Should critical thinking be taught to children during the K-12 years. TAKE THE SURVEY

hardraysnight

11 years ago

prefer they learn carpentry and cooking, not necessarily in that order, practice not theory

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seasoned

11 years ago

NOPE! This would require firing most "teachers", and THEY wouldn't like that!

Steve

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dchestnut 11 years ago

Originally Posted by seasoned

NOPE! This would require firing most "teachers", and THEY wouldn't like that!

Steve

This will not be necessary because the first step to instituting critical thinking methodologies into a school system involves training teachers.
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- seasoned 11 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by dchestnut
  
  This will not be necessary because the first step to instituting critical thinking methodologies into a school system involves training teachers.
  
  NOPE! The FIRST step is getting rid of the idiot "teachers" that don't care, etc....
  
  Steve
  
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  mojojuju 11 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by seasoned
  
  NOPE! The FIRST step is getting rid of the idiot "teachers" that don't care, etc....
  
  Steve
  
  Based on my knowledge of elementary school teachers (I've worked with teachers as a computer lab instructor in a middle school, my parents are both retired teachers, I have a child in elementary school, and I used to go to elementary school), I think that most teachers "care".
  
  Most teachers these days in public schools have very little control over their curriculum choices. The state and people far removed from the children they affect, make most of the choices about what curriculum school children follow.
  
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SandraLarkin Banned 11 years ago

Originally Posted by seasoned

NOPE! This would require firing most "teachers", and THEY wouldn't like that!

Steve

Exactly. Most teachers can not even critically think themselves. They follow scripts that they are told to follow. Most of the time.
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KimW

11 years ago

I'm not taking any surveys,but yes. Critical thinking needs to be taught to every student, but you have to get rid of the stupid education regulations first.

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dchestnut

11 years ago

Originally Posted by KimW

I'm not taking any surveys,but yes. Critical thinking needs to be taught to every student, but you have to get rid of the stupid education regulations first.

From what I understand about it, local school districts can decide whether or not to implement it. It doesn't involve state and federal regulatory bodies. However, you could have an issue with teachers unions because teachers will have to be trained.

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seasoned

11 years ago

Originally Posted by dchestnut

From what I understand about it, local school districts can decide whether or not to implement it. It doesn't involve state and federal regulatory bodies. However, you could have an issue with teachers unions because teachers will have to be trained.

The STATES create requirements and priorities. The local agencies can do things ONLY if they don't interfere with STATE regulations.

steve

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HeySal

11 years ago

Critical thinking is extremely important in any society that wishes to stay cohesive - but I think that we can hold off til kids are around 10 - 11 yrs before we start in on it since their brains don't really develop their logical functions well until then. Before that we just need to make sure they get a lot of math and science and point out things like logical fallacies in TV commercials, ask them questions about why they did something wrong and what the consequences turned out to be, and so forth to build the foundation for it when they are developed enough to function on a logical level.

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dchestnut

11 years ago

Originally Posted by HeySal

Critical thinking is extremely important in any society that wishes to stay cohesive - but I think that we can hold off til kids are around 10 - 11 yrs before we start in on it since their brains don't really develop their logical functions well until then. Before that we just need to make sure they get a lot of math and science and point out things like logical fallacies in TV commercials, ask them questions about why they did something wrong and what the consequences turned out to be, and so forth to build the foundation for it when they are developed enough to function on a logical level.

I think organizations such as the Foundation for Critical Thinking has developed critical thinking exercises specifically tailored to K-3 with your concerns and similar concerns in mind.

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Kurt

11 years ago

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seasoned

11 years ago

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Kurt 11 years ago

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  Kurt 11 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by mojojuju
  
  This reminds me that IHOP is serving free pancakes on Tuesday February 5th. I feel that people should know this.
  
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mojojuju

11 years ago

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Kay King

11 years ago

Critical thinking clarifies goals, examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, accomplishes actions, and assesses conclusions.

I see a risk in formal teaching of critical thinking - it's easy to insert personal views into such educational theory so that educators are leading children into what goals are important, what assumptions are correct, which values are worthwhile and what conclusions are acceptable.

Teach critical thinking from the beginning by answering questions, pointing out things of interest to the child, in allowing the child to make some simple decisions and helping him develop a decision making process.

A 3 yr old doesn't want to know how to think his way through a real world problem - he wants to know why flowers are different colors and what makes them grow. Why some animals are friendly and some aren't. He needs imagination fueled by stories and the world exposed by reading and talking about it and touching it. He needs people who listen to him and his view of life rather than people who talk at him trying to mold him into their view of what he should be.

Time is a fluid element to a child and my objection to many of the formal educational theories for young kids is the imposition of a time frame when "this or that" should be taught.

The fact that many seem to think teaching "critical thinking" is new is disturbing to me. Teaching a child to analyzie, consider, plan and think his way through plans and problems used to be called "parenting".

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Dennis Gaskill

11 years ago

Seems to me there are a lot of adults who could stand to learn a little more about criticial thinking.

Originally Posted by Kay King

I see a risk in formal teaching of critical thinking - it's easy to insert personal views into such educational theory so that educators are leading children into what goals are important, what assumptions are correct, which values are worthwhile and what conclusions are acceptable.

That's already happening, isn't it?

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MoneyMagnetMagnate

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Kay King

I see a risk in formal teaching of critical thinking - it's easy to insert personal views into such educational theory so that educators are leading children into what goals are important, what assumptions are correct, which values are worthwhile and what conclusions are acceptable.

Teach critical thinking from the beginning by answering questions, pointing out things of interest to the child, in allowing the child to make some simple decisions and helping him develop a decision making process.

A 3 yr old doesn't want to know how to think his way through a real world problem - he wants to know why flowers are different colors and what makes them grow. Why some animals are friendly and some aren't. He needs imagination fueled by stories and the world exposed by reading and talking about it and touching it. He needs people who listen to him and his view of life rather than people who talk at him trying to mold him into their view of what he should be.

Time is a fluid element to a child and my objection to many of the formal educational theories for young kids is the imposition of a time frame when "this or that" should be taught.

The fact that many seem to think teaching "critical thinking" is new is disturbing to me. Teaching a child to analyzie, consider, plan and think his way through plans and problems used to be called "parenting".

Good points- but I think some school districts may object to critical thinking and analysis because that is also the age of 'indoctrination', when young minds are most malleable. There are some belief systems where objective reasoning would not be 'constructive' to their line of thought.

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dchestnut

11 years ago

Originally Posted by MoneyMagnetMagnate

Good points- but I think some school districts may object to critical thinking and analysis because that is also the age of 'indoctrination', when young minds are most malleable. There are some belief systems where objective reasoning would not be 'constructive' to their line of thought.

The core focus of critical thinking is to teach kids how to think, not what to think. So, how is this indoctrination.

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MoneyMagnetMagnate 11 years ago

Originally Posted by dchestnut

The core focus of critical thinking is to teach kids how to think, not what to think. So, how is this indoctrination.

I think you may have missed my point. I think critical thinking helps to prevent indoctrination because it teaches children to analyze and evaluate things, and not take them at face value or just because 'someone says so' - if children aren't taught how to do that, indoctrination is easier at the ages where children are most impressionable.
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seasoned 11 years ago

Originally Posted by dchestnut

The core focus of critical thinking is to teach kids how to think, not what to think. So, how is this indoctrination.

Giving them info to think, and showing them how people twist things is ONE thing, but propagandists want a lot of EARLY time! So they take it. That was my very first point. I wasn't so direct, but you HAVE to get rid of any propagandists, to give the kids a fair view.

Steve
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HeySal

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill

Critical thinking should be part of any basic course in language arts. It's simply how to recognize logical fallacies in rhetoric.

No one should be considered literate without those skills.

My thanks are gone - but, yeah, that's right. Still - kids have to be old enough to understand critical analysis to bother teaching it. All you can do is prep them for it at young ages by asking them questions about why a thought or act is helpful or destructive, etc. or pointing out something illogical in a TV commercial - like: commercial "make it part of your good breakfast" - response: "why would I want to add that toxic crap to a good breakfast?". When they get old enough they will start building the inferences on their own if they are exposed to analytical skills.

Kay - If someone is teaching "critical thinking" they are teaching the person to AVOID those things. If they are being indoctrinated, there's no critical thinking being taught.

If parents KNEW HOW to teach these skills (many don't have them to teach) we wouldn't have a country of little consumer morons running around with their faces buried so far into ipads that they walk into poles or in front of moving cars

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MissTerraK

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill

Critical thinking should be part of any basic course in language arts. It's simply how to recognize logical fallacies in rhetoric.

No one should be considered literate without those skills.

I agree and I think a major reason why critical thinking isn't taught in the schools is because then the kids would see what a fallacy "education" has become. Then they wouldn't want to go to their own school anymore and then funding for that school district would be dropped and the drug them into submission and the stifle their true creativity and intelligence as well as the run 'em through like cattle philosophies would be revealed leading up to children being more intelligent and capable than their teachers and then they'd begin to take back their country, get it ranking as number one in education again and then make the world a better place and well, we just can't have all of that, now can we?? :rolleyes:

Terra

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MissTerraK

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill

I think they lowered standards so all the kids could pass. We're the only country in the world that makes higher education available for anyone who wants it. It's not a plot. I see college grads on the net who can't construct a sentence. I'm not referring to casual posts on forums, I mean writers for the AP.

Logical fallacies make up most of the editorial content on MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News.

I love how teachers rail against standardized testing. I believe it's because most of them would fail.

You're right! And that is why I don't think it is a plot either, plotting on that scale would take more intelligence than what our teachers today have. :p

I was just emphasizing some of the lack of intelligence that abounds in the public education systems today.

Terra

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Dennis Gaskill

11 years ago

Originally Posted by dchestnut

I agree 100% with the fact that if critical thinking had been a curriculum in the pass, that we will be a quite a different country. However, I do not think that society is afraid of producing thinking kids. Most parents want their children to have a better life than they did. But, because parents are not critical thinkers, most are simply following the status quo system, which, if not changed, will ultimately produce kids who also follow the status quo like sheep.

I agree. It isn't "society" that's afraid of producing thinkers, it's many of those in positions of authority who have something to lose if the majority learned to think for themselves instead of being told what to think.

In the above reply, you quoted Steve Johnson, who had commented on how this would be a different country if critical thinking was taught in schools. Just think how different the WSO section would look on this forum if a majority of buyers used critical thinking before pushing the buy button on the latest get rich quick offer.

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whateverpedia

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill

I agree. It isn't "society" that's afraid of producing thinkers, it's many of those in positions of authority who have something to lose if the majority learned to think for themselves instead of being told what to think.

The main stream media (TV, talk back radio and newspapers) would already be extinct.

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Dennis Gaskill 11 years ago

Originally Posted by whateverpedia

The main stream media (TV, talk back radio and newspapers) would already be instinct.

I assume you meant "extinct" ...to which I would add, in their current form.
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seasoned 11 years ago

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MoneyMagnetMagnate

11 years ago

Critical thinking should be strongly emphasized in schools - not what to think, how to think. There are some places for rote learning to be applied, sure - but a lot of kids come out of school with nothing they can really apply to their adult life - or that they will apply...many feel like they were just wasting their time. As Sherlock Holmes would say, deductive reasoning is 'elementary', my dear Watson...

Here is a short talk on TED on learning code - the speaker is applying the learning of code as critical thinking and discusses how the processes seep out into everyday applications instinctively. For young and old (and sure, he pitches his MIT website a little too, but it looks like a fun site, and it's free

)
TED - 10 places where anyone can learn to code

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seasoned

11 years ago

Too bad my thanks are gone AGAIN! I would have given out a few more. How about it allen and paul. Can we maybe get 30% more?

Steve

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SteveJohnson

11 years ago

If the basics of critical thinking had been a curriculum requirement in US schools in the previous 50 years, we would be seeing quite a different country than we do.

A certain segment of the population is deathly afraid of producing thinking, rational, child beings. They much prefer to produce sheeple.

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dchestnut

11 years ago

Originally Posted by SteveJohnson

If the basics of critical thinking had been a curriculum requirement in US schools in the previous 50 years, we would be seeing quite a different country than we do.

A certain segment of the population is deathly afraid of producing thinking, rational, child beings. They much prefer to produce sheeple.

I agree 100% with the fact that if critical thinking had been a curriculum in the pass, that we will be a quite a different country. However, I do not think that society is afraid of producing thinking kids. Most parents want their children to have a better life than they did. But, because parents are not critical thinkers, most are simply following the status quo system, which, if not changed, will ultimately produce kids who also follow the status quo like sheep.

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Big Rob

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill

It was taught in public schools up to the 70's. It was part of the English curriculum.

During my elementary education in New York ('69-'75),
The schools ( K-5, 6th grade in middle school), were part of a progressive
"New School" curriculum.

Critical thinking was included, as well as a heavy dose of liberal arts.
There was a sh*t load of progress testing, as well.as frequent visits from the feds making sure our teachers weren't just having us sing kumbai-ya all day. I distinctly remember one visit where " researchers" tested us individually for ESP. ( an X- Files moment, now that I think about it....)

When we moved to Florida in the fall of '76, The school.counselor did not know what classes to put me in. She placed me in the general classes, even though she said my levels where equivalent to 1st year college students in Florida.
I was so freaking bored I am almost positive that is where my learning stopped.

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seasoned

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Big Rob

During my elementary education in New York ('69-'75),
The schools ( K-5, 6th grade in middle school), were part of a progressive
"New School" curriculum.

Critical thinking was included, as well as a heavy dose of liberal arts.
There was a sh*t load of progress testing, as well.as frequent visits from the feds making sure our teachers weren't just having us sing kumbai-ya all day. I distinctly remember one visit where " researchers" tested us individually for ESP. ( an X- Files moment, now that I think about it....)

When we moved to Florida in the fall of '76, The school.counselor did not know what classes to put me in. She placed me in the general classes, even though she said my levels where equivalent to 1st year college students in Florida.
I was so freaking bored I am almost positive that is where my learning stopped.

Schools vary ALL OVER! There are SEVERAL things that will GREATLY affect the quality of education.....

1. Major type of school -- I could list some, but, you know.....
2. Format -- Is it a magnet school? What type, etc....
3. State -- Various requirements are made at the state level.
4. School District
5. School -- HEY, some schools are just better
6. Placement -- They have various tracks, etc....
7. Sports -- Some schools give athletes special help, and some lower requirements
8. Teacher -- Some teachers ARE decent, some are horrible.

OH, and TIME means something ALSO!

And YEAH, country makes a difference, but the above are probably true of ANY country within that country. Replace state with province or region, and it is probably IDENTICAL!

I went to a somewhat international school at one point, and a person who got only a C in his grade, in IRAN, was allowed to SKIP a grade, and ended up getting a B. He got the C around 1978.

The ONLY difference between the US and other countries is who has the final say, etc...

Steve

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Don Schenk

11 years ago

Hmmm. Thinking critically...

On that website, in the box about Workplace of The Future it says,
"To earn income and provide for their family, your children must constantly access a vast see of raw information, evaluate it, package it and integrate it as a critical information parameter defining the uniqueness of a product or service."

A vast see?

The writer wasn't thinking critically.

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MoneyMagnetMagnate

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Don Schenk

Hmmm. Thinking critically...

On that website, in the box about Workplace of The Future it says,
"To earn income and provide for their family, your children must constantly access a vast see of raw information, evaluate it, package it and integrate it as a critical information parameter defining the uniqueness of a product or service."

A vast see?

The writer wasn't thinking critically.

Maybe it's a pun :rolleyes:...or a Freudian slip!

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Dennis Gaskill

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Don Schenk

Hmmm. Thinking critically...

On that website, in the box about Workplace of The Future it says,
"To earn income and provide for their family, your children must constantly access a vast see of raw information, evaluate it, package it and integrate it as a critical information parameter defining the uniqueness of a product or service."

A vast see?

The writer wasn't thinking critically.

What, you've never heard of having a vision?

PS - I didn't go to the site, but good catch.

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dchestnut

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Don Schenk

Hmmm. Thinking critically...

On that website, in the box about Workplace of The Future it says,
"To earn income and provide for their family, your children must constantly access a vast see of raw information, evaluate it, package it and integrate it as a critical information parameter defining the uniqueness of a product or service."

A vast see?

The writer wasn't thinking critically.

Ah. Good catch. I missed that in my proof reading. I'm the writer by the way. Wow, I had over 65 local parents of K-12 students review that site and take the survey. No one pointed out that typing error.

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Jeff Williams

11 years ago

Originally Posted by dchestnut

As an internet marketer, what are your views on this educational issue. If you are up to it, review and complete the short survey at

www.mindsonline.net/criticalthinking

and provide your feedback to this forum.

Forgive my ignorance, as I was not taught critical thinking during my formative years. But, this isn't actually a survey, is it? There are no questions to answer. It's two pages of critical thinking examples followed by a short pitch for a $7 ebook payable through Paypal. Shrouded in the protective cloak of "fundraising", of course.

Critical thinking, as you described in the "survey", is a blanket term that can have both pros and cons. For example, as it applies to children turning word problems into simple math equations, critical thinking is beneficial. But, teachers have been helping kids do that for years. In fact, I cannot see how word problems could be solved without a mathmatical or graphically visible interpretation. So, a push for critical thinking, in that area at least, is mute.

As for the global example provided on the website, I believe critical thinking in this case would only teach a child to follow the herd. The example, in a nutshell, says one day all manufacturing will be outsourced and there will no longer be a structured hierarchy within domestic companies. And they'll just have to learn to "play ball" that way.

I call bullshit.

More millionaires and billionaires have been created by bucking current trends and doing things differently than by becoming obedient automatons who occupy cubicle space.

Granted, I have no doubt that critical thinking has the capacity to turn out young adults who grasp the fundamentals of how the world is changing and how they think they must adapt.

However, it does not teach kids how to rely on inner strength. What happens when they do everything "right" through education and networking and still fall flat on their face. Will they collapse or come back stronger?

How will they dream or fight for anything larger than themselves, when all they have learned is pessimism, cynicism, and doubt? How will they be able to perservere and overcome all the naysayers, when they are one of them?

Ask successful people what they remember about their favorite teachers and how they were influenced by them. You'll often hear how much the teacher believed in them, encouraged them, or inspired them. Not how much they were taught to reason.

IMHO, critical thinking has it's place. And it's a limited one.

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hardraysnight 11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill

Here's a working definition of critical thinking: The learned ability to ascertain the difference between shit and shinola.

thanks, maybe my fathers definition is apt, think before you speak - nature or nurture?
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Jeff Williams 11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill

Here's a working definition of critical thinking: The learned ability to ascertain the difference between shit and shinola.

Oh, so they want to teach political science? I'm cool with that ...
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MikeTucker

11 years ago

Originally Posted by hardraysnight

prefer they learn carpentry and cooking, not necessarily in that order, practice not theory

Who taught you that would be a good idea?
Have you actually thought about what you're saying?

Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill

Not teaching critical thinking skills is tantamount to child abuse.

How can this even be a matter of contention?

Truth.

Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill

Critical thinking should be part of any basic course in language arts. It's simply how to recognize logical fallacies in rhetoric.

No one should be considered literate without those skills.

Absolutely.

Originally Posted by SandraLarkin

Exactly. Most teachers can not even critically think themselves. They follow scripts that they are told to follow. Most of the time.

Funny thing about teaching a subject-- Most people learn
even better when they are teaching than when they are
only students-- One of the reasons for projects in which
students are expected to present something to the class.

Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill

I agree. It isn't "society" that's afraid of producing thinkers, it's many of those in positions of authority who have something to lose if the majority learned to think for themselves instead of being told what to think.

In the above reply, you quoted Steve Johnson, who had commented on how this would be a different country if critical thinking was taught in schools. Just think how different the WSO section would look on this forum if a majority of buyers used critical thinking before pushing the buy button on the latest get rich quick offer.

Indeed.

Originally Posted by hardraysnight

could someone define critical thinking in one or two sentences without referring to google or some other similar witchcraft

Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill

Here's a working definition of critical thinking: The learned ability to ascertain the difference between shit and shinola.

I have been teaching three basic questions to
a range of ages of schoolchildren for years now:

1. What am I being asked to believe?
2. Why are they asking me to believe it?
3. Where else can I check to see if it is true?

In some variation or another, questions like these
can really make every part of a person's life better.
And it's really not that hard to teach at all, especially
to kids who haven't been completely crushed by
dogma yet, and teenagers who are rebelling against
everything they can anyway.

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Dennis Gaskill

11 years ago

Originally Posted by MikeTucker

I have been teaching three basic questions to a range of ages of schoolchildren for years now:

1. What am I being asked to believe?
2. Why are they asking me to believe it?
3. Where else can I check to see if it is true?

In some variation or another, questions like these
can really make every part of a person's life better.
And it's really not that hard to teach at all, especially
to kids who haven't been completely crushed by
dogma yet, and teenagers who are rebelling against
everything they can anyway.

Excellent. And you're so right about critical thinking being able to enhance every part of your life.

I wasn't taught critical thinking in school, it's something I had to discover on my own. If I had been taught it as a youth, I think it quite possible it could be a bigger part of my habitual thought processes. As it is now, I have to remind myself to think critically, and frankly, sometimes that idea just doesn't come to mind.

To add to your questions, one question I have found very valuable over the years is this: What's the best response right now?

Asking that helps prevent the kind of impulsive reactions that often lead to regret.

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MoneyMagnetMagnate

11 years ago

Originally Posted by MikeTucker

Who taught you that would be a good idea?
Have you actually thought about what you're saying?
Truth.
Absolutely.

Funny thing about teaching a subject-- Most people learn
even better when they are teaching than when they are
only students-- One of the reasons for projects in which
students are expected to present something to the class.

Indeed.

I have been teaching three basic questions to
a range of ages of schoolchildren for years now:

1. What am I being asked to believe?
2. Why are they asking me to believe it?
3. Where else can I check to see if it is true?

In some variation or another, questions like these
can really make every part of a person's life better.
And it's really not that hard to teach at all, especially
to kids who haven't been completely crushed by
dogma yet, and teenagers who are rebelling against
everything they can anyway.

Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill

What an intelligent, cogent approach for introducing critical thinking to young 'uns.

I'll be damned. There is intelligent life on this forum.

Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill

Excellent. And you're so right about critical thinking being able to enhance every part of your life.

I wasn't taught critical thinking in school, it's something I had to discover on my own. If I had been taught it as a youth, I think it quite possible it could be a bigger part of my habitual thought processes. As it is now, I have to remind myself to think critically, and frankly, sometimes that idea just doesn't come to mind.

To add to your questions, one question I have found very valuable over the years is this: What's the best response right now?

Asking that helps prevent the kind of impulsive reactions that often lead to regret.

I would have to agree. I don't think 'critical thinking' is a subject - it is a way everything should be taught. My mother was raised a very devout Catholic, but she had the smarts (plus her high intelligence) to get a set of 'encyclopedias' which gave me an insatiable need for knowledge, and taught me to reason, as this was not enough - one of the greatest jobs I ever had (didn't *pay* well) was as a library page when I was young - the fact (pre-internet, and the pay sucked) but I could look up ALL this info??? amazing...

I just have to say, all in all - I was very fortunate to have the Mum I had...

*and just for the note: It wasn't just the 'encyclopedias'...

* I'm just thinking, if you have never seen the movie "Little Man Tate" - give it a look...

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MikeTucker

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill

What an intelligent, cogent approach for introducing critical thinking to young 'uns.

I'll be damned. There is intelligent life on this forum.

Sometimes. (Thank you.)

Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill

Excellent. And you're so right about critical thinking being able to enhance every part of your life.

I wasn't taught critical thinking in school, it's something I had to discover on my own. If I had been taught it as a youth, I think it quite possible it could be a bigger part of my habitual thought processes. As it is now, I have to remind myself to think critically, and frankly, sometimes that idea just doesn't come to mind.

Exactly the same case here! First 20 years
of my life were such a mess-- I know that is why I'm
so passionate about it now.

Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill

To add to your questions, one question I have found very valuable over the years is this: What's the best response right now?

Asking that helps prevent the kind of impulsive reactions that often lead to regret.

That is fantastic! I have been asking,
"So, what is the best choice?" but your question is actually
much more specific and action-oriented...
I'm stealing it!!

Originally Posted by MoneyMagnetMagnate

I would have to agree. I don't think 'critical thinking' is a subject - it is a way everything should be taught. My mother was raised a very devout Catholic, but she had the smarts (plus her high intelligence) to get a set of 'encyclopedias' which gave me an insatiable need for knowledge, as this was not enough - one of the greatest jobs I ever had (didn't *pay* well) was as a library page when I was young - the fact (pre-internet, and the pay sucked) but I could look up ALL this info??? amazing...

I just have to say, all in all - I was very fortunate to have the Mum I had...

*and just for the note: It wasn't just the 'encyclopedias'...

Encyclopedia have changed the world for the better in
so very many ways! To this day I still believe that a
good physical set is the absolute best gift anyone can
give a child.

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The bartender says: "We don't serve faster-than-light particles here."

...A tachyon enters a bar.

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hardraysnight

11 years ago

could someone define critical thinking in one or two sentences without referring to google or some other similar witchcraft

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These guys helped me with the feedback for my site

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Dennis Gaskill

11 years ago

Mr. Chestnut, it seems the site you linked to is your own site. Therefore it's reasonable to assume it's you selling the ebook in question.

Given the above, and the fact that you didn't disclose this information in your original post, it's seems only reasonable to ask how this fundraiser is being used to promote critical thinking?

Also, since your website calls the offer a fundraiser, it's reasonable to question if this is a legally qualified fundraiser, or if "fundraiser" is just a phrase you chose to use.

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Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

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whateverpedia

11 years ago

Oops. Yeah. Extinct. Now fixed.

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Why do garden gnomes smell so bad?

So that blind people can hate them as well.

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