Thomas Jefferson
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John Dewey
I believe that it is the
responsibility of our schools to create a critically thinking public.
This, in my mind, is the real meaning of civic virtue and as such is
the foundational purpose of American public education. Our job is to
take students, who are bombarded day after day with images and messages
that tell them what to think, and teach those same students how to
think. It is the job of the schools to open the minds of our students
to be able to think and solve problems for themselves. It is our duty,
our responsibility, our calling, to create, more than simply an
informed public; we are called to create an informed and thinking
public.
This is so important to me. I think that I am an outstanding educator not only because I believe that critical thinking is essential for our students, but because I take it seriously enough to create a classroom environment that promotes, and even insists that it take place.
In 1933 John Dewey defined problem solving as a condition wherein individuals experience a state of doubt or perplexity about a question or situation that triggers the active search for knowledge that will solve the conflict. Simply put, I believe that my purpose, as an educator, is to facilitate, in my students, just such a state of doubt or sense of conflict. It is to this end, that each of my teaching methods are focused. I believe strongly in what Don Oliver and Fred Newman called jurisprudential thinking (1968). That is the type of thinking that requires sound judgment in practical affairs. It is higher order thinking used in the reasoning out of conflicting information. It is the solving of Dewey’s conflict. I want my students to think. I actively tell them that if they don’t leave my class a bit confused every once in a while, I am not doing my job, and I take my job seriously.
Specifically, I find in my subject matter those pieces of knowledge that are essential and I determine how the information can be presented in a controversial way. This is not as difficult as it may sound. Every text book that I have ever used is wrought with controversy. This is because controversy is usually on the leading edge of learning. That which is not controversial is boring, and typically not valued by society, nor district courses of study. Finding the source of controversial information is not that difficult and I frankly don’t understand why more teachers don’t promote it in their classes. Well, I have an idea but I will save it for later.
What do I do with the information? I make sure that I present as many sides of the arguments about the information as possible. This is the difficult part, and it requires some practice. It is my role as the educator to remain neutral about the topic so as to promote an open forum. In fact, my role as an educated educator is to understand my subject so well that I can effectively argue for both sides of any controversy that I present. This creates the conflict that Dewey speaks of, and it is where thinking begins.
Some may say that this methodology is too difficult because it requires me as the teacher to give students conflicting pieces of information which takes time to find and present, but I thrive on just such an issue driven class. I believe so much in the need to clarify public controversy, that the amount of work necessary is a sound investment. The pay off is worth it.
Let me give you an example. There are five main schools of thought in psychology, five perspectives or points of view. They are the Psychodynamic, Humanistic, Behavioral, Biological, and Cognitive Schools. There are others but in my introduction class these are the ones that I teach. It is my job to be able to make my students think that I am a strong believer in each individual school of thought as I present it to my students. To do less would be boring, and I believe less educational. Therefore, when I teach about any specific school, I become so passionate about that school that my students accept it as the one final holder of truth about psychological reality. The point is that each school conflicts with some other school. This creates exactly what Dewey promotes. They are faced with doubt, and therefore learn.
When I am teaching about the psychodynamic school, I am a Freudian. When I teach about Behaviorism, I am a behaviorist. My students become confused and beg me to tell them what I really think. I refuse to tell them, and go on with the lesson. Therein lies the problem with some other teachers... I believe. It’s not that teachers don’t like conflict and debate in class. It is just that they don’t mind telling their students what they think about the issue at hand. By telling their kids what they think, they let the air out of the controversy balloon.
The same hold true for my American Government classes. I would never want my students to know exactly where I stand on an issue, and I am concerned when other teachers are willing to share where they stand.
In my quest to keep the balloon full of air, I have gone so far as to write, “There is no such thing as love.” on the board when I am teaching about behaviorism. The mental conflict that comes out of that simple statement is worth everything to me. I see my students grow as they are faced with a controversy. They beg me to tell them what I really think, but more importantly, I see them begging me to learn to think. Isn’t that why we all became educators in the first place?
This is so important to me. I think that I am an outstanding educator not only because I believe that critical thinking is essential for our students, but because I take it seriously enough to create a classroom environment that promotes, and even insists that it take place.
In 1933 John Dewey defined problem solving as a condition wherein individuals experience a state of doubt or perplexity about a question or situation that triggers the active search for knowledge that will solve the conflict. Simply put, I believe that my purpose, as an educator, is to facilitate, in my students, just such a state of doubt or sense of conflict. It is to this end, that each of my teaching methods are focused. I believe strongly in what Don Oliver and Fred Newman called jurisprudential thinking (1968). That is the type of thinking that requires sound judgment in practical affairs. It is higher order thinking used in the reasoning out of conflicting information. It is the solving of Dewey’s conflict. I want my students to think. I actively tell them that if they don’t leave my class a bit confused every once in a while, I am not doing my job, and I take my job seriously.
Specifically, I find in my subject matter those pieces of knowledge that are essential and I determine how the information can be presented in a controversial way. This is not as difficult as it may sound. Every text book that I have ever used is wrought with controversy. This is because controversy is usually on the leading edge of learning. That which is not controversial is boring, and typically not valued by society, nor district courses of study. Finding the source of controversial information is not that difficult and I frankly don’t understand why more teachers don’t promote it in their classes. Well, I have an idea but I will save it for later.
What do I do with the information? I make sure that I present as many sides of the arguments about the information as possible. This is the difficult part, and it requires some practice. It is my role as the educator to remain neutral about the topic so as to promote an open forum. In fact, my role as an educated educator is to understand my subject so well that I can effectively argue for both sides of any controversy that I present. This creates the conflict that Dewey speaks of, and it is where thinking begins.
Some may say that this methodology is too difficult because it requires me as the teacher to give students conflicting pieces of information which takes time to find and present, but I thrive on just such an issue driven class. I believe so much in the need to clarify public controversy, that the amount of work necessary is a sound investment. The pay off is worth it.
Let me give you an example. There are five main schools of thought in psychology, five perspectives or points of view. They are the Psychodynamic, Humanistic, Behavioral, Biological, and Cognitive Schools. There are others but in my introduction class these are the ones that I teach. It is my job to be able to make my students think that I am a strong believer in each individual school of thought as I present it to my students. To do less would be boring, and I believe less educational. Therefore, when I teach about any specific school, I become so passionate about that school that my students accept it as the one final holder of truth about psychological reality. The point is that each school conflicts with some other school. This creates exactly what Dewey promotes. They are faced with doubt, and therefore learn.
When I am teaching about the psychodynamic school, I am a Freudian. When I teach about Behaviorism, I am a behaviorist. My students become confused and beg me to tell them what I really think. I refuse to tell them, and go on with the lesson. Therein lies the problem with some other teachers... I believe. It’s not that teachers don’t like conflict and debate in class. It is just that they don’t mind telling their students what they think about the issue at hand. By telling their kids what they think, they let the air out of the controversy balloon.
The same hold true for my American Government classes. I would never want my students to know exactly where I stand on an issue, and I am concerned when other teachers are willing to share where they stand.
In my quest to keep the balloon full of air, I have gone so far as to write, “There is no such thing as love.” on the board when I am teaching about behaviorism. The mental conflict that comes out of that simple statement is worth everything to me. I see my students grow as they are faced with a controversy. They beg me to tell them what I really think, but more importantly, I see them begging me to learn to think. Isn’t that why we all became educators in the first place?
Dewey, John. How We Think. New York: D.C. Heath. 1933.
Oliver, Donald W., Fred M. Newmann. Nazi Germany: Social forces and personal responsibility. A Xerox Education Publications Unit Book adapted from the Harvard Social Studies Project. Columbus, OH: Xerox Corporation, 1968.
