Critical Reflections

Thanks to Janet Staub for sharing additional resources and reflections on Chapter 5: Critical Thinking!

The alarm woke me at 6:00 AM. I made a breakfast of eggs, mustard greens, scallions and coffee with soy milk. (Choices based on my latest review of nutritional approaches. Was that Paleo or South Beach?) I ate it while reviewing and answering my email. I rejected a temptation to buy a cheap flight to Las Vegas, but I did get hooked at looking at other air fare options for a later trip to visit my daughter in San Francisco! I resisted an urge to buy an ice ax and snow shovel at an incredible price since the last time I went snow camping was in 1974. I chose words delicately, as I wrote an email asking difficult questions, hoping to minimize the reader’s defensiveness. Yes, by 8:30 AM I had engaged in lots of critical thinking. All this BEFORE I chose to listen to Amy Goodman’s webcast of Democracy Now, democracynow.org or Dr.Cornell West and Tavis Smiley’s show smileyandwest.com/radio.html, two of my personal favorites for critical analysis of world events. Decision making, the implementation of critical thinking, colors our moment-to-moment existence. No wonder Ellen Galinsky highlights this skill in her book, Mind in the Making.

Let’s put some critical thinking into action while discussing the chapter. Let’s use Galinsky’s book to help us in our “ongoing search for valid and reliable knowledge to guide our beliefs and actions” (Galinsky’s definition of critical thinking, p. 204). What issues does Galinsky address? What is her hypothesis, and what information does she use to prove or disprove it? What are her conclusions? And, do we, as Critical Thinkers, have any critique of her claims?

Galinsky posits that knowing when children develop specific evaluative strategies will help us know how to extend their opportunities for development of critical thinking. She spends most of the chapter sharing examples of experiments that demonstrate children’s abilities. Galinsky presents convincing evidence that critical thinking is a natural developmental process that can be stimulated and strengthened by teachers and parents.

WHAT’S VALID AND RELIABLE KNOWLEDGE?

We early childhood educators aren’t surprised to read that 100% of four year olds and 88% of five year olds can be “tricked” into believing that a machine turns toys, photos, and even stuffed animals into something real (toy keys become real keys). We adults continue to struggle with what is true. From big ideas like Weapons of Mass Destruction and Climate Change to small illusions like “there’s this one simple trick to losing 10 pounds this week”, we human beings wrestle with assessing what is true. With our big hopes for the next generation, we want the children we care for to be forewarned, and be better at it than we are. We want them to know how to detect falsehoods, when to trust wholeheartedly, and when not to take NO for an answer. We want our children to know that the first answer is not the final answer.

Download the full article to read more Critical Reflections.

Janet Staub is a parent educator at Skagit Valley College. In addition, she facilitates a variety of home-based, play-based, and classroom learning opportunities for children and their adults. She is a recent graduate of the University of Washington School of Nursing’s certificate program in Infant Mental Health. Prior to her move to Whidbey Island, she worked with the City of Seattle’s Child Development programs for over 20 years. She can be reached at janet.staub@gmail.com.