The Genesis of Critical Thinking
The last month or so has been eye-opening to us in the Instagram world. We made some spicy (but not really) reels that had haters coming out of the woodwork. One of them was a video of a mom dancing and we remixed the reel to say she was dancing her way out of public school and into a pod. Nothing crazy…
A ton of the comments were expected and brought up the most common homeschooling myth over and over—socialization challenges and “weird kids that don’t know how to function in society.” I think people are starting to realize that’s not the case anymore, but the vast majority of the population still believes that to be the typical outcome for homeschoolers. Can’t wait to prove them wrong ;)
Something that stuck with me after reading through the comments, though, was this:
A common reason homeschool families start homeschooling to begin with is that students in today’s system are stuck in this assembly line style education that doesn’t really allow for critical thinking. And yet—all these people on Instagram are saying homeschooled children will never learn to think critically or amount to anything in society.
So where is the disconnect and what is happening to critical thinking? If we all want our children to have that skill…we should, ahem…*think critically* about how we can ensure our kids learn and retain that skill for the rest of their lives.
So there I was, on a deep dive, “thinking about my thinking,” as Matt Beaudreau of Appogee calls it. And my first stop was this:
Simply believing that traditional schooling will automatically result in critical thinking is flawed.
Simply believing that homeschooling your kids will automatically result in critical thinking is flawed.
It's going take more than just picking a specific method of education.
And then I had an aha moment…
Tell me this has happened to you as a parent:
You’re tired, busy, have a million things to do, need to catch up on laundry and make dinner and your toddler asks you a series of “why” questions. It’s funny the first time but then it happens again…and again…and again…and again. You’re overstimulated and ultimately your response is something along these lines…
“Because.”
“That’s just how it is.”
“I don’t know.”
No ill-intent, we just don’t have the energy.
Or maybe we redirect their attention to a toy or a show or food.
And if we really dissect this, critical thinking is asking questions. Asking ourselves why we believe what we believe. So what message are we sending them? I would venture to say they might start believing that their questions are not welcome. Their curiosity doesn’t matter. To just stop asking questions. And let us not forget…this starts before they go to school. During the time in their life when their neurodevelopment is absolutely firing and their worldview is being shaped for the first time.
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."
Albert Einstein
I do want to add that I realize there are times where the answer IS one of those, and that’s ok!
Our sweet babies start asking us questions as soon as they know how to verbally form a question. Curiosity is HARDWIRED in their brains. Exploration and pushing boundaries is HARDWIRED in their brains. Wonder and imagination…those aren’t things that we teach them.
And then it hit me like a ton of bricks.
They have the innate ability to think critically. It’s already there! And we, as parents, have the opportunity and freedom to either nurture it or just squash it. Even in the moments when their curiosity seems so insignificant to us. Woah.
This might be a stretch but this was my personal train of thought, so hear me out. What if nurturing these qualities subsequently teaches compassion, empathy, and loving our neighbor? If we’re good at asking ourselves why we believe what we believe, maybe that naturally leads to trying to see a situation from someone else’s perspective? It might lead to civil conversation, debate and encourage (not guarantee) peaceful conflict resolution. Imagine this, “I disagree with this person about a certain topic, I wonder what led that person to come to their conclusion?” Rather than, “How can this person believe something so clueless and ignorant?”
A school atmosphere that nurtures the wonder of childhood is crucial if critical thinking, curiosity and creativity are some of our values. But even more vital is recognizing that this starts in the home, under our roof. It's quite the responsibility, but what an honor it is that we get to shape the way these little humans navigate and process this insane world.
So let’s welcome the questions, intentionally walk them through the silly little thought processes as their guide, and when it comes time to decide on an educational route—be sure that it’s a place that aligns and nurtures TRUE critical thinking—not indoctrination.