How valuable a skill is critical thinking? Is it important enough to be a school requirement?

Question

What if it led the students to question their religious upbringing by teaching them to question superstition and unsupported claims?

Answer 1

YES! I wish the schools did teach this.

I had a teacher in high school who helped us in this area. He had us read things like Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience", and Thomas Paine's "Common Sense." Those are good for a start.

Answer 2

How valuable a skill is critical thinking?

Unless you want to be an automaton working in a mindless job for a large uncaring bureaucracy, it's the most important skill you can have. It allows you to be human and not a trained animal.

Is it important enough to be a school requirement?
Critical thinking skills ought to be part of every course. It's been in every college class that I cared about. It allows you to think for yourself and not simply parrot what you heard from FOX news. It's a creative skill.

What if it led the students to question their religious upbringing by teaching them to question superstition and unsupported claims?
I suggest you read some of the writing of E. F. Shumaker. He was a devote Christian who was one of the most creative and insightful thinkers. His book, "Guide for the Perplexed" describes some very interesting thoughts about the limitations of the scientific method and new ways to look at the world.

Critical thinking is what you use to support your religious beliefs.

Answer 3

And hence Christians everywhere would run screaming away from that. They would never allow it to happen, but it should be a requirement.

OK, I must add this point. Upon reading John S's post, I can not keep up this charade. I was pretending that I was an atheist, but he is so close to the point that I have to stop lying. I am part of a ultra-secret organization (worse than the Illuminate) that actually works to suppress the knowledge that the earth is exactly 6,093 years, 24 days, 6 hours, 22 minutes, 3 seconds old (at time of post). Our company developed the radio carbon dating system and controls the patents which ensures that all devices made are incorrect. In addition, every scientist pretty much is on our payroll, in order to fool the general public into thinking that the earth is older than it is, and that dinosaurs lived (he finally saw through that one), etc. In fact our company commissioned the earth and surrounding planets, to be built by the ACME Corporation. The toughest thing was the burial of those dinosaur bones (like who would believe that, finding evidence of dinosaurs over lets say.........none of God) and other age markers that we had to place. So John S, you are right all the tested information is incorrect and even the newest methods of testing the age of things are controlled by our group. I mean who would really believe in a method that relies on the degradation of carbon atoms (which degrade at a constant rate) and measures that in order to find out approximately how old things are. Sorry, as they are probably going to take me away for spilling the truth, but John S, you were just so darn close. And God did not create in, he actually is on vacation and has been for such a long time.

Answer 4

Actually, I don't have a problem with schools teaching logical processes and debate skills. I wish it was a requirement! One of our children's weakest points now, seems to be an inability to think logically and coherently.

The main emphasis in our public schools is rote memorization of vague, often incorrect facts, and regurgitation of those facts. Kids "learn" what they are told to "regurgitate" long enough to pass a test, and then promptly forget it. Cognitive thought SHOULD be a natural part of any curriculum, be it math, science, social studies, language, or art.

Contrary to popular beliefs, we aren't the first generation to question the major world religions. It has been going on for centuries! Many of these so-called "new challenges" aren't new; they are just re-worded old hash. Any good researcher can discover that!

Critical thinking is NOT the ability to criticize anything and everything, or to find fault with something "just because it is old and inconvienent". That is just being a brat and a nag.

Religious traditions can and should be questioned. It is part of living with the faith. Do you really think we tell our children to shut up and never ask questions? DUH!!!!

Answer 5

Absolutely. Critical Thinking skills are essential to be able to wade through the morass of conflicting information that various interest groups throw at us. Like oil companies insisting that global warming is a myth or a conspiracy, or cigarette companies trying to claim that nicotine is not addictive, or PETA's crazy rationalizations for their stances, or religious groups trying to pass off myth as fact.

Answer 6

Critical thinking is an incredibly important skill. Too bad it's not taught in public schools, anymore.

And if you're truly concerned about faith being displaced by reason, there are some brilliant thinkers whose faith is reinforced, not supplanted, by reason.

C. S. Lewis and Ravi Zacharias come to mind as two good examples.

Answer 7

Nope, and here is why. It would not coach little ones something! And maximum instructors provide uncomplicated grades for PE. even though if the youngster does not something yet slack off in PE, the youngster nevertheless passes. i think of actual preparation is extremely considerable, yet i did not learn something in PE. the completed direction needs to be re-evaluated, in a fashion the place little ones surely desire to earnings approximately well being. i became fat in intense college, in spite of PE. I taught myself approximately actual well being after college and misplaced 60 kilos. I could have had this information as a teenager whilst i became required to take actual preparation.

Answer 8

Then our children and future generations would have a mental "evolution" if you will, of their minds and possibly progress further than that of their parents in the ways of love, acceptance, and knowledge.

To question is to learn, to learn is to live. 'Knowledge is Power."

If you do not question your surroundings or the practices of others above you, how can you be certain that they are not corrupt. How can you know your best interests are in mind?

This question has been asked before. And it formed this country. Perhaps it should be asked again.

Answer 9

Although my high school thought of itself as near ivy-league, it never even mentioned the word philosophy, which pretty much ignored logic and deductive reasoning.

As for the second part of the sentence, are you implying something? My senses are reading between the lines.

Answer 10

Yeah, what if it led someone to question just exactly how dino bones and rocks are dated??? And then, what if they ask-"show me how"? Radio-metric dating methods are then thrown in the trash can, and they pull out this 177 year old chart of the "assumed" geologic column with guessed at date ranges. Then someone might ask -'just how old is this earth anyway?'