Over the years, I have been writing about misconceptions regarding the schooling process. The purpose of these posts is to explain why I disagree with various comments that I have heard people make about schooling. These are meant as personal thoughts rather than conclusive proof, and I will admit that I'm not always the best at explaining my thoughts. Regardless, I have decided that I should be willing to share these posts when I encounter someone online who makes an argument that I have already discussed.
What is critical thinking? Instead of providing a definition, I want to discuss how the term has typically been used. Teachers who think someone is wrong about something typically complain that the problem is a lack of critical thinking. Although some of these are understandable concerns, such as people falling for misinformation, not everything that is perceived as wrong is factual. For example, having the wrong political beliefs is frequently connected to critical thinking.
Every example I have seen from teachers to point out deficiencies in critical thinking starts with what teachers want people to think. This includes personal beliefs and opinions, which should not be thought of as right or wrong. The only way you can avoid being wrong in the views of teachers is to defer to teachers to dictate what you think. That appears to be what teachers mean by critical thinking, but is that even really a form of thinking?
Teachers pride themselves on their importance due to their involvement in developing critical thinking skills. They also use the lack of critical thinking in modern times as proof that we need to increase our dependence on the schools. Considering how teachers in the government-controlled model openly boast that they are molding the minds of 90% of all children, there's a serious problem. If they are already so valuable in developing critical thinking skills, how has critical thinking in the most heavily schooled era in the history of humanity become such a problem. At the very least, I think it's safe to say that the schools have not been effective in this area.
How the term is used is problematic. Even if you can look past that, the arguments made by teachers themselves point to the schools being ineffective in this area. If you dare to look at both these problems, it's absurd to think that the importance of critical thinking is a valid argument in support of the status quo.
No comments:
Post a Comment