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Essays, Opinion, & Commentary |
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by Pete Boghossian
Abstract Is there a reason to teach critical thinking? Much is written about "the how" of critical thinking, but "the why" is conspicuously absent from the literature. This paper attempts to fill this gap by providing reasons for why critical thinking should be taught in schools. It shows the indispensable value of teaching critical thinking from the viewpoint of four related educational paradigms. Why critical thinking? A Nation at Risk, the report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983), noted that the teaching of higher order thinking skills is a major weakness in our education system. This observation has been underscored by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the American Association of Accounting (AAA), and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), all of which have found that students are not leaving colleges with the literacy, intellectual understanding, and depth of insight symbolized by their degrees. The report of the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS, 1992) stressed that by age 16 all young people need a three-part foundation comprised of basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities. Teaching critical thinking skills in business education (McEwen, 1994) Is there a reason to teach critical thinking? Or is critical thinking just another "ill-conceived…mania" of the educational establishment (Adler, 2001)? Admittedly it is interesting that much is written about "the how" of critical thinking, but "the why" is conspicuously absent from the literature. This paper attempts to fill this gap by providing reasons for why critical thinking should be taught in schools. It shows the value of critical thinking from four related educational paradigms. First, however, before attempting to answer this question we need to backup and ask a prior question: "What ought to be the purpose of a K-12 education?" Depending upon one's response to the latter question, one's reasons for believing whether or not critical thinking should be part of the curriculum in schools will be evident. Without being overly pedantic, drawing upon various educational theories will help ground this inquiry so that a clearer view of the reasoning behind the importance of teaching critical thinking will become clear. Different theoretical perspectives regarding the purposes of a K-12 education can basically be broken down into four related categories (Goldring & Greenfield, forthcoming): 1) Economic: prepare students to enter the workforce and perpetuate a healthy capitalist economy, 2) Democratic: prepare students to be active members in a participatory democracy, 3) Social justice: teach students how to live in a multi-ethic/racial/gender/weight/ability society, 4) Core knowledge: focus students' education on foundational building blocks, (e.g., reading, writing, arithmetic, history, geography, etc.) These paradigms will now briefly be examined, and it will be argued that teaching critical thinking is fundamental to the success of each. The purpose of explaining these categories is not to advocate one model over another, but to show why critical thinking ought to be supported by proponents of each paradigm. Economic Developing and fostering critical thinking is vital for the promotion and perpetuation of entrepreneurial capitalism, the maintenance of American corporate dominance on the world stage (this is particularly true due to the realities of globalization which demand that American companies be able to compete in an international marketplace), and supplying businesses with a workforce capable of handling the demands of increasingly complicated technological workplaces where "business content becomes obsolete every few years" (Celuch & Slama, 1999). From CEOs to lower-level managers, daily decisions are being made on a myriad of issues that relate to the functioning and fiscal health of companies; these decisions, in turn, have implications for stockholders, employees and communities. An education that includes teaching children how to think critically will prepare them to enter a dynamic workforce by providing enabling skills that will help them adapt to ever-changing market conditions and technologies, and prepare them to assume roles of responsibility in their future careers. Without this facet of their education students will not be fully prepared to enter the workforce, start their own businesses, or make informed decisions regarding their careers; and businesses will lack the necessary skilled workforce (particularly in the technology sector) to meet consumer demand (Allnoch, 1997). Furthermore, the intrinsic merits of capitalism, proponents of this paradigm argue, can be reasoned through and would be chosen by disinterested observers on utilitarian, deontological, pragmatic and egoistic grounds. Justifications for laissez-faire capitalism are not seen only in opposition to failed communist and socialist economies, the collapse and Balkanization of the Soviet Union, the abject poverty of Cuba, or the mass starvation of the North Koreans (while their capitalist neighbors to the south enjoy a thriving, prosperous economy). Theoretical underpinnings of market capitalism such as enlightened self-interest, the invisible hand, private property rights, the division of labor, the function of markets, etc., are complex ideas that require more than memorization or historical knowledge to really understand the what, why and how of the mechanism of economic freedom. But the very process of rationally choosing an economic system means that people need to have the enabling tools by which they can make the judgments that affirm or deny competing economic models. Critical thinking is synonymous with good decision-making--it is a crucial tool that enables us to make discerning judgments (Pascarella, 1997). Democracy An educated citizenry is a necessary condition of a functioning vibrant democracy (Dewey, 1916; Russell, 1939). Without citizens who can make informed thoughtful decisions between and among competing positions and ideas, we cannot create a healthy participatory democracy (or even healthy communities) where citizens make rational choices about a myriad of complex issues. This is played out in social, economic, political and legal milieus that profoundly impact the way we discharge our responsibilities; from jury decisions to the Supreme Court's rulings on the role of precedence in contemporary jurisprudence; from local ballot initiatives to deciding between a democratic or a republican presidential candidate; from calling an elected official and advocating for an issue to exercising first amendment rights by picketing an objectionable policy; etc. In all facets of life, civic responsibility demands a critical evaluation of ideas and issues in order for us to make informed decisions that shape community life. It is not hyperbole to say that thinking critically is at once indispensable and interwoven with every facet of democratic responsibility. Social justice From Horace Mann's "great interests of society," to John Rawls' thought experiments that demanded universal assent to "public schools of the first rate," issues of social justice and equity have an extensive educational and philosophical pedigree (Mann, 1947; Rawls, 1999; Strouse, 1996). At the bedrock of a meritocracy rests the underlying notions that equality of opportunity is an intrinsic good, that racist or sexist judgments undermine egalitarian ends, and that distributive notions of fairness are the sine qua non of a just society. Even the very inquiry into notions of social justice presupposes a level of abstract thought that could prove to be elusive to those who have not had opportunities for critical evaluation. How would one know what social justice is without being given tools essential for inquiry? What would be appealed to in order to value it as important? In this paradigm deontological justifications are supported by meritocratic concerns i.e., that advancement ought to be based on one's ability or achievement, rather than one's race or gender, is seen as a right that inseparable from notions of social justice and equity. Critical thinking and inquiry provide the framework by which these issues and concerns derive meaning and yield warrant. Critical reflection provides the groundwork for meaning and affords the very possibility of questioning notions of patriarchy, racial injustice, corporate dominance, cultural hegemony, and the even concept of oppression. Core knowledge This is brand of educational consequentialism where having certain basic skills has an instrumental value in achieving socially, personally and technologically desirable ends: democracy, economic and ecological sustainability, living a good life, and a litany of other beneficial consequences are only possible through an education that stresses curricular fundamentals like history, math, reading and writing (Hirsch, 1999, 1988). Proponents of core knowledge advocate for a pragmatic notion of education where integrating what one knows gives rise to the possibility of taking one's knowledge further and achieving desirable ends. (Of course even knowing what constitutes a desirable end is itself a result of critical analysis. It is unclear how students could conduct a critical analysis on and about the core subjects without explicitly being taught how to do so). However, even the staunchest proponents of core knowledge do not believe that learning ought to take place in a vacuum (Gross, 1999, pp. 104-128). Students need to know how to work with and integrate their knowledge so that it becomes intelligible to them and capable of being articulated to others. One of the ways to process and apply this information is, appropriately, receiving an education that stresses critical thinking. Conclusion The fundamental values and truths from each of these paradigms; that political freedoms cannot be sacrificed for economic gain; that the public will, while crucial for molding communities, cannot trump individual rights; that we are not victims of government but co-creators in our own governance; that economic misery is a fertile ground for tyranny and oppression; that race-based discrimination is a moral cancer that undermines attempts to construct fair and equitable institutions; and that "there is a profound moral difference in the use of force for conquest and the use of force for liberation" (Reagan, 1984, p. 441); cannot be taken as true by fiat. These ideas must be critically engaged and debated if they are to again yield assent and univocally be held as inviolable. Teaching K-12 students how to think critically is a necessary condition for accomplishing the goals of each of these paradigms.
Works Cited Adler, M. (2001). Critical Thinking Programs: Why They Won't Work. The Radical Academy: The Mortimer J. Adler Archives. http://radicalacademy.com/adlercritthinkingpro.htm. Allnoch, A. (September, 1997). "A Crisis in Critical Thinking." IIE Solutions, Vol. 29 Issue 9, p.12. Celuch, K., & Slama, M. (January/February, 1999). "Teaching critical thinking skills for the 21st century: An advertising principles case study." Journal of Education for Business, Vol 74, Issue 3, pp. 134-139. Conti, R., Amabile, T., & and Pollak, S. (1995). "The positive impact of creative activity: Effects of creative task engagement and motivational focus on college students' learning." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, pp. 1107-1116. Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and Education. http://authorsdirectory.com/b/dmedu10.htm Goldring, E., & Greenfield, W. (forthcoming). "Understanding the Evolving Concept of Leadership in Education: Roles, Expectations, and Dilemmas." Chapter prepared for The NSSE Yearbook, J. Murphy (ed.) Educational Leadership Challenge: Redefining Leadership for the 21st Century pp. 6-7. Gross, M. (1999). The Conspiracy of Ignorance: The Failure of American Public Schools. United States: HarperCollins. Hirsch, E.D. (1998). Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. New York: Random House. Hirsch, E.D. (1999). The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them. New York: Random House. Mann, H. (1957). Twelfth annual report, 1848. In Cremin, L. (Ed.), The Republic and the School (pp. 79-103; 110-112). New York: Teachers College Press. McEwen, B. (Nov/Dec94). "Teaching critical thinking skills in business education." Journal of Education for Business, Vol. 70 Issue 2, p99. Pascarella, P. (May, 1997). "The secret of turning thinking into action." Management Review, v86 n5 p.38(2). Postman, N. (1965). Some gods that fail. In The end of education: Redefining the value of the school (pp. 19-36). New York: Random House. Rawls, J. (1999). A Theory of Justice. Harvard University's Belknap Press: Boston, MA. Reagan, R. (1984). "Let us make a vow to the dead." Speech delivered in Pointe du Hoc, Normandy, June 6, 1984. In The Penguin Book of Twentieth-Century Speeches. (1992). Ed. MacArthur, B. New York, New York: Penguin Books. Rush, B. (1965). "Plan for the establishment of public schools." In F. Rudolph (Ed.), Essays on education in the early republic. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Russell, B. (1939). "Education for democracy," Addresses and Proceedings of the National Education Association 77, July 2-6: 530. Spitzer, Q., & Evans, R. (1999). Heads, You Win!: How the Best Companies Think--and how You Can Use Their Examples to Develop Critical Thinking within Your Own Organization. USA: Simon and Schuster. Strouse, J. Ed. (1996). Exploring Themes of Social Justice in Education. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Mr. Boghossian is an adjunct professor of philosophy at the University of Portland and Linfield College, teaches critical thinking in grades K-12 for Saturday Academy, teaches education classes at Portland State University and is the assistant department chair for Humanities at the University of Phoenix. His website is at http://www.boghossian.com and he can be reached via e-mail at pete@boghossian.com. |
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