[Ansteorra] Critical Thinking (was Historical Gerrymandering)

[Fitzmorgan at cs.com]

--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
Greetings

       I suppose I should have inserted a few more "weasel words" in my last
statement.  No doubt there are some schools that do teach critical thinking
skills.  Certainly there are many good teachers working within the public
education system.
       I left the public education system almost 20 years ago.  My experience
was for the most part that to pass you memorize the accepted answers and
parrot them back at testing time.  Things may have changed, but when I help
my nieces and nephews with their homework, and read their text books it
doesn't look like it.  Things could be different elsewhere.
       When I look how consistently the government and the media misuse
science and are almost never called on it by the public I conclude that even
if the schools are trying to teach critical thinking they aren't succeeding.
So much of government policy claiming to be based on science is pure politics
uncontaminated by any shred of scientific credibility, and the public just
swallows it whole.
       So I will revise my earlier statement.  Taken as a whole critical
thinking is not being successfully taught by our public school system.
       If you want to discuss this further I will be glad to do so, but I
suggest that this is not the proper forum.

Robert



In a message dated 3/2/02 10:50:25 AM Pacific Standard Time, hlannes at ev1.net
writes:
>
> Greetings M'lord Robert,
>
> I must speak out on your last part of your missive.  Mundanely I am a 24
> year career teacher in the "education system" which you speak of above.
> While I agree that critical thinking skills are a necessary skill that many
> people never develop, it is not from lack of trying on the part of most
> teachers.  Critical thinking skills are built into every part of the
> cirriculum from 1st grade on.  Students at lower levels participate in
> activities such as Oddessy of the Mind and in higher levels activities such
> as Science Fair.  In my 9th grade biology classes, every assignment has
> Basic Concept questions, Analysis questions and Critical Thinking Questions
> whether they be labs, chapter reviews, reports, experimental designs,
> projects or tests.  In my 11th grade environmental science class, nearly
> every concept involves concept connections and critical thinking skills
> related to evaluating risk, internet sources, the media and scientific
> analysis.  If you experienced "Memorize it and Vomit it" learning, I am
> heartily sorry for you.  My students often complain that my classes make
> their heads hurt from having to "think too much".
>
> One thing everyone needs to remember about education is that it is much
> like
> the proverbial "horse to water".  We can model, teach, lecture, give
> experience after experience until we are blue in the face.  It is then up
> to
> the children we teach as to if they will actually put into practice the
> skills which we know will make their lives easier and richer for doing so.
>
> In Service,
> Annes
>