Critical Thinking in 5 Simple Steps

As we have been focusing on teaching our children to read, to comprehend and to expand their vocabulary, we must also be aware that the end goal is for them to become critical thinkers rather than reading machines. This is especially important in this age of information explosion where fake news crops up everywhere, all the time.

Thanks to the American philosopher John Dewey, who coined the term “critical thinking” in 1910, and later on the Maltese physician/philosopher Edward de Bono, who popularized the term “lateral thinking”, we now recognize the importance of such thinking and some ways we can train ourselves.

From the perspective of education, learning to thinking critically is in tune with a child’s natural development. Children are born curious about their world and environment. Their minds are full of imagination. They ceaselessly ask “why?” and “what if?”. It is therefore easy for us to simply go with the flow and encourage them to do what they can already do well. We only need to show them the skills to channel their minds efficiently. When done properly, children gain a profound sense of happiness and satisfaction from within, as their natural needs are satisfied. On a grander scale, when all of our children are critical thinkers, our world will run with much more efficiency, peace and harmony.