Critical thinking is a crucial skill for people to have in society. More importantly, the severe lack of critical thinking skills many people possess 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. Many people of all ages and backgrounds cannot do this. They form an opinion or belief and adamantly refuse to consider an opposing idea or perspective. And when that is the case, compromise and progress are almost impossible. 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.
Naturally, there are those who might disagree with the entire premise that lacking critical thinking skills is a problem. <need refuation>
The problem with the modern education system as it relates to critical thinking skills is that not only do students not learn any, 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.
Works Cited
hooks, bell. Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom. Florence, KY: Taylor & Francis, 2009. Print.
Gatto, John Taylor. "Against School: How `Public Education Cripples Our Kids and Why." wesjones.com. Wes Jones Home Page, September 2003. Web. 3 December 2013.
Freire, Paolo. "The Banking Concept of Education." Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: Herder and Herder, 1970. Print.
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