I recently read an article in which the author, a professor of science, deplored the pitfalls of teaching students critical thinking skills: eventually, the students begin to doubt everything, even the techer’s knowledge and experiences. When I read the title of the article, my thoughts snapped out of “Mom in her PJs Drinking Coffee” to my alter ego, “Defender of Teaching Our Students Conscious Choices and Critical Thinking.”
I’m working on the name. But this persona is really tall, she wears super cool boots and can run really fast. In her boots, even. Not that she needs to run. She spends a lot of time standing in front of schools and ranting about how we teach our students in this country. Or don’t, as the case may be. She wears sharp fitted business suits and her hair always looks fabulous. Plus, her children are standing beside her in support and awe of her, not telling her “the hamburgers taste funny” or “you forgot to put money on my lunch card” or “by the way, the dog peed on the carpet awhile ago but it’s not my turn to clean it up.”
You see the difference.
The Defender wanted to write a rant-y response to this article on Facebook RIGHT.THEN. She’s rather impetuous. Instead, I advised that we actually read the entire article first, because that would be really funny, if we went and ranted about another author criticzing teaching critical thinking skills when we never actually read what was written. Get it?
I got the author’s viewpoint, after reading the article, and The Defender, while not backing down completely, settled for a quiet rumble in the back of my head.
Basically, the author states that, after spending a lot of time teaching his students not to believe everything they read in regards to scientific discoveries, they don’t just doubt the sketchy things they read; they doubt everything. Instead of believing we are on the edge of discovering the secrets of the universe, they are doubting we are truly gearing up for a future manned Mars mission, much less actually landed on the moon. In fact, they don’t even trust the author’s word now.
I like the part about the students learning not to believe everything they read. Love this, actually. But.
(You knew there would be a ‘but.’)
The Defender is all up in arms again (she really is quite excitable). She has a lot of questions: were only the skeptical viewpoints pushed? Did the author tell the students what was hinky about certain stories in the media or let them figure it out? Did he bring in opposing viewpoints and let the students work through it, or tell them what he thought?
Getting students to question what they read, hear and see is stellar. It is fabulous. But, see, it’s not necessarily teaching critical thinking skills. It’s teaching one side of things.
I calm down The Defender by reminding her that she has no idea what went on in that classroom. Jumping to conclusions is, again, not effecting good critical thinking skills. After all, the author’s article is written with his goal in mind, so how he actually taught or what he actually taught is going to be one-sided. But IF just one side was pushed in that classroom, that’s not teaching critical thinking skills. That’s teaching opinion. Opinion can be backed up, but that still doesn’t mean it’s a fact. If true critical thinking skills WERE taught (providing both sides and allowing students to draw conclusions), then maybe a different title is needed, because as isthe title could cause inflammatory responses just like the media being criticized does (The Defender cannot be the only excitable one out there).
True critical thinking skills are not just showing students that the opposite of what they think is true. It’s teaching them to question, and then to make their own decisions. It’s teaching them to evaluate texts or media, or actions of people, consider the sources, and draw conclusions not based on what the teacher, their parents or friends say, but what they believe based on their inferences, deductions and observations.
It’s giving them both viewpoints–or multiple viewpoints, if there are more than just two sides–and discussing them. A teacher teaching critical thinking skills does not actually want to teach his opinion. He or she is just the moderator, the presenter of all information. Is there a lesson the teacher is trying to get towards? Possibly. It shouldn’t be hard statements, though, such as “Science is not evolving as fast as the media makes it sound like, or “Shakespeare is the best playwright ever.” Lessons that teach critical thinking skills should be more along the lines of a theme, a main idea: “The media wll exaggerate stories to draw readers.” “Shakespeare’s plays have lasted through time because of the humanity he brings to his characters.”
The rest is all opinion, and you and your students should all have one.
Does this mean they will sometimes start to question their teachers, parents and friends? If they’ve been taught correctly, yes. Yes, please. Does this mean sometimes they will draw conclusions that are different from yours? Yes, please. Does this mean that, at some point, they will actually begin to question your lessons and teachings? Oh, please, yes.
If we are doing our job as educators, we will learn just as much from our students as they will from us. And yes, sometimes they will walk away, as a group, doubting everything. Even you. But, as The Defender will impress on you if you give her half a chance: going out into the world and doubting everything is so far, far better then simply believing anything.
SavageTimes 
[…] « The Risks of Critical Thinking […]
I think you have nailed this one in many ways. Part of the problem with teaching critical thinking is that many “teachers” do not actually have a grasp on what critical thinking is, much less how to teach it. And, sadly, this is compounded by a population of parents who themselves lack the skill at a very basic level. (Which in turn leads to a lot of shouting at teachers because they misunderstand the lesson being taught to their kids.) A very vicious cycle, this, and the kids are the losers caught in the crossfire of ignorance.
Critical thinking is not the same thing as skepticism, though the two are related (true skeptics tend to be critical thinkers, and good skeptics tend to be exceptional critical thinkers, but critical thinking is not the sole domain of the skeptics). Nor is critical thinking about separating fact from opinion, though that is certainly a component of critical thinking — and another quality far too American adults lack. I am personally stymied by how absolutely unwilling so many people are to admit that their opinions are not facts — almost as stymied as I am about how many people confuse “opinion” with “theory” and, in turn, common “theory” with “mathematical theory” or, worse, “scientific theory,” and assume that their misunderstanding of those terms is a reasonable excuse for dismissing proven concepts as just “what you believe.”
Solid critical thinking skills will lead a person to understand that belief is generally irrelevant, unless that belief is based on a solid understanding of verifiable information. There is still a lot of subjective wiggle-room in there. However, the more practiced the thinking, the higher the standards become for “solid and verifiable.” One day, perhaps, we will live in a society where the majority of people practice these skills and exercise the “critical thinking muscle” throughout the day. We know we are not there yet, but we will be able to tell when we are closer by following our political cycles. The more candidates we have like Trump, Cruz, Carson, et al, the more we know we are failing; the more our top polling candidates pull back from extremes or irrational modes of fear-based appeal, the more successfully our society will show that it is working on making critical thinking a priority. One day.
Reblogged this on Things That Are Just Bad For You and commented:
I have never reblogged another writer’s post before, but I think that this one is worth sharing with a wider audience (partly because I don’t have the time to write my own riff on the topic today). I have written many times about the importance of critical thinking, and I believe it is not being well taught in our schools much of the time. It seems to me that too many adults in these here United States are under-practiced in basic critical thinking skills, so it is difficult to merely fault the students or their teachers. This is a problem that should start and end at home, with school being a place to practice and develop an existing skill, rather than create one from scratch.
Anyway, for your reading pleasure, my friend Elena’s post on “The Risks of Critical Thinking…”
And actually reblogged it on justbadforyou.com/blog — thanks to a glitch in WordPress that wanted to put it at the old home of that blog rather than its current home…
Wow, thanks! I’ve never been reblogged. 🙂
And now you have, you famous blogger, you.