Articles Review

Name of the Student

Name of the Institution

Introduction

This paper presents a critical review of three articles scheduled to be studied in class. Personal opinion is given on whether the content of each article is confusing, gripping, thought-provoking, resonant, commendable, laughable or frustrating.

Review

Bai, H. (2009). Reanimating the universe: Environmental education and philosophical animism.

In M. McKenzie, P. Hart, H. Bai, & B. Jickling (Eds.), Fields of green: Restoring culture, environment, and education (pp. 135–151). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press

In the above article, Bai (2009) takes a philosophical approach to sensitize the readers that they should avoid destroying ecosystem and be actively involved in protecting it from destruction. There are several notable aspects of the content of the article. Firstly, the author uses a gripping introduction, through comparing their inability to feel pain in the destruction of the ecosystem with ‘psychic numbing’ (Bai, 2009, p. 135). The concept is commonly used to describe people who do not feel pain when killing fellow human beings. The readers become eager to know how destruction of the ecosystem can be equated to killing of human beings. A notable laughable comment in the article is that “the soul enters through the soles,” (Bai, 2009, p. 150). The author elaborates the phrase by claiming that one can grow spiritually and develop passion for ecosystem through walking. In his elaboration, the author states that early philosophers had passion for preservation of ecosystem because they developed it through walking. Also, the author makes a thought-provoking comment that “extinction rate for elements of ecosystem has increased to at least 1,000 species per year” (Bai, 2009, p. 149).

However, the author confuses the reader through noting the immense positive impact of Plato and Descartes on western civilization and ultimately pointing out his influence in de-animation of humans. Bai (2009) argues that Descartes and Plato contributed immensely in enhancing civilized thinking in western nations. However, their influence led to ‘de-animation’ of human consciousness. Precisely, Bai (2009) argues that due to the influence of the two fathers of philosophy, people are no-longer sensitive of the ecosystem, and that is why they destroy it without feeling any pain. Despite this, the article is commendable because it deeply persuades the readers and challenges them to actively engage in preservation of the ecosystem. The content of the article is highly influential and it manages to reverse the status of mind of people so that they can view and appreciate the intrinsic worth of the world and thus, avoid engaging in further destruction of ecosystem.

Claxton, G. (1997). The speed of thought. In Hair brain, tortoise mind: How intelligence

increases when you think less (pp. 1–14). New York, NY: The Ecco Press

Claxton (1997), in the above article, argues that it is a good idea to rest, rather than working full time in search of new information and solutions. The article has a gripping introduction to the key issue discussed in it. The author uses the saying “the turtle buries its thoughts, like its eggs, in the sand, and allows the Sun to hatch the little ones” (Claxton, 1997, p. 1). The article becomes thought-provoking when the author elaborates the meaning of the saying and how it relates to the topic contained in the article. In the elaboration, the author states stronger and faster mind processes are not always the best ways of achieving natural intelligence. Claxton (1997) makes a provoking claim that the human mind is endowed with a certain kind of natural intelligence that is accessible when individual’s mind is not busy. Also, the author makes a surprising claim by stating that people in the Euro-American culture have neglected natural endowments through relentlessly searching for new information and solutions without giving their minds adequate time to rest. As a result, they miss the natural endowment or intelligence that the mind acquires when resting.

However, the article is a bit frustrating to the reader since the author wanders a lot before striking the key point. In fact, the author states the purposes of the article at the end. Despite this, the extensive elaboration about how the mind works enhances the resonance of the key message given by the author. The article is commendable because its content is fascinating and quite challenging to the reader. This is due to the fact that many people usually think that faster and stronger thinking is the only way of acquiring intelligence. The article enables the reader to understand that although people acquire various forms of intelligence through rushing and thinking strongly, some forms of intelligence can only be acquired when the mind is slow in speed or when it is at rest. Thus, the article drives the key point home that people should give their minds enough time to process different types of activities and take enough rest.

Zajonc, A. (2006). Love and Knowledge: Recovering the Heart of L earning through

Contemplation. Teachers College Record, 108(9), 1742–1759

In the above article, Zajonc (2006) explains the importance of contemplative learning in class. The gripping section of the article is the abstract, which gives a brief introduction and summary of the article. In the abstract, Zajonc (2006) notes that teachers in American higher education institutions are increasingly integrating contemplative learning approach with other pedagogical strategies. The author further states that, however, the use of contemplative learning approach is still limited. The author provokes the reader though pointing out that contemplative learning can be enhanced through adopting teaching methods that can enhance “contemplative, ethical, affective and reflective capacities of students” (Zajonc, 2006, p. 1742). The reader becomes eager to know the methods that can enhance contemplative learning.

However, the content of the summary may seem to be frustrating to most readers since it focuses on a topic that seems to be very common and obvious. The concept of ‘contemplating learning’ seems to be attractive to teachers and learners only. From the heading and the introduction, the author seems like he intended to focus on contemplative learning only. Despite this, the author extends the purpose of study to other concepts. While the topic of study is contemplating learning, the author notes that teachers should combine “conventional learning with experiential, transformative, and reflective pedagogy” (Zajonc, 2006, p. 1742). Adding other concepts may confuse the reader, even though the concepts may be related to the concept of contemplative learning.

The reader may also be confused by the concept of ‘epidemiology of love’ since the author takes an extensive approach to explain it, rather than giving a specific meaning. Despite the aforementioned issues, the content of the article becomes more interesting as the reader reads the practical implications of contemplative learning in the article. The article is commendable since the author uses a practical approach to reiterate the importance of using contemplating learning, in addition to the conventional pedagogical approaches.

References

Bai, H. (2009). Reanimating the universe: Environmental education and philosophical animism.

In M. McKenzie, P. Hart, H. Bai, & B. Jickling (Eds.), Fields of green: Restoring culture, environment, and education (pp. 135–151). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press

Claxton, G. (1997). The speed of thought. In Hair brain, tortoise mind: How intelligence

increases when you think less (pp. 1–14). New York, NY: The Ecco Press

Zajonc, A. (2006). Love and Knowledge: Recovering the Heart of L earning through

Contemplation. Teachers College Record, 108(9), 1742–1759