Taking a Walk in a Teacher’s Shoes

A few weeks ago, I wanted to write a post about how educators are teaching critical thinking all wrong (wait…put down the pitchforks and keep reading please).  I knew the post would be controversial, and I planned be very clear about how much I respect the amazing and selfless job being a teacher is, but I truly believe we are not inspiring students to think critically.

My opinion only became stronger when I attended a critical thinking conference aimed at educators, and within a few hours I wanted to bang my head on the table.  Does critical thinking training have to be so boring?  Application is key.  Apply the concepts to real-life issues, and students will remember and embrace the topic.  Show, don’t tell!

But then, I had an interesting conversation with one teacher who explained her dilemma.  She makes her students thinking critically in her critical thinking class.  It isn’t about memorization of concepts, theories, and terms.  Her class is about applying the concepts and asking the students to find errors in their own logic, acknowledge assumptions, reveal biases, distinguish fact from opinion, etc.  The problem is that her class is tough!  Critical thinking is hard work!

At the end of the semester, her students submit their course reviews to the Dean and they regularly say the coursework is too difficult.  This professor is then told to make the course more simple because the reviews are too negative and there are not enough students who receive an A in the course.

She is in a no-win-situation.  If she challenges her students to think critically, they complain and she is reprimanded for being too tough on her students.  If she reverts to simply asking them to memorize terms and theories for the test, she knows they’re not leaving the course with true critical thinking skills (and the students say the class is boring).

That conversation was a true eye-opener for me, as was a recent article in the LA Times (The Myth of the Extraordinary Teacher).  Read the excerpt below for a snapshot of a teacher’s day in L.A.:

The kid in the back wants me to define “logic.” The girl next to him looks bewildered. The boy in front of me dutifully takes notes even though he has severe auditory processing issues and doesn’t understand a word I’m saying. Eight kids forgot their essays, but one has a good excuse because she had another epileptic seizure last night. The shy, quiet girl next to me hasn’t done homework for weeks, ever since she was jumped by a knife-wielding gangbanger as she walked to school. The boy next to her is asleep with his head on the desk because he works nights at a factory to support his family. Across the room, a girl weeps quietly for reasons I’ll never know. I’m trying to explain to a student what I meant when I wrote “clarify your thinking” on his essay, but he’s still confused.

Wow!  While I still believe that there’s a better way to teach critical thinking in schools, I will not put the blame on the teachers.  I have not walked in your shoes, and even though I have a slightly better understanding of the challenges you encounter every day, I also know you face many more obstacles than the ones I’ve addressed in this blog post.

So, educators, what is the solution?  How can we improve critical thinking skills in students despite the economic and political challenges you face every day?

Editor’s Note: Breanne Harris is the Solutions Architect for Pearson TalentLens.  She works with customers to design selection and development plans that incorporate critical thinking assessments and training.  She has a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology and has experience in recruiting, training, and HR consulting.  She is the chief blogger for Critical Thinkers and occasionally posts at ThinkWatson.  Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter for more of her thoughts.