Critical Thinking 3

What if, in my attempt to think critically, I come to flawed conclusions?  How bad is that?

Well, if I detach, and let the data speak, I can adopt the attitude of Thomas A. Edison.  “I have found 1,000 ways NOT to build a lightbulb,” to paraphrase his comment at a thousand flawed conclusions.  In other words, all is not lost.  I continue thinking, I continue searching, and researching.  

A teacher asks, “Do I have the right to teach children badly 1,000 times?”

No.  That’s why we have books.  Many people have tried the inadequate methods and failed.  If we read the research, master the research, we can do so in a compatively short time.  The teacher now knows a thousand ways not to teach to that age group, children or adults in that stage of development.  We stand, as they say, on the shoulders of others.  

What if our cherished way of teaching has been proven to be 80% ineffective.  You know, the 
     “Ram it in, cram it in, children’s heads are hollow.
       Ram it in, cram it in, there’s lot’s more to follow”
approach.  

If we detach (even from our left wing or right wing ideology) and look at data, we can come up with a better set of approaches to this gorup of students at this stage of development.  Down with politics!  Down with the established old guard way of failing to teach!  Down with parental indifference and interference!

Up with carefully thought out approaches that avoid flawed methods and embrace promising methods, especially those that have demonstrated success with students like the ones I’m teaching.