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From the Desk of Bill Cirone...
May 19, 2000
Parents: Helping Children Think
Parents can help make sure their children are prepared for the future by actually helping children learn to think critically. The concept of critical thinking is based on a foundation of understanding cause and effect. Parents can help children understand these notions by making a game of it, by using brain teasers, or by encouraging them to ask questions that go beyond the facts.
Games can be fun for adults and children alike. Tell your child the cause of a situation and ask him or her to figure out what will happen. Then switch the scenario--tell the effect and ask the child to figure out the cause. With a little practice, reasoning and problem-solving skills will grow.
Children who ask questions that start with "why," "what if," and "what else" may drive their parents crazy, but these questions are actually a good indication of the development of higher-order thinking skills. Parents can also ask "Why?" "What else?" and "What if?" Ask about books and what they mean. Use a brainstorming session to solve family issues.
The ultimate goal is to help nurture thinking skills that will enable young people to apply the factual knowledge they learn. By encouraging them to make comparisons and sound generalizations, parents and teachers help students formulate opinions and make responsible decisions.
Opportunities to help in this area abound at every turn. Try asking: "Was Chicken Little a reliable source of information?" "What might the wolf have done if Red Riding Hood’s Grandmother had not been ill?"
This emphasis on what is called "higher order thinking" is a continuing move toward preparing students for the realities of the 21st century.
Teachers try to incorporate these skills wherever appropriate. For example, one elementary teacher read the story of Chicken Little to her class and then had the students discuss whether the other animals should have trusted Chicken Little, and how they could have judged whether her information was reliable. Class discussions included the concepts of jumping to conclusions and finding out what causes something to happen. Parents can use the same techniques with stories they read to their own children.
The point is to have students link the content of stories with thinking skills. It has been demonstrated that successful students who learn something new can relate it to their existing store of knowledge in a way that become immediately useful and meaningful.
We live in a global, service-oriented, information age, and students will need to solve problems, think creatively, and continue to learn if they are to become productive citizens in this context. Schools can’t possibly cover all the information that exists on any given subject. Educated citizens will need to continue to learn as they grow. Plus, it’s impossible to predict exactly what knowledge will be needed in the 21st century.
This means that more than ever, the ability to think critically and solve problems are basic to a meaningful education. As journalist Robert Wieder wrote: "Anyone can look for fashion in a boutique or history in a museum. The creative learner looks for history in a hardware store and fashion in an airport."
As always, parents can be a major help to their own children in this regard.
© Santa Barbara County Education Office
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