Critical Thinking in 2021
Did you know that the average American reads at a 7th-8th grader level?
Lately, I’ve been asking people this one word question: “Why?” And to my amazement, most people cannot give me a good answer. Students don’t know what they want to study in college, adults don’t know why they chose their jobs, and children don’t know why they should listen to their parents. Most remarkably, my peers don’t understand why someone would ever have children, or a family. It frightens me to see how little attention people pay to the things going on in their lives. In a country that has been captivated by social movements, I find it perplexing that someone can push for social justice, when they have no job, live at home, and find no problems with it whatsoever.
I’ve also noticed how few people read and write consistently. It is not encouraged by our society to read books, or write regularly, outside an educational setting. For example, a high school may require its students to read and write essays, but those practices aren’t encouraged outside the classroom environment. Should we not be reading and writing at home? Should we not think critically about our lives?
In fact, it is never explained why one should read and write, even at school. In class, we do it for a grade. But that is the sole extent of our explanation. I’ve heard dozens of students say, “This is stupid. Why do I need to write an essay!” Or, “I hate Mrs. X’s class because we’re reading one of those stupid books from 100 years ago!” I’ve heard these statements, and others, so much they are no more than cliché conversations in our high school hallways. Virtually no one understands the purpose of education. We’re more concerned about our sports and school dances than we are about our education.
Meanwhile, depression and anxiety are running rampant. The number of students who complain of anxiety at school is increasing. I know dozens of students who are medicated for depression, anxiety, or mental illness. Part of me wonders if there is a connection between the quality of education of a student receives, and the amount of anxiety they feel at school. Do prestigious high schools still have the same issues as my high school? Do their students suffer from depression in disproportionate numbers?
When we look at graduation rates as a marker of educational progress, we fail to acknowledge the quality of the education the students receive. For this reason, schools must administer tests from the state. As someone who has taken these tests and passed with flying colors, they are a catastrophic failure. Not only are the questions vague, they are also the wrong questions. Some questions expect nothing more than a general answer. I remember a science question where it asked the altitude of a satellite in orbit. The correct answer was 0 km-200 km. How can a satellite orbit the earth at 0 km! This is just one example of the absurdity given to high schools everywhere. I’ve been asked about FICO scores, hangovers at work, and a number of other random subjects.
Have you ever seen the California danger symbols? The ones that say, “Known to Cause Cancer in California,”? Answer me this: if there is an innumerable number of products that are known to cause cancer, is it not reasonable to assume that death is a fundamental part of life? As such, what is the purpose of the label? It’s like putting a sticker on cars that says, “Cars can kill people”, or “Cars rust away eventually.”
Our standards of education have fallen so low that someone like me has a hard time justifying going to college. The utility of college in my life seems to be very little. People have actually said to me that they don’t talk about their educational credentials because of how insignificant it is to them. Fifty years ago, college was a big deal. Now, it’s almost entirely unnecessary. The process of “becoming educated” now extends beyond the classroom into the workplace. By this, I mean that common sense, or critical thinking skills, something that can’t be dictated by a professor, matters just as much as having a proper four-year degree.
Last summer, I took a professional ethics course online. The course introduced multiple ethical perspectives and how they’ve developed over time. But what stood out to me the most was how each type of ethical perspective was equal. Subjectivism firmly dictated the purpose of the course. Conversely, an objective realist would say that not every perspective is equal: for there is inequality among viewpoints. Ethics, a topic which should be held with high respect, was reduced to nothing more than a discussion of feelings. Should this not be alarming? To me, it is.
My classmates, piers, and friends have been ripped off. After completing 12 years of school, you would be hard-pressed to have them explain why the ability to think critically matters. Students don’t understand why they had to “waste time” in a classroom writing essays and reading books. I’ve personally had to find the answers for myself, outside the classroom.
Of course there are exceptions to the rule. Some of my teachers guided my life in a profound way. Whether they know it or not, these few educators are among the most exceptional in their field. They are single-handedly giving students like me a reason to come back to class each day.
The system is broken. Between the highly politicized atmosphere, the dictation instead of education, and subjectivism over objective reality, the system is undeniably in dire need of repair. The ability to think critically matters now more than ever. Students are asking themselves the “Why?” question, and are unable to find the answers. I believe this has perpetuated the anxiety and depression we see today. “Why go to school?”, “Why do my opinions matter?”, “Why does my education matter?”, “Why put up with life?”, and questions like these have infested the subconscious mind.
I believe change is coming. What does that change look like? To be honest, I’m not sure.
