Encouraging critical thinking in our youth
I was very much surprised to read a statement by the Saudi Cultural Attaché in the United States Mohammed Al-Eisa, where he stressed his intention on halting the scholarship of any student “attacking the religion and the nation,” according to the Al-Hayat daily newspaper last week.
Although no sane person would advocate slander to the sanctity of any religion or country, it is imperative on the other hand not to deprive our young students of the questioning spirit they are seeking to develop in their intellectual expatriation journey.
I believe that one of the primary goals for education should be the encouragement of critical thinking as a skill that elevates our questioning abilities beyond mere memorization of pieces of information.
Critical thinking allows people not to just know something but to actually comprehend and understand the reasoning behind it. It is the fundamental ability to evaluate and analyze matters rather than merely accepting them at face value.
By incorporating critical thinking into our school system our students will be more proficient in understanding the proper concept of facts and opinions, and the analytical thinking that leads to opinions backed up by solid facts.
In all societies, particular sets of social, religious and political beliefs represent a crucial side of the culture. However, we should encourage our future leaders to explore and question matters that they think doubtful to their mindset. Strong beliefs can tolerate questioning, and with time they will come to understand the importance of beliefs that are based on sound facts and reasoning.
I remember reading a while ago about a Saudi girl in the third grade studying in a US public school in the state of Ohio, while accompanying her parents who were on a scholarship to get their master’s and doctoral degrees. The parents were surprised when the school summand them one day to talk about the problem of cheating in tests by their daughter.
After a lot of discussion and explanation by the parents on how their daughter had an exemplary behavior and grades back home, the school came to realize that the test answers which were a replica of the textbook was not an attempt of cheating, but that the young girl was a victim of an educational system that relies on indoctrination and mobilization of memory, and prevents thinking and creativity.
While we shouldn’t allow our young generation to disrespect the values and ideals of society with abusive and bad language, the encouragement of sound critical thinking and the advancement of reasoned arguments in advanced stages of their education will ensure keeping them away from incorrect ways of self expression.
A tweet: “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character, that is the goal of true education.”
— Martin Luther King
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