Parents, how do you teach your kid critical thinking skills, non-parents, how would u

Padawanbater2

Padawanbater2

Well-Known Member
?

Scantrons and memorization aren't really learning how to think but instead, what to think. So how do you teach your kid how to think?
 
ThatGuy113

ThatGuy113

Well-Known Member
[video=youtube;lZXMt9LSG8E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZXMt9LSG8E[/video]


Seriously though I think the critical thinking part of growing up starts with your relationship with your parents. Do they follow through on punishments or can a kid run all over them while they just use empty threats and half assed punishments that they don't fully enforce. I know if a kid has a fear of getting in trouble with their parents it starts that process of realizing actions have more than just one result. At that point you start to think a few steps outside of yourself and see how your actions affect people and how that will come back to affect yourself. If a kid has pissing off his parents on the top of the not to do list those kids will be the ones who get it. The kids who walked all over their parents tend not to be put in situations that make them reflect on the thought that just doing and not thinking doesn't work out too well in the real world.



.... but thats just one starting step for the process.
 
curious2garden

curious2garden

Well-Known Mod
Staff member
Padawanbater2 said:
?

Scantrons and memorization aren't really learning how to think but instead, what to think. So how do you teach your kid how to think?
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Parent's don't, we get them through concrete operations then it's usually somewhere in college where they begin to exercise abstract thinking skills. They can come earlier but it's usually cemented in the college years. That's why a strong wide breadth undergraduate degree is so important. We should specialize in grad school.

Oh and EVERYONE should have to take Philosophy. THAT is where you learn to discipline your mind
 
NietzscheKeen

NietzscheKeen

Well-Known Member
I think logic and scientific method should be their own classes taught at highschool level.

I'm very passionate about teaching my son how to think, so I'm staying tuned.
 
MojoRison

MojoRison

Well-Known Member
The only thing that I can add here would be this, please ensure your child knows how to read. Once they have mastered the skill of reading and comprehension then a universe of knowledge is theirs for the taking.
 
Trousers

Trousers

Well-Known Member
Woman are incapable of logic and reason, so it is a waste of time to try to teach my daughter to think logically.
My wife sets up really dumb consequences then does not follow through. It drives me crazy.

I think she wants our daughter to be a succubus like she is.
 
S

schuylaar

Well-Known Member
Trousers said:
Woman are incapable of logic and reason, so it is a waste of time to try to teach my daughter to think logically.
My wife sets up really dumb consequences then does not follow through. It drives me crazy.

I think she wants our daughter to be a succubus like she is.
Click to expand...
obviously one man's broad opinion and not indicative of real statistics..
 
NietzscheKeen

NietzscheKeen

Well-Known Member
MojoRison said:
The only thing that I can add here would be this, please ensure your child knows how to read. Once they have mastered the skill of reading and comprehension then a universe of knowledge is theirs for the taking.
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I'm already working on speaking and reading skills. He is only 5 months, but it's never too soon to start. My one semester of Latin really made a lot of connections between things in my environment. I think I will try to teach him a few Latin and Greek words as he grows up.
 
NietzscheKeen

NietzscheKeen

Well-Known Member
MrEDuck said:
Yes, does that surprise you?
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No, it sounds like something I would do, but wouldn't tell anyone because I'd be worried they'd think I was a jerk. My son's mom already shakes her head at me when I read him Shakespeare. She says "he doesn't understand any of that" and I say I know... he's 5 months... he doesn't understand anything. But I like him to hear the rhythm and rhyme.

I'm working on writing a book for him for when he is a little older. I'm actually trying to childrenize some works by Plato such as Euthyphro and Laches. Maybe teach him how to look at things from different angles.
 
cannabineer

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
At the very least, the loving paternal rhythm of a deep voice obviously interested in him will set deep memories, unseen sources of strength. Kudos. cn
 
prosperian

prosperian

Well-Known Member
Get help from the school. You can do some, but kids need a classroom environment that promotes this type of thinking.

Abstract, logical reasoning is a skill set that a child can learn and many do it naturally. Unfortunately, the school's are building curriculums based on the lowest denominator and passing state test for budget dollars. Teachers are just trying to keep order in the class, forget about higher level thinking.

I worked very hard to get my kids into the talented and gifted program at our school. It's a long process to get your kids nominated and approved, but it's worth it.

Here is a snap shot of his education before the 4th grade:

Curriculum incorporates scientific thinking, problem solving, creativity, and complexity based on Dr. Sandra Kaplan’s research.

Curriculum for our K-2 students for the current school year will incorporate creative and critical thinking. The students will research “biomes” and the “ologies”. Scientific thinking, discovery, investigations and explorations will provide these gifted students an opportunity to understand science from real-world problem-based learning opportunities.

3rd grade
Investigating Enigmas
Hands-On Equations – determining unknown variables with concrete materials
Problem-Solving Strategies
Critical and Creative Thinking Strategies
The Ancient Civilization of Egypt
Introduction of Kaplan’s Depth and Complexity Model for Thinking and Questioning In-depth Comparative Study of Base 3 and Base 10 Numeration Systems

Imagine what he will be doing in high school. The kids that are accepted into this program will remain until they graduate high school.

At home I maintain a consistent structure of responsibilities, activities, emotional support, and most important, diet. I think food has a lot to do with learning. Kids need the benefits from a well balanced organic diet with limited processed foods. Don't forget sleep, too (10 hours every night).

There are no limits to what our children can learn. There is only the limitations we place on them as parents and educators.
 
MrEDuck

MrEDuck

Well-Known Member
cannabineer said:
And how do you do that? :wink: cn
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I spent way too much time trying to answer this with a question. I would say pretty well, I did explain why I answer questions with questions to her and that helped a lot. She definitely puts thought into responses and that is really my goal.

NietzscheKeen said:
No, it sounds like something I would do, but wouldn't tell anyone because I'd be worried they'd think I was a jerk. My son's mom already shakes her head at me when I read him Shakespeare. She says "he doesn't understand any of that" and I say I know... he's 5 months... he doesn't understand anything. But I like him to hear the rhythm and rhyme.

I'm working on writing a book for him for when he is a little older. I'm actually trying to childrenize some works by Plato such as Euthyphro and Laches. Maybe teach him how to look at things from different angles.
Click to expand...
I started reading to my daughter in utero and never stopped. She was a really active baby and it always got her to settle down and let her mother get some rest. We really can't know what babies do or don't understand but it is shown that reading with babies helps them learn language skills, and my gut is that they understand more than we give them credit for. Thankfully we don't really start forming lasting memories until later on. I'd certainly rather someone read Shakespeare to my daughter as an infant than did that goo goo gaga shit, which is actually shown to delay speech.

cannabineer said:
At the very least, the loving paternal rhythm of a deep voice obviously interested in him will set deep memories, unseen sources of strength. Kudos. cn
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Agreed. It's a wonderful way to spend quality time together.


Edit: The other thing I forgot to mention was teaching her to use the scientific method as a way to gather information and use that information to draw conclusions. We do experiments and things like that to try to learn while having fun. It works more often than it doesn't.
 
ruderalis88

ruderalis88

Well-Known Member
I'm on board with the Socratic method. My daughter's 3.5 yrs and from day 1 she was listening to opera&classical music, I used to read her poetry and classic literature to get her to sleep. When she was old enough to take notice/interest in things I switched to what she was interested in but I stand by the good that early immersion did. She's a smart little girl, and using questions to further her thought on a subject is invaluable. I strongly recommend it to anyone with kids.

Today's example could include her asking if I was a boy (i'm not but i have short hair, and she has two mummies).
I asked why she thought I might be.
She said I have short hair.
I asked if only boys have short hair.
She said yes.
I asked if grandad was a girl, because he has long hair.
She said no.
I asked if I cut her hair short, would she be a boy?
She told me boys and girls can both have long and short hair.

/Win
 
cannabineer

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
prosperian said:
Get help from the school. You can do some, but kids need a classroom environment that promotes this type of thinking.

Abstract, logical reasoning is a skill set that a child can learn and many do it naturally. Unfortunately, the school's are building curriculums based on the lowest denominator and passing state test for budget dollars. Teachers are just trying to keep order in the class, forget about higher level thinking.

I worked very hard to get my kids into the talented and gifted program at our school. It's a long process to get your kids nominated and approved, but it's worth it.

Here is a snap shot of his education before the 4th grade:

Curriculum incorporates scientific thinking, problem solving, creativity, and complexity based on Dr. Sandra Kaplan’s research.

Curriculum for our K-2 students for the current school year will incorporate creative and critical thinking. The students will research “biomes” and the “ologies”. Scientific thinking, discovery, investigations and explorations will provide these gifted students an opportunity to understand science from real-world problem-based learning opportunities.

3rd grade
Investigating Enigmas
Hands-On Equations – determining unknown variables with concrete materials
Problem-Solving Strategies
Critical and Creative Thinking Strategies
The Ancient Civilization of Egypt
Introduction of Kaplan’s Depth and Complexity Model for Thinking and Questioning In-depth Comparative Study of Base 3 and Base 10 Numeration Systems

Imagine what he will be doing in high school. The kids that are accepted into this program will remain until they graduate high school.

At home I maintain a consistent structure of responsibilities, activities, emotional support, and most important, diet. I think food has a lot to do with learning. Kids need the benefits from a well balanced organic diet with limited processed foods. Don't forget sleep, too (10 hours every night).

There are no limits to what our children can learn. There is only the limitations we place on them as parents and educators.
Click to expand...
My suggestion is oldstyle board and card games. They're great abstract-pattern training, stuff that plug&play doesn't really address. Checkers and Old Maid are really great ways to teach the other sorts of math and reasoning. cn
 
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