Essay On Critical Thinking

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It seems that schools are not focussing enough on the concept of critical thinking in their curriculum. Critical thinking should in fact be an aim of education and be a large part of the school curriculum. Critical thinking is a crucial tool for students to survive and progress through the outside world after graduating school. Once in the outside world, there will no longer be teachers spoon-feeding answers; critical thinking is needed for students to process and solve any challenges and problems they face themselves. The concept of critical thinking cannot be defined in a way that can be universally agreed upon. There is no single definition that can be taken to represent the concept as a whole. Critical thinking as an idea has many contexts, and different individuals have varying definitions of critical thinking. For the purpose of this paper we can follow a few of the definitions that William Hare provided in his paper “Critical Thinking as an Aim of Education”: 1. Critical thinking is the conscious, deliberate rational assessment of claims according to clearly identified standards of proof. 2. Critical thinking is the appropriate use of reflective scepticism within the problem area under consideration. 3. Critical thinking is thinking which appropriately reflects the power and convicting force of reasons. 4. Critical thinking involves calling into question the assumptions underlying our customary, habitual ways of thinking and acting, and then being ready to think and act differently on the basis of this critical questioning. 5. Critical thinking is thinking that facilitates judgement because it relies on cri... ... middle of paper ... ... CONCLUSION Critical thinking is an important tool that is crucial in education from preschool all the way to post-secondary and beyond. It serves to help avoid the various forms of improper education out there. Teachers should consider their aims in education and see how the general idea of critical thinking may capture important aspects of their overall teaching objective (Hare, 1999, p.95). They must also find ways of expressing that ideal not just through textbooks, but in classroom practice as well. Critical thinking is a skill that students keep with them throughout the rest of their lives. There is no way to predict the future and fully prepare students for it, but teaching them proper critical thinking allows them to prepare themselves for whatever challenges they may face in the future, when there are no teachers to continue to spoon-feed them solutions.

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