Critical Thinking

The other day, I was driving around with the teenager and a friend of the teenager, and the upcoming presidential election came up in discussion.  If you think teenagers are oblivious to what is going on around them, they aren't- they only give that appearance, probably as an innate defense mechanism against annoying parents.  It occurred to me then that soon these teenagers would be voting; my daughter's friend will be old enough to vote in the November elections.

The teenager had asked me once, how do you know who to vote for? Sometimes it's hard, I told her.  Sometimes (often) all the choices suck and it's more of a decision about who will do the least harm rather than who will do the most good, but especially as women it's important that we vote because people fought hard so that we could, and because it matters.  Sometimes elections, especially local ones, are decided by one vote.  I thought she'd roll her eyes at me when I said this, but she didn't.

It is a good question- how do you know who to vote for?  It's where those critical thinking skills come into use, and it seems these days that our collective critical thinking skills have greatly atrophied.  Misinformation on the internet flourishes like an unchecked black mold infestation in a damp dark corner, and we often just accept all of it as truth, and pass it on. We are not teaching our kids good decision making when we form beliefs based on slanted information without considering it carefully.

As a college student way back in the ancient days, when we had to use card catalogs and hard copy books instead of our iPads, I learned the following:
1.  If you only have enough quarters for one load of laundry, do not put the red sweater in with the white skivvies.
2.  Do not start sentences with the word "there".  Try it; it's hard - but your writing will improve.
3.  Always check more than one source for information.  Evaluate your sources.  Could there be bias towards one particular view?  Is information being taken out of context, or is essential information being left out entirely? What is the author's agenda?  Is the source a reliable one? What other sources verify it or contradict it? Is there a source or primary document and what does it say? (I was an English major; life is hard for you when the Canterbury Tales, in medieval English, is your original document- but try writing a paper about Geoffrey Chaucer without it). 

Just because you like what you are reading doesn't mean that it is correct.  Just because an article fits nicely with your world view doesn't mean that it's accurate.  In the last two weeks I have seen both conservative and liberal news sources report bad information.  (snarky comment alert: spinning information shouldn't be necessary in regards to most candidates for office; the facts are unsavory enough. Snarky comment ended).

It can't be just the responsibility of schools to teach critical thinking, although it is an important part of a formal education.  As parents, we need to encourage our kids to research and think for themselves- from evaluating the differences between politicians campaigning for office to which is the best car to buy, and why.   It can be hard when children and teenagers begin to question some of our own cherished beliefs. Sometimes those conversations can be very awkward and emotional.

A story about the teenager as a young'un:  shortly after she had learned to read, we were at the movie theater and she saw the sign that says "no outside food permitted".  I happened to have a purse full of outside food, and she knew it, because we had bought it together at the grocery store an hour before.  She looked at me and asked why I had outside food if it wasn't allowed.  I ignore that rule, I told her. Everyone does.  But Mom, she said,  you're always telling us we have to follow the rules even if we don't like them, but you're breaking that rule.  Oh, ouch.  Awkward.

However, with the proliferation of questionable information available these days, it is imperative that our offspring learn how to use their critical thinking skills.  If our society devolves to a point where we are all making important decisions based on Internet memes, then we are a lost cause.