Introduction
“Observation is key to diagnosis, and art can teach students to slow down and really look,” said Craig Klugman, a bioethicist and medical anthropologist at DePaul University who is a co-author of a study on using art to enhance the observational skills of nursing students. “A clinician might notice one thing about a patient, such as dirty hands or torn clothes, and jump to conclusions without looking more closely. We found that art can teach students to see both the big picture and small details that can be easily overlooked,” he said. In physical examinations, it’s important for clinicians to remove this type of bias, explained Klugman, in order to make only evidence-based observations that are free of bias (Krugman & Beckmann-Mendez, 2015).
George Washington High School in San Francisco, California, is the site of a mural, “Life of Washington,” painted by Depression-era artist Victor Arnautoff. In 2018, the mural became the subject of controversy when some parents and students wanted the murals removed as racially and ethnically offensive while others vigorously defended the murals (Tucker, 2019)
Nancy Truong, a 2013 graduate of the school. “This mural is not teaching students about the history of slavery and indigenous genocide under George Washington or other white settlers. Instead, it is teaching students to normalize violence and death of our black and indigenous community” (Tucker, 2019, para. 4).
Supporters argued the historic work is an important piece of art that is actually critical of oppression and imperialism and that destroying it or covering it equates to book burning. “’They should not be removed,’ said George Wright. ‘Removing them represents censorship as well as a reactionary moment in time’” (Tucker, 2019, More Mural Coverage section ).
Do an online search about this controversy (suggested search <California Washington mural controversy>). Be sure to look at the murals, taking careful note of the mural panels contained in them. Should the panels be removed or covered over, or should they stay in place? With whom do you agree, and why?
Think: Ask yourself: What do I see? What do I see that makes me think that? What more do I see? Examine your reasoning. Does it demonstrate the important standards of critical thinking? What are your premises for your opinion? Do you make reasonable inferences from the observed facts? Are your assumptions warranted?
Write: Write a short paper in which you express your conclusion about what should be done with these murals.
· Be sure to include your reasons and evidence (in the form of references with in-text citations) that supports your opinion.
· At the end of your paper, include a summary and diagram of your argument.
· This paper must be no more than 300 words, or about 1.5 pages in length, not including the title page diagram and reference page.
Writing Requirements
· Length: 1.5 pages
· 1-inch margins
· Double spaced
· 12-point Times New Roman font
· Title page
· References page (lesson/textbook citation and outside source citation in APA format)
