Critical thinking is one skill separating innovators from followers.

Critical thinking reduces the power of advertisers, the unscrupulous and the pretentious, and can neutralize the sway of an unsupported argument.

Critical thinking is a skill most students enjoy learning because they see immediately that it gives them more control.

Devastating Consequences

That said, young people — without significant life experience and anxious to fit in — are especially vulnerable to surface appeal.

Targeted advertising affects their buying and eating habits; choosing friends for the wrong reasons can lead to real heartache.

Decisions about joining the military, becoming a parent or choosing a career have indelible effects on a person’s life.

The lack of critical thinking at an early age can have devastating consequences.

Every educator is in a position to teach students how to gather information, evaluate it, screen out distractions and think for themselves.

Because critical thinking is so important, some believe that every educator has not only the opportunities, but also the obligation to incorporate critical thinking into his or her subject area.

This helps students evaluate prepackaged conclusions and clears a path for original thoughts.

A World of Illusions

Seeing beyond superficial appearances is especially important today because… CONTINUE READING this article at Edutopia

G. Randy Kasten is an attorney and author of Just Trust Me: Finding the Truth in a World of Spin.

He previously worked with third through eighth graders in a public school and has taught continuing legal education to attorneys. 

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