<p>Main problem was organizing my thoughts and showing my example, even though I tried making an outline it eluded me somehow. I was also racing for time and did not have a second to look back. Tips on going faster? What kind of score would I get on this, and how can I improve? Thanks so much for your time.</p>
<p>Prompt:
"In recent years, many schools have adopted a 'Great Books'-based curriculum. These schools require students to study certain designated classic books of Western civilization, arguing the familiarity with these 'Great Books' is essential to education. However, opponents of this curriculum argue that forcing teachers and students to use only the 'Great Books', most of which are written by white, European authors, results in a biased view on the world. In your opinion, should schools adopt a 'Great Books'-based curriculum?"</p>
<p>Essay:
In the 15th century, Christopher Columbus officially disproved the long-standing idea that Europe was the center - the heart, essentially, of a flat world. Unfortunately, it seems that some are trying to instill this ethnocentric view of the world into our education system. To drown out the perspectives and voices of the 80% of the world that is not of European descent is to raise culturally ignorant students.</p>
<pre><code> Some may argue that these Euro-centric 'Great Books' are important in understanding our current Western civilization. They argue that the forefathers of American came from these European countries, even that there is a certain sophistication in knowing their philosophies and their histories. What these proponents of 'Great Books' are missing is the bigger picture. The soul of America today is its multicultural identity. The values and worldviews of the "other 80%" are represented by many of our citizens.
Take, for example, Anne Fadiman's ethnography, 'The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down', a look at how the values and traditions of Hmong immigrants clashed with the Western medical system. The Hmong's holistic view of the world made no distinction among the realms of the physical, mental, psychological, and spiritual - a contrast to the Western doctors who clearly separated them. Their lack of understanding complicated their treatment of a young Hmong child, as did their rigid Western desire to try to control as much as possible, while the Hmong believed that much was left up to elusive spirits. The Hmong were also a communal society, at odds with a legal system that favored individualism.
The Hmong are just one group in an endless spectrum of voices that make up human civilization. To ignore all these voices by focusing primarily on European authors not only robs students of knowledge of the rich diversity of the world, but it sets them at a disadvantage in today's globalized society, where we can no long pretend the Earth is flat.
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