Amanda Rogers
Dr. Begert
English 101
12/6/13
Dr. Begert
English 101
12/6/13
Paper 3: My Addition to the K-12 School Curriculum
From the early adolescent years, children are taught that they must fulfill the requirement of gaining an education in order to succeed in life. Innocently, from kindergarten through 12th grade children coast through the repetitive and uninteresting routine that comes along with attending public school; assuming the foundation of knowledge being laid for them will provide them with the skills and intelligence needed to become a productive member of society. While contents taught in school today can be meaningful and important, they way in which it is taught can be damaging. Our K-12 school system has come to discourage the individual creativity of students minds, and instead, promote the idea that teachers are always correct. Educators fill their pupils with carefully chosen knowledge and subjective opinions, rarely, if ever, allowing the student to form a logical and valid viewpoint of their own. Depriving our youth of the ability to express and argue their own opinions is a harmful misdeed. In order for a person to truly become powerful, they must first learn how to think independently. Critical thinking is a concept that will grant students the capability to view questions, issues, and ideas from many angels, by working cooperatively with their teachers and peers. Considering the diversity and openness of this approach, adding the element of critical thinking in the classroom will help our youth become better, and more informed observers of life.
It is no secret that classrooms today
have become a place of dullness, and boredom. John Taylor Gatto, a school
teacher of thirty years and author of Against School: How Public Education
Cripples Our Kids and Why says, “Boredom was everywhere in my world, and if you
asked the kids, as I often did, why they felt so bored, they always gave
the same answers: They said the work was stupid, that it made no sense, that
they already knew it.” There is an incredible lack of ambition among students
who are being taught material that is of absolutely no significance to them.
Gatto continues, “They said they wanted to be doing something real, not just
sitting around.” Critical thinking aims to ease children away from the
insignificant material of the current curriculum, and focus more on realistic
and meaningful conversation. Some might argue that this method would take away
from the importance of core subjects (such as math, history, etc.). However, students
would learn the valuable skill of forming valid, purposeful opinions by
engaging themselves in group discussions. They would no longer be forced to
agree with only one opinion, but instead, actively ask questions and work with
others to discover their own beliefs and views.
By nature, Children have an admirable passion for curiosity. In fact, a
recent survey by online
retailer Littlewoods.com found that young children ask their parents an average
of 300 questions per day. Unfortunately, this passion is often short
lived. With the monotonous lesson plans
and one-sided opinions that our educational system provides, children are being
taught to conform to a certain standard. They are robbed of their natural
desire to be inquisitive and instead, forced to obey a curriculum geared only
to deposit information for the sake of memorization. In her book Teaching Critical Thinking,
bell hooks states “Sadly, children’s passion for thinking often ends when they
encounter a world that seeks to educate them for conformity and obedience
only.”(8) The tragic reality is student’s today fear to think for themselves.
Adding the concept of critical thinking in classrooms will not only encourage,
but drastically restore a child’s eagerness to think. With enough practice of
critical thinking, they will re-learn how to question the world around them.
This will aid in the ability for our youth to logically devise strategies, and
solve problems, whether they are school, work, or life related.
Paolo Freire states in his article The
Banking Concept of Education, “The educated man is the adapted man, because
he is better ‘fit’ for the world.” The
K-12 Schooling system is structured in such a way that the students must adapt
to the knowledge being fed to them. Educators and school administrators are entirely
in control of what is to be taught, and how it is rendered to the students.
This method of teaching is not in the best interest of the children. It does
not allow for them to think creatively and originally. Freire adds, “Everything
in this ready-to-wear approach serves to obviate thinking.” Inclusion of critical thinking in classrooms would
provide students the opportunity to open their minds, and expand on different
topics in ways that are meaningful to them as an individual. Critical thinking allows
students to freely express their beliefs and thoughts, without being told they
have given a “wrong answer”. One particular scene in the “mockumentary”, Chalk,
strongly conveyed this issue. Mr. Stroope, an overly-confident,
go-with-the-flow teacher, confronts an intelligent student who corrected him
during class. Mr. Stroope becomes upset and in so many words, tells the student
to stop being so smart. Some might agree that there is a sense of disrespect
when a student corrects, or confronts a teacher. However, if we discourage our
youth from expressing their thoughts and intelligence, they will never be able
to thrive. Praising a student for accomplishing the simple task of thinking would
embed confidence among them for life. The once feared task of having your own
voice would diminish, thus introducing them to a wide range of opportunity in
the future.
One of the key components involved with
critical thinking is allowing students to work in a community-like environment
in the classroom. In his article A Real Education, Barry Boyce says
“Kindness, caring, empathy, being able to de-center from your own point of view
and listen deeply to others- these are values that should be cultivated in our
classrooms.” For a child to indeed become a thoughtful and tactful individual,
it is greatly important they understand how to consider and explore many
different points-of-views with an open mind. Authors of From Critical
Thinking to Argument Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau say, “Critical thinking
requires us to use our imagination, seeing things from prospectives other than
our own and envisioning the likely consequences of our position.” (hooks). Allowing
students to work interactively with their peers would enable them to listen to,
and digest the opinions and reasoning’s of others. In addition to student
participation, educators would become a part of the classroom community as
well. This would mean voiding the implied rule that the teacher must always be
right. bell hooks, author of Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom
suggests that teachers must be open at all times. “[For teachers], a radical
commitment to openness maintains the integrity of the critical thinking process
and its central role in education.”(10) She says. Authority figures today would
aruge that educators should teach only the material given in the current
curriculum. They wish to withhold young minds from too much knowledge, fearing
they might in fact become powerful beyond what society is ready to bare. The
truth is, it is simply not right to deprive students of their right to be
smart. By creating this classroom-wide interaction, teachers and students would
be able to embrace the learning process by freely contributing their own unique
and important thoughts, while openly considering the thoughts of others.
Being able to think independently is a
crucial skill needed to become a successful person. The ability to have your
own voice in the world should not be something to fear, but to embrace.
Learning to work with others, and open your mind to the diversity of others
opinions is a critical part of life, and therefore, should be taught on a
regular basis. By practicing the art of thinking critically, children would
discover the true value of their own identity. Incorporating this approach in our everyday K-12
school curriculum will aid children to become adequate, logical, and sensible
people. As W.E.B. Du Bois wisely stated,
“The effect of all true education is not only a gaining of some practical means
of helping present life, but the making of present life mean more than it meant
before.”(Gilyard)
Works Cited
hooks, bell. “Critical
Thinking”. Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom. 8. New
York: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. 2009. Print
Freire, Paolo. "The Banking Concept of
Education." Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Chapter 2. 1970.
Print
Gilyard, Keith. "Children, Arts, and Du
Bois." National Council of Teachers and English. September 2012.
Print.
Chalk. Dir. Mike Akel. Perf. Chris
Mass. SomeDaySoon Production, 2006. DVD
Gatto,
John. “Against School: How public education cripples our kids, and why” Harper’s Magazine. September, 2003.
Web.
Telegraph.co.uk.
“Mothers asked nearly 300 questions a day, study finds”. The Telegraph. March 28, 2013. Web.
