the declaration of independence was anything but a selfish document. It was for everyone in colonial America. I would find it particularly cringe-worthy if they are implying Britain was right.

Come on liberals, you can't deny this is indoctrination at its worst.

[SWE]

Ridiculous. There should always be choice in a persuasive essay like this, where you can take multiple stands. Forcing students to pick a side and advocate for it, especially when its one they may not agree with or its controversial, is so unprofessional by the high school that it should be reported and changed.

Yes, forcing kids to learn about other positions, instead of just mindlessly regurgitating their own opinions without ever having them be challenged, is literally fascism.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

...

[°Leprechaun]

Selfish is normal. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That could be the gist of the essay in ten words.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Ridiculous. There should always be choice in a persuasive essay like this, where you can take multiple stands. Forcing students to pick a side and advocate for it, especially when its one they may not agree with or its controversial, is so unprofessional by the high school that it should be reported and changed.

Yes, forcing kids to learn about other positions, instead of just mindlessly regurgitating their own opinions without ever having them be challenged, is literally fascism.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

...

I'd love to read your essay defending capitalism. When is it due? Or do they not do that in the eighth grade?

[SWE]

Ridiculous. There should always be choice in a persuasive essay like this, where you can take multiple stands. Forcing students to pick a side and advocate for it, especially when its one they may not agree with or its controversial, is so unprofessional by the high school that it should be reported and changed.

Yes, forcing kids to learn about other positions, instead of just mindlessly regurgitating their own opinions without ever having them be challenged, is literally fascism.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

...

I'd love to read your essay defending capitalism. When is it due? Or do they not do that in the eighth grade?

Is there a point to this post or?

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

People are being dense. If you could choose which side to argue on, people would naturally chose the easy option: the one that they've heard since the age of four. The exercise is to expand student's ability to form an argument, so it's a useful exercise to look at a familiar event from a perspective they haven't looked at it before. There is nothing more helpful in developing your ingrained opinions than arguing from the opposite side This isn't an evil conspiracy by anti-American jews or something...

[dead0man]

People are being dense. If you could choose which side to argue on, people would naturally chose the easy option: the one that they've heard since the age of four. The exercise is to expand student's ability to form an argument, so it's a useful exercise to look at a familiar event from a perspective they haven't looked at it before. There is nothing more helpful in developing your ingrained opinions than arguing from the opposite side This isn't an evil conspiracy by anti-American jews or something...

If every kid got a specific assignment, tailored to have them "check" their specific biases, you'd have an excellent point.  If the teacher gave everybody in class the same assignment, not so much.  The OP didn't say.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

I think it's fair to say that most students, assuming they grew up in the U.S., would have grown up with the classic "founders good, British bad" story. not that that's incorrect - it's certainly more correct than the idea that the Brits were great or "both sides were just as bad"- but it still represents an ingrown bias.

[dead0man]

Sure, most, but clearly not all.  Shouldn't the America haters have the chance to get smarter too?

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Are there many pro-British high schoolers around?

[Slander and/or Libel]

People are being dense. If you could choose which side to argue on, people would naturally chose the easy option: the one that they've heard since the age of four. The exercise is to expand student's ability to form an argument, so it's a useful exercise to look at a familiar event from a perspective they haven't looked at it before. There is nothing more helpful in developing your ingrained opinions than arguing from the opposite side This isn't an evil conspiracy by anti-American jews or something...

If every kid got a specific assignment, tailored to have them "check" their specific biases, you'd have an excellent point.  If the teacher gave everybody in class the same assignment, not so much.  The OP didn't say.

Or if the next assignment were to argue the opposite side, again for everybody. If everybody had to try to make the most persuasive argument possible from both sides of an issue, that could be a meaningful assignment.

[dead0man]

Are there many pro-British high schoolers around?

Sure, but probably not a lot of overlap with the America haters I was talking about.  I would assume most teenage American Britophiles would like America too.

[Simfan34]

Are there many pro-British high schoolers around?

Well, I was one, but that's just me. I'd take the position in the prompt, if I was asked. I personally agree with it, I just find it somewhat self-indulgent on the part of whoever drafted the curriculum.

[Bismarck]

They weren't allowed to write against the prompt.
I agree with what some posters are saying about looking at all documents critically, blind faith isn't a good thing. I disagree however with the idea that this is challenging what they had been taught in school; generally any history class i took had curriculum that portrayed white Americans as historic villians. So it wasn't argue this crazy point as much as it was show that you understand how racist and elitist the founders were.