Critical thinking is not something you can read about in a textbook or article. This skill takes understanding.
Everyone uses it, but they may not be aware. Thinking on your toes to save someone in a car accident, or even deciding how group-work should be handled are some examples of what critical thinking is.
In its simplest form, this kind of thinking means when you are faced with a problem you have to find a solution. Unlike standardized tests where the solution is clear, novel situations may not have a clear solution; this allows people to use trial and error to conclude results about something no textbook or test could have told them how to do.
The true definition of critical thinking only came to me when a situation occurred where I had to think on my toes, it was a documentary screening I had to run.
A little background on the screening is that I only had one other person to help manage it and was restrained by a time frame of about a week; by no means would I have ever imagined I could accomplish this monstrous task.
We had to create tickets, design posters, set up the screening hall, and, most pressing of all, figure out how to even run a screening in the first place. Fast forward a week to the night of the screening, it was here. My dear friend and I had done something no textbook or class could have taught us how to do.
Within that one week, I had over four meetings to pitch the film to local educators, with those meetings, district wide notifications from principals and our own superintendent were sent out. A final count of over 100 people attended that night, even better was the amazing feedback we received about the intense commentary that came after. For once in my life I felt like I learned something.
All of this work was done with critical thinking, no simple solutions came our way, all decisions were made through planning and making quick choices; this is what it means to think.
This opportunity was my first ever experience with the real world. For all the work behind the scenes, all the late nights getting stuff ready, and a sacrifice of missing school, I can say it was well worth the effort.
Being only a freshman in high school makes the story even that much cooler. We are all humans, we all think, it’s in our DNA; the way we think is controlled by us. Using a method of static thinking is an institution of the mind that is stuck in the past, we as a society, must shift our mindset towards critical thinking.
This kind of thinking is the only way a student like me can truly prepare for what the real world holds rather than being stuck in a virtual reality, holding me back from understanding what is happening around me.
It is true I have no degree in education or psychology, but I do have an advantage most people in this world don’t have. I am a student. My profession has always been to obtain and understand information presented to me, but on the side, I wanted to explore the education I was in.
The classroom is my home, so when someone talks about the real world I imagine a world of the unknown. I believe the classroom and the real world should be amongst the same thing, meaning the way we think has to change.
I am the future of tomorrow, and I should be learning what I need to know today rather than falling victim to learning tactics that were established over a hundred years ago.
I want you to take a moment to think, to think critically. When you see students in school know that their education should expand beyond the walls of a school; their education should never come to an end.
The classroom is simply a place to learn, and a path towards critical thinking will open up many opportunities for our students.
Don’t just take my word for it, there are millions who agree. Thinking critically is the only way to sustain a plausible future in the current, and evolving, world. That is why we must alter our education system to allow our students to prepare themselves for the real world.
Evan Hall is a freshman at Clarkston Junior High School