One way to teach critical thinking skills

How does all of that work out in a real-life situation? Remember that the question for my example must be something about which most people have passionate opinions, and that is certainly true about this question.

• A statement was made on the Internet about former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton. Both of the Clintons had been attorneys in law firms before Mr. Clinton ran for public office. The statement accused each of them of having argued a case in a court of law, separate cases for each of the Clintons, in such a way that a criminal went free. And the writer judged the Clintons as having low moral standards, leading to an evil, guilty person, moving freely in society.

• Have the students read the printout and, through discussion, come to an agreement that there are at least two basic ways of thinking about it.
A. The Clintons are guilty of bad moral judgment.
B. The Clintons defended criminals to the best of their ability, as the law requires.

• Ask the class to set aside their political persuasions, whether they tended to favor the Democrat or Republican parties, while they do the following group assignments.

Group 1: Using the Internet as well as other sources, find supporting evidence that proves that the basic facts of the situation are true. Did each of the Clintons argue such a case and did a presumably guilty person go free.

Group 2: Using the Internet and other sources, find supporting evidence for the rights of an accused criminal when it comes to his or her defense. Do they have the right to the best defense there is, even though they might appear to be completely guilty?

Group 3: Using the Internet and other sources, find supporting evidence that shows what an attorney’s obligation is when that attorney is part of a law firm? Does the attorney have the right to refuse a case when the attorney judges the person to be guilty of a vile crime? Do law firms differ from each other in this matter?

• When each group reports, they must tell where they found their supporting evidence and why the evidence is trustworthy. (Statements such as, “My parent is an attorney and s/he says…” are not supporting evidence because the validity of the statement has not been documented and therefore might simply be an opinion.)

• At this point you are ready to have a discussion. Do not allow the discussion to become partisan. It is important for the students to realize that others often base their judgments on the differing values they place on the supporting evidence.

Each of the following has caused arguments in some communities and could serve as useful topics for this exercise:

• Is it good or bad for babies to have the inoculations that are required at birth?
• Is it a good practice for cities to add fluoride to the public water system to protect children’s teeth?
• Should there be a “no camping on the streets” law in cities where there are homeless people and insufficient number of shelters?
• Should the minimum wage be raised?
• Should immigrants who have entered our country illegally and have lived, worked, married and had children here be sent back or should they be allowed to become citizens?
• Will middle school students learn better if they are placed in same-sex schools or classes?
• Should there be educational voucher programs for culturally and economically disadvantaged students?
• Should there be educational voucher programs for every student so that they and their parents may choose the school that seems to meet the needs of that student?

There are many other topics that will serve well to help students learn the importance of searching for and evaluating supporting evidence when coming to a decision. It might be a good idea for teachers to work their own way through exercises with these topics to help them lead their students appropriately. The point is that we must find ways to show students that an unexplored and thoughtless leap to a conclusion is a dangerous thing.

We are teaching our students how to be and become people who consistently and carefully think through problems before they arrive at their own conclusion. What will they be like if they achieve that goal?

• They will be aware that their thinking is supported and directed by certain basic beliefs and values and they know clearly what those beliefs and values are;
• They will recognize and accept that other people’s thinking may result from different assumptions and, while they may discuss the differences and attempt to persuade the thinking, they will not attempt to force a change in thinking or action;
• They will recognize the differences between opinion and fact, information and knowledge, data and interpretation, and evidence and conclusions;
• They will understand the concepts of freedom and justice and the responsibilities implied by each;
• They will have the habit of approaching problems openly and creatively rather than from the point of view of expediency and protection of their own image or reputation;
• They will know when they do not have enough information or experience to have an informed opinion.