THINKING CRITICALLY

 A few days ago this survey link showed up on my FB page. I shared it so it actually showed up on the page that friends can access. I got this comment from a friend,

'When I was in junior high and high school (back when dinosaurs roamed the earth), we had a class called "critical thinking skills" that was part of the curriculum, year after year. At the time, I questioned why we were being taught critical thinking skills. Now that I see the results of not teaching that concept, I understand."

And then I put a reply to the original comment. 

We didn't have a separate class but we did have a short assigned piece to read and answer questions. And then there was the ever popular research paper with footnotes and bibliography. I managed to avoid getting mine back without to many ??????? What were you thinking notes in the margins.

But, that got me thinking. Is it critical thinking skills or is it 'my mind is made up don't confuse me with the facts?" I got into a little comment "war" over the electoral college. I tried to explain that the electoral college was a compromise. One to strike a balance between a popular vote for president and having congress elect the president. And partly it was a bone thrown to the small states (along with the senate having two to a state) who were afraid they would be swamped by the larger states.

 Another compromise was allowing the slave states to count each slave as 3/5 of person in the census.This allowed states like South Carolina with a small white population more representatives than they would have has otherwise. 

The kindest comment I got back was being called a "dumbass.' I have finally learned that it doesn't do any good to answer back. The constitution. A monument to compromise and horsetrading. 

When we got a TV it was off more often than it was on. Now we have so called news going all day and all night i wonder how many hours of Fox News kids are exposed to be the time they start school. And it makes me wonder. Can a class in critical thinking skills get past hours and hours of propaganda? Teach it yes. But in every class along with an official class in thinking critically. 

I mean, don't you have to think critically about science, history, almost every class you take?