Post by kwashburn on Feb 12, 2016 3:31:49 GMT
After completing the readings which certainly provided a lot more context for me around critical thinking, it’s evident that some of the things that stand in the way of critical thinking are personal opinions, emotions, our own insecurities, taking things at face value, and not having the curiosity or interest to ask questions. There is a long laundry list of things that stand in the way of critical thinking ,but these were the ones that stood out the most for me within the readings and video. I think our own emotions, opinions and insecurities are the primary things that get in the way of people thinking critically.
I actually thought a lot about this question and struggled to pin point a specific time when I did not use my critical thinking skills. I think or I should say know there were many times when I first started out in my career that I didn’t exercise critical thinking skills. I believe this had a lot to do with my insecurity and the emotions that came along with feeling as though I was not succeeding. A specific example where I did not use my critical thinking skills was earlier on in my career when I taught 5th grade in the South Bronx. This was my first real job and I had no idea what I was in for. It was one of the hardest years of my life and I was pushed to my limits often in this job. My first year teaching was spent mostly disciplining as opposed to actually teaching, and I felt like a complete failure day in and day out. When I look back on it now I realize that a large part of feeling like this was a result of failing to think critically about why I felt like I was failing as a teacher. I failed to realize what I was doing that was working so I could take that and build off of it.
I went into the classroom everyday with the thought in my mind that I just needed to get through the day. My frustration and failures got the best of me which in turn didn’t allow me to be an effective critical thinker and problem solver. I spent most of my days putting out fires as opposed to preventing them. Thankfully 95% of my class passed and moved onto the next grade but in looking back on it I realize it didn’t have to be such an uphill battle. I know there were better solutions to problems that were occurring, and if I had taken the time to get over my insecurity and frustration of thinking I was failing at my job, I would have taken the time to think more critically, and in turn been and felt more productive and successful in my first year of teaching.