archives

critical thinking

This tag is associated with 56 posts

Please don’t take my blanket away!

Posted by ⋅ ⋅ 13 Comments

As I was taking my younger daughter to her daycare this morning, making sure I don’t forget her favorite stuffed toy — Piglet, of Winnie the Pooh fame — a sequence of pictures flashed in front of my eyes: The warmth of our home, causing my brain to recall familiar smells from the baking in … Continue reading »

Barry Schwartz on Practical Wisdom and How We Need This in Schools

Posted by ⋅ ⋅ 8 Comments

I’m a big fan of Barry Schwartz, and his recent TED talk on our loss of wisdom just adds to my appreciation of him and his work. Take a look: Many of the issues he addresses in his short talk – teaching to tests, imprisoning people for non-violent acts – are ones I’ve written about … Continue reading »

Scream when someone takes your spoon!

Posted by ⋅ ⋅ 18 Comments

When I was invited to join this blog, I had lots of ideas what should my first post be about — death to subject silos, put a stop to age segregation, pull parents and even the community into the learning, etc. While I would still like to bring a parent perspective on these important topics, … Continue reading »

To All People, But Especially Educators: Please Think Critically

Posted by ⋅ ⋅ 2 Comments

About 17 years ago, I went to see a chiropractor who came highly recommended to help alleviate back pain I’d been experiencing. I was surprised when the chiropractor chose to use “applied kinesiology” with me rather than traditional spinal manipulation. I had never heard of applied kinesiology and was open to anything that might help … Continue reading »

Oddness

Posted by ⋅ ⋅ 5 Comments

With 18 days off for winter break (16 in the calendar and 2 snow days at the beginning) I have time to take for just me. .. and today is one of those. I’m spending today tweeting, blogging,  thinking, reading, looking through the books I have stacked up, basically learning and reflecting! I have a … Continue reading »

Ethics Without Indoctrination

Posted by ⋅ ⋅ Leave a Comment

In an essay entitled “Ethics Without Indoctrination” in a now 20-year-old issue of Educational Leadership, Richard W. Paul writes: “If we bring ethics into the curriculum – and we should – we must take pains to ensure that we do so in a morally unobjectionable manner. This requires us to distinguish clearly between espousing the … Continue reading »

An Open Letter to Educators

Posted by ⋅ ⋅ 6 Comments

Take a look at this YouTube video from Dan Brown: “An Open Letter to Educators”: Dan dropped out of college because, as he said, “my schooling was interfering with my education.” As he describes a typical college class and makes a passionate and positive plea for real education for the 21st century, do you find … Continue reading »

Thinking in School?

Posted by ⋅ ⋅ 16 Comments

In a recent Huffington Post essay, Eric Maisel presents an argument for adding thinking to school . His idea is simple. Carve out 45 minutes each day for students to ponder big (age-appropriate) questions, write down their thoughts, and present them if they wish. I like this idea, and I would take it further. Readers … Continue reading »

What Will Future Generations Condemn Us For? How We Educate Our Children

Posted by ⋅ ⋅ 8 Comments

In his excellent op-ed in the Washington Post, Princeton professor, Kwame Anthony Appiah, imagines what future generations will condemn us for, as we have condemned our ancestors for slavery and women’s disenfranchisement. Appiah mentions our prison systems, factory farming, and the isolation and institutionalization of our elderly. I think our descendants will also condemn us … Continue reading »

Education is Not Indoctrination

Posted by ⋅ ⋅ 10 Comments

There are some who argue that education is virtually always synonymous  with indoctrination, and those who hold this position certainly have  evidence to support it. The U.S. government removed native children from  their homes, put them in boarding schools, forbade them from speaking  their own languages, and indoctrinated them with very specific values  and beliefs. … Continue reading »

Why Are We Afraid to Explore Issues Essential to Our Children’s Future?

Posted by ⋅ ⋅ 11 Comments

Last May I had a busy day doing MOGO talks out of state. (MOGO stands for “most good,” a short way of thinking about what does the most good and the least harm, which is the basis of my book, Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life.) I … Continue reading »

Newer posts »

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 3,984 other followers

Comments are subject to moderation.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 3,984 other followers