Benefits of Critical Thinking - Critical Thinking and its BenefitsIn America today, we have an epidemic: most people can't think critically. It's vitally important to your future that you develop the ability to be able to look at a situation or problem and think through all the angles. The Problem Let's start with why I say most people have lost the art of critical thinking. Our school system has failed our children. Instead of being educated, our children are being trained. This is not by accident. Consider the following: "The most controversial issues of the twenty-first century will pertain to the ends and means of modifying human behavior and who shall determine them. The first educational question will not be 'what knowledge is of the most worth?' but 'what kinds of human beings do we wish to produce?' The possibilities virtually defy our imagination." - John Goodlad, in "Learning and Teaching in the Future," Today's Education (journal of the National Education Association) Goodlad said this in 1968. Well, we're now almost a full decade into the twenty-first century and the benefits of critical thinking have been hidden from at least two generations now. Our schools churn out worker bees, not free thinkers. "Achieving Life Abundance News" Ezine and receive 1 FREE E-Course & 2 FREE Special Reports. Just fill in your Email Address and Name below: Privacy Policy The Result of the Problem Unfortunately, it seems to be more important to produce workers than people who understand critical thinking. Consider this: I read a recent account where a high school senior was asked who America won its freedom from. The answer? "Umm, I think it was Korea and I think it was about 50 years ago." This is an outrage. This 17 or 18 year old has no chance in the real world. Do you realize this student must have no concept of the Holocaust if he thinks we won our Revolutionary War 50 years ago? From Korea, no less. How many countless children have lost the art of critical thinking like this one? Develop Your Mind OK, so you understand the benefits of critical thinking and want to know how to develop this skill further. The first thing you must do is read, and I don't mean TV Guide! Reading quality material forces you to think. Another travesty forced upon the people of this world is the television. You may have come across my anti-TV rantings on other pages of my site, but I feel as if I can't repeat this enough. Turn it off! The TV is the enemy of the benefits of critical thinking. TV literally turns you into a zombie. It tells you violence is OK. It tells you to stop thinking for yourself. If you're searching for the benefits of critical thinking and you happen to be a television junkie, stopping that habit is priority number one. Then, dig out some "real" books and invest time reading.
Educate yourself and you'll be amazed how you begin to realize the benefits of thinking critically in the process.
Develop Your Spirituality As you develop your mind and understand further the benefits of thinking critically, it's mind boggling how it helps you think more intelligently about your spiritual beliefs. I started this site in March of 2006. It's amazing to me how even my reading on non-spiritual subjects has caused me to re-think my spiritual beliefs. As I re-read some of my spiritual pages, I'm finding that I'm already questioning my beliefs I wrote about during that first year. I'm sure, over time, I'll be bringing you some of these changes in future posts. Until then, think seriously about the benefits of critical thinking for you and your loved ones. Change your life, Matt DeSilva to Critical Thinking home page
|
