Encouraging Critical Thinking Among Students is the Primary Goal of Education
Many purposes of education remain unaccomplished because the stakeholders are unaware of what, how, and why of them, and encouraging critical thinking among students is one of them. Can we imagine any educational institution that nurtures students who cannot analyse, evaluate, interpret, and apply knowledge learned during study either to solve a problem or reach a conclusion? Over the years, the understanding of critical thinking has been so complicated that we have begun to think that it is a complicated process that needs a lot of intelligence and effort to encourage that skill in students. On the contrary, it is a simple and beautiful journey that one can take with a teacher who is mindful. As Ernst F. Schumacher has said, “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius–and a lot of courage–to move in the opposite direction.” Since we are preparing the next generations for an unknown future, the best we can do is to encourage critical thinking in them. This not only makes them sensitive to the matters of concern around them, but also inspires them to take the initiative of becoming problem solvers with responsibility. Since making choices is an integral part of life, critical thinking promotes logical reasoning in decision-making. At a time when even facts are misleading, students need to be educated about the implications of their thoughts and actions from very early on.
Moving from memorizing to learning is what schools can do to achieve integration of critical thinking with all the other 21st-century skills, life skills, values, and academic requirements for the success of the child. Each and every activity of the school should be scrutinized closely to do away with anything that is not value- added to the bigger picture of inculcating creative skills. Reiterating the words of William James- “The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.’’ The art and science of asking questions assume great importance in pushing students to think critically. Besides this, classroom discussion, addressing problems of the immediate surroundings with doable solutions and allowing students to take responsibility for their learning and the mistakes they make would be great steps in this direction. A shift from ‘Learning for Exams’ to ‘Learning for life’ should be the objective of education as the latter results in the former and not vice versa. Critical thinking insists that one remains a lifelong learner thus amplifying the purpose of education. We would not make a mistake in reiterating that encouraging critical thinking among students is not the primary goal of education but, should be ‘THE GOAL’ of education. “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” Albert Einstein
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