We all lament how Indian education is based on rote learning. Kids are taught to memorise rather than understand and make sense of what they have learned. Students are not encouraged to be creative, rather they are penalised for original or out-of-the-box thinking. As such Indian school curricula do not train kids to develop problem-solving skills or to apply their learning to real-life situations. One of the many changes our school system needs to incorporate is critical thinking – where kids question, examine critically and debate, where education goes beyond memorizing and regurgitating material in exams.
One of the reasons that critical thinking is not a part of the school curriculum is cultural in nature. We are a society that demands implicit respect for authority. Parents expect children to obey without question. They expect to be respected, merely by virtue of being older. The result is that kids will often behave very differently with their parents than they will with their friends. Similarly, we as citizens do not question people in positions of power; rather we are disapproving of those who try to speak truth to power. Obedience is desirable, while curiosity and scepticism are seen as disrespectful.
These social and cultural attitudes reflect in our schools as well. So when the teacher tells a student raising a question “just sit down, it is what the book says” this is a familiar scenario. If a student arrives at the right answer by a different, original or creative method this is not particularly appreciated and may even be marked wrong in an exam. This method of learning doesn’t want a student to think, merely to memorise and conform to precedent. It requires students to think, act, and work in a structured, uniform, blinkered fashion. This stunts the development of analytical skills, creativity and original thinking. Not only that, it leaves kids with little interest in what they are learning because the level of engagement is negligible.
The world is constantly changing and evolving, and new concepts, technologies and belief systems continually challenge older forms of thinking. Or should do at any rate. Challenging tradition, and being sceptical about the way things have always been done is not a bad thing. It is a good thing because unless we critically examine things as they are done and understood, there would be no progress, no refinement.
Critical thinking also crucially promotes self-examination and self-corrective thinking. When we accept things as they are presented to us – uncritically and unquestioningly – this promotes the kind of sociocentrism that we see so much of these days. It promotes rigidity, superstition and blind faith when we accept and do things simply because teachers, parents and other authority figures in society tell us to.
Encouraging students to think critically sparks curiosity and creativity. This fosters problem-solving abilities, innovation and analytical skills. Kids become more self-confident and independent as a result of this. For this to happen, the teacher needs to use real-world examples and analogies to illustrate academic concepts. There needs to be greater interaction between students and they have to be encouraged to ask teachers questions. Of course, teachers should also be reading up about recent studies, new technology and breakthroughs in the subjects they teach, so that they are prepared to answer those questions.
Kids should be encouraged to make their own age-appropriate decisions and choices while developing the ability to work in groups. Working in groups helps expose them to different views and students from diverse backgrounds. This helps develop social skills as well as the ability to absorb new and varied ideas. Teachers can start discussions in a class by putting forward two propositions and asking the students which proposition they support and why.
Children should be asked: how do you know this (as in is there sufficient proof to have this opinion or to accept it as fact)? What would your perspective be if you were on the opposing side of an argument? How would you solve this problem? Why is this a problem at all? Is the solution going to be a sustainable one? Do you agree or disagree and why? Is there another valid point of view to consider? Are there fallacies in the reasoning?
Bright, inquisitive young minds have to be encouraged to explore, ask, doubt, and examine. Critical thinkers are more open-minded, accepting of new ideas and better communicators – skills that are vital in the personal and professional spheres. If all students are allowed to do is to accept what they are told and memorise academic material, we are raising a generation of programmed robots rather than thinking, intuitive, creative, empathetic young people.
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