Critical Thinking And Creativity In America

Elder and Paul (2011) posit, “There are predictable stages through which every person who develops as a critical thinker passes” (p. 1). I agree with this assertion. If we assume that the premise learning is a process holds true, then that process offers great insights of Elder and Paul’s argument. The later premise for learning as a process shows that a thinker must moves from regions of familiarity to unfamiliar one. Critical thinking requires that the person understand the basic concept of a theory if s/he is to think critically about that theory. The converse ideation where critical thinking precedes basic understanding is fallacious. This makes critical thinking process to be predictable.

After reading " CLUES to Critical Thinking" in chapter 5, I disagree with the Supreme Court's decision to allow Law enforcements to strip search an arrested individual who had only committed a minor offense. The Fourth Amendment clearly states that, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated. Unreasonable can be defined as not guided by or based on good sense, which in this case, strip searching an individual for a minor offense can be seen as unreasonable. The only time a cop should be able to strip search you is when the officer has a reasonable suspicion that you are either carrying contraband or an illegal weapon, that is what strip searches are for. It is not

The American youth are becoming smarter, but are creative minds are shrinking. American children’s scoring on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking has been falling since the 90s. Having

The major barrier to public thinking in the States is education. In America, citizens to do not take the time and effort to fully comprehend the system. In turn, the people fail to complete the necessary means to uphold their responsibility to the government as private citizens. Additionally, the uneducated is added to the mass media reporting. The education of public speaking is then presented by news outlets or mainly the internet. Citizens believe they become educated my today's forms of communication. However, this produces a problem of biased opinions, whether it be the source of the information or the individual puts its personal belief first. While other barriers can be discussed, these are the major factors of restrictive political thinking.

The authors of the article “Learning In and Through the Arts: Curriculum Implications” separated students into two categories for comparing needs. The groups consisted of “high-arts group” where students were exposed to more arts programs in their schooling, and a “low-arts group” where students maybe had one or two arts programs in their education. When they compared the two groups, they “saw immediately that the high-arts group consistently outscored the low-arts group on measures of creative thinking and teachers’ perceptions of artistic capabilities (Burton, Horowitz & Abeles, 1999)”. Students in the high-arts group also received better scores according to their academic teachers. Students “in the high-arts group were stronger than those in low-arts groups in their ability to express their thoughts and ideas, exercise their imaginations, and take risks in learning (Burton, Horowitz & Abeles, 1999)”. High-arts group students also seemed more willing to display what they have learned in front of different audiences. It has also been found

I attempted to teach my friend how to drive when I was 16. There were four of my friends in the car when the lesson began. The car was totaled. My friends were hurt, I was hurt. I felt horrible as a juvenile for being responsible for that accident. I have learned that you should never listen to what a group of people is saying to you; you should think for yourself. Groupthink is a terrible thing.

One of the major points in chapter one is Sociological Imagination which is a connection between a person’s person life and social factors that play a role in affecting someone’s life. For example a young man was just released from prison, he searches for a job. Due to his criminal record employers will not hire him. As a last resort he turns back on his old ways of illegal activity. The personal issue here is that the young man cannot find a job but the social factor is there is not many job out there for felons. I believe Social Imagination is meant to open our minds to think in a wider aspect of why some of our problems occur. Another major point in chapter one is called Critical Thinking. Critical Thinking is the processes of being able to agree with a statement by looking at what facts and evidence can back it up. Wade and Tavis created a simple six plan rule to help us think in a more critical way. It consists of six steps. The first one being able to ask tough questions that other might be afraid to ask tough questions others might be afraid to. Step number to be to be able to think clearly and consider all the evidence to explain your argument. Next is to be opened minded and think of how someone else’s agreement or disagreement might also be correct. After that we should always look at the big picture analyzing a problem and lastly be able to admit when you’re wrong.

To start off this article, we are going to look over a group of different writings and writers in different positions and fields of study. When talking about academic freedom people have trouble finding the boundaries, which is not to say those boundaries are always pressed or necessarily stretched. It can be a rocky path to decide how to express your ideas and thoughts, these days there are so many guides, methods, styles and types of writing that it can even be confusing at times.

Approximately 20 years ago global studies comparing student test scores in the core subjects showed that American students were not performing as well as students in many other countries and that this performance appeared to be worsening. As a result, the federal government became more involved and forced schools to adopt a new set of standards that emphasized the core subjects. Unfortunately, this initiative often led schools to limit or discontinue arts education. Programs and laws such as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) initiative, Common Core, and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) have, while trying to improve our students performance, caused another problem. Many studies show that students who participate in arts education have better observation skills, comprehension, better attention to detail, improved social skills, are less likely to be depressed, etc. this is why the lack of education in the arts is doing a disservice to our nation 's students.

(2013). Why the arts don't do anything: Toward a new vision for cultural production in education. Harvard Educational Review, 83(1), 211 236, 265. Retrieved from https://login.ezproxy.socccd .edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/doc view/1326778756?accountid=39855

Creativity: a form of self-expression that few choose to engage in during their time at high school. Why waste one’s time giving one’s all in an emotional play than at an intense volleyball game? Why be pegged as an outcast when one can be a part of the popular crowd? With all these perplexing questions in mind, why would a student want to be involved in fine arts? In our popular culture here in America, these creative intellectuals are stereotypes that few choose to pursue. Popular television and the movie industry have contributed to the diminishing realm of fine arts in the public school system by developing the anti-intellectual belief that athletics hold more importance than fine arts in society.

In today’s American education system, the arts are typically referred to as “electives.” they are not mandatory and are seen as hobbies. STEM subjects (the sciences, technology, english, and mathematics) are viewed as necessary skills in today’s society. A student that has a talent for photography yet lacks considerable skill in mathematics is usually seen as unintelligent, or academically challenged. A different student, one who is gifted in mathematics, yet is below average when it comes to skills in their art class is not faulted for their loss of artistic talent. They are praised for their intelligence no matter their artistic prowess. Artistic students are constantly made to feel deficient, as if there is something wrong with them if the struggle with STEM subjects. This paper focuses on asking why students are made to feel that way. Why intelligence is measured in standardized test scores and letter grades. It will explore how lack of the arts and creativity is damaging to students, and how this disregard for creativity starts well before we are aware of it. It starts in elementary schools and primary education systems, and continues on into adulthood.

The concepts of critical thinking and creative thinking are both gaining increasing importance in the world today. Critical thinking allows people to understand difficult concepts in a manner that is clearer and more defined. They can more readily understand those concepts if they employ critical thinking. In all portions of everyday life, a person is expected to make independent judgments. Those judgments are based on experience and knowledge. Without the ability to think critically, every situation that a person comes across would have to be considered in isolation from all other situations. When a person encounters a problem that is a new one, he or she may be able to use critical thinking to solve those problems.

Throughout the past weeks at the University of Texas I have really enjoyed taking the UGS class, Critical Thinking into the 21st Century. I specifically like how we can interact with one another in groups and voice our own opinions on various topics in class. I also like learning and listening to other peoples’ views on illegal immigration because it is a topic that is highly controversial. Some things I dislike about the class include: only talking about illegal immigration and not broadening our topics and briefly discussing what we learn in lecture. I would like the opportunity to learn and discuss more about the various issues mentioned in lecture. One change I would make to the class are to do more group projects and incorporate different

Knowledge is generated through critical and creative thinking. Creative thinking is something new or original that is created with value. Critical thinking is a type of thinking that questions assumptions and validates or invalidates a current belief or something that is said to be previously true. Knowledge is created through the culmination of generally accepted assumptions and creativity. How do you separate general assumptions and creativity? These two types of thinking can be easily separated in regards to concrete or realistic ideas compared to abstract or original ideas however to generate new, acceptable knowledge critical and creative thinking must interact together. The questioning of established beliefs with the creation of