CRITICAL INDENT JOURNAL with the following guideline1. The incident is a real-live very descriptive related to one of the topics touched upon
2. The relevant topic is explained from the notes or what was discussed in class
3. Research with proper quotations is included
4. The reflection brings all the above together to make a reasoned conclusion
5. The reference of the works quoted is included.
attached template and notes/slides from the class
CRITICAL INCIDENT JOURNAL ON THE FIRST TOPIC Students’ Names: 1.1 The Tale of Anne, The Teacher’s Daughter Ever since we were unceremoniously and without warning dragged out of the most comfortable and safe home we knew (mummy’s womb), protesting, kicking, screaming to no avail: we are told to “Be a good boy or girl.” Over the years, I was frequently perplexed and at the same time confused by the meaning of the term “good” as I helplessly watched adults ruthlessly and seemingly seamlessly shift the goal posts on what and who they considered good or bad. Looking back at a cool apparently uneventful evening at a private primary school in rural Kenya, I found myself in yet another such conundrum. It was “games time” as we called it back in the day- a time to let loose, run with the wild horses and forget that at some point that day the math teacher had wondered rather loudly in a class full of your peers whether the intelligence gene in your bloodline had skipped a generation. We were just winding up a great time of fun and games in the field and I was chatting up my newly acquired friends as we chided and exchanged stories with reckless abandon. Little did I know that this would soon be a scene I would be forced to enter into the journal of nightmares. As I was tying up the laces on my snickers, I noticed an old crumpled up fifty-shilling note glaring at me in the grass. I picked it up and alerted my good friends of the find, suggesting it could be some poor child’s bus fare back home. I decided to take it to the teacher on duty according to school protocol for him to find the probably desperate owner who I could picture frantic, distraught, or even weeping torrentially in a corner somewhere. Anne (not her real name), quickly offered to do it since she knew the teacher on duty. Anne was a daughter to a teacher on staff and according to my novice mind and inexpert judgement in hindsight, a good girl. I agreed and handed the note over to her without a second thought, wishing them a nice evening and looking forward to more play time the following evening. As only God can set it up, I bumped into a little girl searching who was beside herself, searching desperately for something in the grass. Curious, I asked what she was searching for in the field at such an hour. She explained to me that she had lost her bus fare and described the very note I had picked up earlier. Imagine my elation and the grin that swept across my face as I told her that I had found it and handed it over to Anne, being careful and insistent on mentioning that it was Anne the teacher’s daughter, and she was taking it to the teacher on duty. After showering me with more gratitude than I knew what to do with, I walked to the school dormitories with a prance in my step knowing I had done at least one verifiable good deed that day. Had I? My innocent eleven-year-old mind was not prepared for the events that followed. I was dragged out of class to the teacher on duty’s office early the next day. As I scurried over, I could not imagine what I could have done. As I pushed the office door open, the creaking hinges seemed to provide an ominous soundtrack, as my gut churned with the anticipation of evil foreboding. I was shocked out of my boots to see the girl who had lost her money kneeling on the ground with one of my companions from last evening’s awesome play date. Towering over them was the enormous frame of Mr. Destar the foreign French teacher, flashed red hot and seething with an unquenchable fury, cane in hand. Standing next to him, was Anne the teacher’s daughter weeping and sniffling in between quiet sobs. I was ordered to kneel down immediately, obeying without question as a cold rather unwelcome sweat beaded my forehead. Mr. Destar (not his real name) proceeded to spew out an avalanche of accusations that culminated into one statement “You are a liar!” I quickly explained the events of the previous evening as fast as I could with the other girl, my only witness corroborating my story. Anne the teacher’s daughter broke into a crescendo of wails and sobs worthy of an Oscar accusing us of taking and spending the money and falsely inculpating her. My jaw dropped open, and my mouth went dry. What was happening? I could not believe it. We were each whacked thoroughly on the palms of our hands. It felt like a thousand miniscule shards of glass were burring their way into my skin-it stung, piercing even into the depths of my soul and shattering my heart and all I knew of the world. We were dismissed with a stern warning to desist from tale baring- fake news, especially about a good and honest girl like Anne, the teacher’s daughter. Speechless, we stared blankly at each other for what seemed like days, then quietly walked back to our classes trying to process what had just transpired. I could not believe it! I thought Anne, the teacher’s daughter was a good girl, was she not? 1.2 Through the Lens of The Five Types of Good Good is simply defined as a conformity to a certain standard. The Oxford dictionary brings in the dimension od morality by defining good as that which is morally right or righteous or a benefit or advantage to someone or something. Morality is way of living, acting, deciding according to what one knows as good, behaviour. As an adjective, it is defined as that which is to be desired or approved of or having the qualities required for a particular role. Seeing as good ought to be subject to a certain set of standards, the five types of good will help me clarify my confusion as to whether Anne, the teacher’s daughter was good. According to the criteria of being which denotes existence, Anne was good, because she existed and as far as I could tell she was physically whole without any deformity or missing body parts. in terms of doing, Anne was biologically good because she did not suffer from any obvious illnesses, sicknesses or injuries (Although at some point I might have thought of remedying that!) Anne was smart and intelligent, evidenced by her progress in school, her acting skills and impressive ability to lie. Apparently, according to some studies, lying in children is a sign of intelligence. Well, yes it takes a certain kind of mental disposition and aptitude to lie effectively, which brings me to the final type of good-moral behaviour. Anne chose to both steal and lie and even manipulate an adult into cooperating with her in her lie. Her behaviour was immoral. Anne scores a 4 out of 5. Was Anne good? If you had asked my eleven-year-old self then, most definitely not! Almost does not count and Anne was most definitely not a good girl. Well, I have grown a bit taller and smarter since then, and in conclusion Anne was a good girl who needed continuous moral education before she grew into a sociopathic delinquent and maybe join the drama club to put her impressive acting skills to better use. Wherever she may be today, I hope she found the right path. 1.3 What do Others Think About Humanity and Good? Ethics is not only about the morality of particular courses of action, but it's also about the goodness of individuals and what it means to live a good life. Virtue Ethics is particularly concerned with the moral character of human beings. According to an article on good versus right, the author defines good as that which has benefits stating that something that benefits something or someone else is called good for that thing or person. He argues that we can think of this instrumentally or biologically. Biologically, air, water, and food are good or beneficial for living beings. Instrumentally, what is good for a thing enables that thing to serve its purpose. To make sense, an instrumental usage of the term “good” requires reference to somebody's purpose or intention. The instrumental usage is expressed in terms of usefulness, of utility for achieving a purpose or intention. The biological usage is further expressed in terms of health and well-being. His definition and argument though valid lack the multidimensional component which is fundamental in capturing the true essence of the complexities of humanity. On this, he concludes, “I am very sceptical of claims there exists something absolutely good, that is, something alleged to be good without reference to its effects. Certainly, on my definition of “good” such a concept makes no sense. Also, there is no end to the chains of goods and ends, no summum bonum (highest good) in which all chains culminate or from which all goods are derived. The world is a web, not a hierarchy. The only ultimate good would be the good of the entire universe and all that is within it, not an abstract entity or concept apart from it. (Sumner, 1979)” A question that often arises and arose at least where the five types of good is concerned is the question of the goodness and human nature. In an interesting article highlighting a psychological experiment on this, a group of scientists ventured into the unknown to find out whether we are innately good or bad. For millennia, philosophers have argued whether we have a basically good nature that is corrupted by society, or a basically bad nature that is kept in check by society. Psychology has uncovered some evidence which might move us closer to putting this debate to rest. They decided to look at the mind and behaviour of babies who according to their analysis had little to no environmental and societal influence and corruption. Their results suggest that even the youngest humans have a sense of right and wrong, and, furthermore, an instinct to prefer good over evil. These experiments carried out at Yale university led them to conclude that, at minimum though, it shows that tightly bound into the nature