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Now let’s consider the types of claims in the Sadkers’ argument.■ (^) Identify Claims of fact
Claims of fact are assertions (or arguments) that seek to define or classify
something or establish that a problem or condition has existed, exists, or
will exist. Claims of fact are made by individuals who believe that some-
thing is true; but claims are never simply facts, and some claims are more
objective, and so easier to verify, than others.
For example, “It’s raining in Portland today” is a “factual” claim of fact;
it’s easily verified. But consider the argument some make that the steel
and automotive industries in the United States have depleted our natural
resources and left us at a crisis point. This is an assertion that a condition
exists. A careful reader must examine the basis for this kind of claim: Are
we truly facing a crisis? And if so, are the steel and automotive industries
truly responsible? A number of politicians counter this claim of fact by in -
sisting that if the government were to harness the vast natural resources in
Alaska, there would be no “crisis.” This is also a claim of fact, in this case
an assertion that a condition will exist in the future. Again, it is based on
evidence, evidence gathered from various sources that indicates sufficient
resources in Alaska to keep up with our increasing demands for resources
and to allay a potential crisis.
Our point is that most claims of fact are debatable and challenge us
to provide evidence to verify our arguments. They may be based on fac-
tual information, but they are not necessarily true. Most claims of fact
present interpretations of evidence derived from inferences. That is, a
writer will examine evidence (for example, about the quantity of natural
resources in Alaska and the rate that industries harness those resources
and process them into goods), draw a conclusion based on reasoning
chose boy after boy to speak. In one interaction she peered through the
forest of girls’ hands waving directly in front of her to acknowledge the
raised hand of a boy in the back of the room. Startled by the teacher’s
attention, the boy muttered, “I was just stretching.”
The next day we discussed the show with future teachers, our stu-
dents at The American University. They were bewildered. “Those teach-
ers really were sexist. They didn’t mean to be, but they were. How could
that happen — with the cameras and everyone watching?” When we
took those students into classrooms to discover the hidden lessons for
themselves, they began to understand. It is difficult to detect sexism
unless you know precisely how to observe. And if a lifetime of socializa-
tion makes it difficult to spot gender bias even when you’re looking for
it, how much harder it is to avoid the traps when you are the one doing
the teaching.
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sAdkER And sAdkER | HIddEn lEssons
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