Final - Paper 3

Critical thinking is a crucial skill for people to have in society. More importantly, many people's severe lack of critical thinking skills is a crippling problem facing our society.  To understand why this is a problem, one must first understand what the term “critical thinking” entails. According to Daniel T. Willingham, Psychologist at the University of Virginia, critical thinking consists "of seeing both sides of an issue, being open to new evidence that disconfirms young ideas, reasoning dispassionately, demanding that claims be backed by evidence, deducing and inferring conclusions from available facts, solving problems, and so forth." Essentially, critical thinking requires taking the time to understand and reason through all sides of an issue, rather than just one single perspective. To think critically means to be able to think open mindedly and empathize with other people - to not only understand one's own perspectives, assumptions, and biases, but the same for other people. Many people of all ages and backgrounds simply cannot do this. They form an opinion or belief and adamantly refuse to consider an opposing idea or perspective. Most people who feel strongly about a topic or issue cannot even begin to explain the reasons why other people have opposing opinions. When asked the simple question of why other people have opposing views, few can give a well thought-out or valid answer. Some are arrogant and assume that those who disagree are wrong or stupid, and others are lazy and will admit to not knowing why someone disagrees, but few are capable of thinking critically and making an earnest effort at understanding all sides of an issue. And when that is the case, compromise and progress are almost impossible. Therefore, for the benefit of all members of society as a whole, kindergarten through twelfth grade education curriculum needs to be changed to promote critical thinking, rather than prevent it. Our children need to be taught to think critically.

The problem with the modern education system as it relates to critical thinking skills is that not only are students not taught any of these skills, but in fact, the entire education system works to obstruct critical thinking. As stated by bell hooks in Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom, "Most children are taught early on that thinking is dangerous... whether in homes with parents who teach via a model of discipline and punishment or in schools where independent thinking is not [an] acceptable behavior... children stop enjoying the process of thinking and start fearing the thinking mind." This starts early in one's educational experience and does not ever end during kindergarten through twelfth grade schooling. The film Chalk demonstrates this very well. In Chalk the viewer experiences exaggerated examples of many problems facing the high school education curriculum today. In particular, a history class taught by a teacher by the name of Mr. Lowrey does an exceptional job at displaying the way schools actively work to obstruct the development of critical thinking abilities. His method of teaching is one that many students are unfortunately familiar with, revolving around the memorization and recitation of information without thought or analysis. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paolo Freire refers to this as the "Banking" concept of education. He asserts that "Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communication, the teacher issues communiqués and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat." This style of teaching is not at all uncommon today. High school classes where questioning an instructor is even welcome are rare; classes where thinking critically and questioning what is being taught are encouraged are almost nonexistent.

            Therefore, changing the system to promote the development of critical thinking skills is not a simple task. Quite the opposite - creating a "critical thinking" class changes nothing - what is required is a significant reformation of curriculum and the way most classes are taught. Every aspect of the existing "banking" system of education would, optimally, be revamped. No more classes focused on teachers who do nothing but deposit information into students, who merely memorize and recite. In many cases, the entire "role" that a teacher plays in the classroom would have to change. To quote bell hooks again, she states that "So much academic training encourages teachers to assume that they must be 'right' at all times. Instead... teachers must be open at all times, and we must be willing to acknowledge what we do not know. A radical commitment to openness maintains the integrity of the critical thinking process and its central role in education." Succeeding in this education reform would not only drastically change the operation of classrooms and the functions of schools but would ultimately improve society as a whole. A population of critical thinkers would be vastly more capable of progress and compromise in social and political disputes. Effectively solving this problem in our education system would inadvertently work to solve many other problems facing this country.

            There are some very blatant problems with the education system in this country. Most everyone can agree with that claim - the students, the teachers, and even people who aren't involved at all in education. Some issues facing it are so apparent that American comedian and social critic Lewis Black jokingly states "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that our school systems are broken—which is good, because none of us are!" Despite this, there are those who might disagree with the entire premise that lacking critical thinking skills is a problem. Even acknowledging that there are many problems with the education system, these people would say that critical thinking isn't one of them, that it has no place in the classroom. These people would say this is the way our country or society has always been, and doesn't need to change; they would maintain that it isn't a problem. It is a very ironic counterargument, because while they cling on to tradition and dismiss the problem, they're blatantly showing themselves to be lacking the critical thinking skills that they're arguing against. There is truly no downside to possessing critical thinking skills, and to say that there is a reason not to promote critical thinking in schools is on par with being opposed to improving literacy rates. 

            As our country progresses into ever increasing populations and pressured economic power, the importance of critical thinking skills will be more and more imperative. It will be very difficult to deal with the social, political and economic problems that our country will be facing in the future while also maintaining an education curriculum which actively works to obstruct and prevent the development of critical thinking skills in students. The "banking" system of education described by Paolo Freire an entire forty three years ago has not changed at all, and continuing to accept it as a viable and effective method of teaching is harmful to all of the students who go through it and society as a whole. Therefore, for the benefit of all students and for the benefit of every aspect of our country, it is vitally important for the education system, kindergarten through twelfth grade education curriculum to be reformed to incorporate the development and promotion of critical thinking skills in students.

Works Cited

hooks, bell. Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom. Florence, KY: Taylor & Francis, 2009. Print.

Freire, Paolo. "The Banking Concept of Education." Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: Herder and Herder, 1970. Print.

Willingham, Daniel T. “Critical Thinking: Why is it so hard to teach?” gmu.edu. George Mason University, July 2007. Web. 3 December 2013.

Chalk. Dir. Mike Akel. Troy Schremmer. SomeDaySoon Productions, 2006. DVD.

Daily Show: Back in Black: Education Crisis.Dir. Lizz Winstead, Madeleine Smithberg. Perf. Jon Stewart, Lewis Black. Mad Cow Productions, Comedy Central, 2010. Web. 21 November 2013.