"Claim: We can usually learn much more from people whose views we share than from those whose views contradict our own.Reason: Disagreement can cause stress and inhibit learning.Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagr

The statement claims that similarities in views are conducive to learning while disagreement can lead to stress and inhibit learning. Though I agree that contradicting views can slow down the process and prevent people from reaching consensus, I don't fully support the reason and the claim.

First of all, disagreement does cause stress, especially when people are trapped in their own logic and do not try to understand other people's views. It was a frustrating experience following the online discussion about the immigration reform. Supporters claim that we should be more humanitarian to allow parents with kids born in the U.S. obtain the permission to stay with their families and to work. Opponents argue that the flood of immigrants are taking away jobs from the native workers, and the government should guarantee the local jobs first. Supporters do not take the job loss concern into account, while the opponents only focus on the economic recovery. As long as people in two camps do not communicate with each other and address the concerns from the other side, the seemingly heated discussion won't bear any results but the tension between two parties. In this circumstance, disagreement can only cause the chaos and slow down the progress.

However, stress does not necessarily inhibit learning, as long as we handle the stress correctly. Stress is a common emotion that almost every people in the highly competitive universities would encounter everyday. Assignments, projects, internships, each incurs stress when we think about our future career development and GPA. Doing yoga, go to stress reduction groups, exercising regularly ---there are numerous ways that can help students relief from the busy study life and keep on advancing their learning. It is even possible that stress can be converted to motivations if handled appropriately.

Furthermore, is it usually the case that we can learn much more from people with similar views than people who don't agree with us? Learning can not only result from harmony, but also from arguing and reasoning. For example, in a marketing group discussion, a group member offers a plan to do TV campaign to promote a product, while another group member thinks it is more effective to conduct an internet campaign and gives the reasons that more young people are checking their social media accounts online everyday and spend less time on watching TV. Though there is disagreement, every member in the group can learn the disadvantage and advantage of both campaign platforms and might come up with more innovative ways such as joint campaign to promote the product. Thus, with sound evidence and cogent reasoning, disagreement can actually help us to learn.

In conclusion, it is not stress that impacts learning, but the way people handle the stress; it is not disagreement that incur stress, but the way people express and take the disagreement.