Critical Thinking Article & Critique - Forensics - MGT350 -Critical Thinking

Essay by kymberly76University, Bachelor'sA+, December 2003

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Recently, an article in the Wall Street Journal questioned whether forensics courses belong in the elementary and high school curricula. Is it possible that blood and gore could desensitize kids to crime, making them more prone to act violently in their schools and communities? (Palevitz, 10) According to Jeffery Tomberlin, a PhD forensic entomologist in Tifton, GA, the answer is no. "Students examining a forensic investigation are often asked to develop and test a number of hypotheses. Allowing them to work with scenarios...will stimulate them to think and reason though questions, ideas, and the information gathered (Palevitz, 10).

The article, "Forensics and Critical Thinking," explores the premise that children and high school students exposed to forensics, the evidenced-based, objective investigation in which science permeates, may become be future dangers to society (Palevitz, 10). The author of this article strongly disagrees. "When students learn the philosophical and methodological foundations of science, everybody profits (Palevitz, 10)."

The author argues that forensics has become a hot career topic, and ultimately, more and more young people today want to learn more about it. Consequently, bloodstains in forensics class do not nearly equivocate to the bloodshed in movies such as The Unforgiven, or Steven Spielberg's, Saving Private Ryan.

It is obvious within the article the author strongly believes that forensics is an important topic currently taught in schools today. His perception that kids are thick-skinned, and that some desensitizing may actually be beneficial, is a common theme throughout the article. The emotion, or rather, lack thereof, is unmistakable. While his position on this issue is clear, there appears to be not a lot of logic behind it. Sure, kids today are interested in the field of forensic science; however, many educators are concerned with the psychological effects caused by crime-scene material depicting such...