A lesson in critical thinking.
By uath13
@uath13 (8192)
United States
April 13, 2011 2:42pm CST
I've read several articles lately where studies show that the youngest generation of kids are graduating with little to know ability in critical thinking. Personally I've been doing my best to try to make my kid actually think & figure things out for herself instead of simply memorizing everything. Here's an example of my technique, see how well you fare.
My daughter was studying the huns. She'd been expected to learn the leaders names, dates or their conquests & such. I expected more. Can you answer the questions?
I explained to her.
1. The huns were migratory hearders on the steps where there are few trees. What did they burn in their campfires?
2. As migratory herders there was no fencing to contain the flock. How did the huns do it?
3. The huns had to protect their herds which were greatly spread out from predators. What method would they have used.
4. Knowing the answer to # 2 & 3 what style of combat would have best suited them?
5. How did this style of combat give them an advantage over the other armies of the time. ( We'd just studied the romans in a similar fashion so that had been covered ).
How well could you do without googling it?
Personally I think this form of teaching would be far more beneficial than just the read it out of a book & memorize it form. What do you think?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
• United States
13 Apr 11
Well I love history and I could answer those questions and I did The Mongols with my daughter a year ago (we home school) and we did a little extra digging too. I think there are many reasons our children are having issues with critical thinking one being what we give them to play with even at the youngest ages. No longer do they use their imaginations to play. All of the toys are guided by flashing lights, sounds and instructions. No longer do they take a bowl and spoon and imagine themselves playing the drums or dolls playing house. Video games give instructions in following the crowd. I personally want my kids to have more imagination and there for in the long run critical thinking. By making them figure out how to fix mistakes, create with their hands they are learning to formulate thoughts with out outside interference. Those of us who push our kids to do this will be glad when our children can cope in the real world. Or we will all be suffering from the decisions of the rest...
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
14 Apr 11
I was rather pleased this last weekend when my daughter got into a box of my old leggos. We spent a couple hours tinkering with them. What had originally been a rather realistic looking jeep I'd once built was turned into...Well I don't know what exactly you'd call it. Her imagination can come up with some pretty odd stuff.
@OpinionatedLady (5965)
• United States
18 Apr 11
I like to start a story then "pass" it on to the kid in the car sitting with me, she says a few lines and then she passes it on to her one of her other sisters and we go round and round. Not only does this help their minds but it is so funny what they come up with!
@skyflier0 (8)
• United States
13 Apr 11
The idea is great for education, however my High School is very short on time, considering we got an entire week off from frozen roads. The teachers in Texas are required to get a certain amount of grades in tests daily stuff etc and grading periods are shorter. I'm not surprised that the teachers haven't been focusing on teaching us critical thinking, they're trying to keep their jobs.
ps. this was before considering the budget cuts in Texas schools.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
13 Apr 11
I think that's a fine teaching method! Your daughter will be more interested in the huns and more motivated to memorize what the school wants--which will serve no useful purpose. In the meantime she's going to learn how to light and burn a fire with manure, probably how to carry coals from one site to another, how to control a herd of animals and how to protect her family and property in different circumstances.
Now that's knowledge she can actually use! 
I would do the same things with my kids when they were growing up. We'd do hands-on projects whenever possible, too, and had a lot of fun. They are able to figure things out now as adults and reason out their problems to come up with solutions. Their friends in the same graduating classes, not so much!
I would do the same things with my kids when they were growing up. We'd do hands-on projects whenever possible, too, and had a lot of fun. They are able to figure things out now as adults and reason out their problems to come up with solutions. Their friends in the same graduating classes, not so much!
@marie2052 (3691)
• United States
13 Apr 11
VERY WELL said and done. I just finished last March homeschooling my highschool son.
I taught him in his last three years. he did not want to go to high school because of all the drama.
Anytime you can provide hands on, and your own depth and knowledge rather than a child just sitting there reading it I do think they get more out of what the meaning is.
We have watched my husband's son get through high school missing 30 to 40 days a year, and they still PASSED him and now he graduates in June has never held a job to make his own money, and man I really have to wonder about these kids that have always gotten child support and never worked.
Its like we don't have to learn anything.
I agree with you wholeheartedly!
Keep helping her. you will see your great reward in the end.
My son is working for a company that is the largest nightclub in the US, started as security and within a year he is now management over security.
I don't think he would have made it this far if he had not stuck by my side to learn. he wanted to do it. so he has excelled and I am very proud of him!
@sashakiddo (1102)
• United States
14 Apr 11
I like your questions. I guess I'm not a decent critical thinker when it comes to that example. But I do consider myself a critical thinker when it comes to my studies in sociology. I do think it's true that people today don't graduate with critical thinking skills, but that depends on what area of study they are in.
For example, it seems philosophy majors develop great critical thinking skills. I took a couple philosophy courses and I realized that it really put me ahead of my classmates when I was in my sociology classes. In my sociology classes, as well as other classes in the social and behavioral sciences, I found that people were really lacking in such skills.
They really just take the professor's word, because that is what's going to be on the test. For instance, there is the famous Attachment Theory known in psychology as an adequate way to categorize the types of attachment that are experienced by children and adults, yet critical thinkers would look outside the box and find that there are also cross-cultural studies that criticize that Theory.
