To be worthy of the name, critical thinking must be sustained, analytical, synoptic, and accountable.
Seven tools are invaluable in honing these qualities: the thematic journal, the thematic matrix, thematic matrix exchange, the thematic calendar of conversations, the thematic before and after test, the attitude checklist and the thematic capstone.
The thematic journal: critical thinking takes time. Clear writing is the key to clear thinking. Reading without writing is like eating without digesting. You can’t learn from the past if you can’t remember it. Without the regular recording of facts, thoughts, and feelings, wheel reinvention will be constant and progress nil. Thoughts should be organized by theme. Hence, the thematic journal.
The thematic matrix: on a periodic basis, journal notes should be summarized and organized in the equivalent of a graphic elevator speech. The matrix is the perfect metaphor for the essence of analytical thinking. Analysis means breaking down a problem into its parts. Matrices are ubiquitous in the presentations of investment bankers and consultants because they are the most effective tool for communicating complex ideas. Examples of their power are the Eisenhower
Decision Matrix, the Periodic Table and the Punnett Square.
Thematic matrices should be exchanged with peers in thematic conversations.
Without the motivation of a peer group similarly committed to learning, interest will sag. Conversations are invaluable tools for honing thinking and preventing a drift into solipsism. The best test of the quality of your ideas is the crucible of dialogue.
The thematic calendar: without a regular periodic return to a theme there will be no depth of thought. If it is not on the calendar, it won’t happen.
The thematic before and after test: no before test no baseline, no after test no accountability. You have taken the before test. At the end of a series of conversations about a topic, a formal presentation both oral and in writing is the best after test.
The thematic capstone: the pressure of a formal public presentation both oral and written with graphic tools to enhance both is a critical discipline for putting together ideas on the most important, and inevitably complex issues.
Each tool alone is extremely powerful. Together their power increases exponentially. Sadly, their coordinated use is not taught in most elementary schools.
Changing this would dramatically accelerate learning and provide a much firmer foundation for life long learning.
In the pages that follow I address 23 questions. My answers are not definitive. They should be considered as one voice around a table, one contributor in a Socratic dialogue.
For more details: see Manifesto.
Civic literacy demands a basic level of mastery of ethics, history, economics, political science, demography, statistics, and rhetoric. It also demands some understanding of climate science.
The laws of economics and statistics are not a matter of opinion and they are at times quite counter-intuitive. All opinions on right and wrong are not created equal. Neither are all lessons of history.
The simplest test of civic literacy is the ability to make a strong case for both sides in the current debates over foreign policy, fiscal and monetary policy, social justice, and climate change. A strong case requires marshaling arguments at three levels: that of principles, that of facts, and that of solutions.
To do well on this test the Critical Thinking Toolkit could be of great help.
A thematic journal specific to each issue of importance to you is highly recommended.
The periodic completion of a thematic matrix on each issue will sharpen your thinking as it forces prioritization and organization of thought.
A calendar of conversations to devoted to each issue will subject your analysis to the review of peers whose work you will be able to assess and benefit from.
Real civic literacy is a life long process not an endpoint. The complexity is boundless. Mastery is elusive.
For more instruction on this score see www.thinkingcitizen.com.
The goal of a general education program should be to take students from “I can’t” and “I don’t like” to “Wow! I can!” and “Wow! This is so cool!” in each of seven joys: music, art, athletics, numbers, words, experiments, and collaboration.
Well-roundedness is measured by proximity to that goal.
Specifically, I think the ideal K-12 program should result in every student having had the joy of composing and performing a 12 bar blues or the equivalent, the joy of composing a self-portrait in perspective, the joy of playing a three set tennis match or the equivalent, the joy of working through a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem, the joy of re-doing step by step Galileo’s inclined plane experiment or the equivalent, and the joy of working on a team on a joint project whether musical, artistic, athletic, scientific, or humanistic.
A great teacher can take a student to joy within a matter of weeks. A poor teacher given years will fail.
School principals and college Deans should identify the teaching methods of the greatest teachers and hire those capable of implementing them.
This is not rocket science.
Examples of such master teachers are: