Critical Thinking Skills

As I sit writing program design for internships, I am reflecing on the end user.  What an employer is looking for from an intern.  I know what you are thinking: Free Labor.  Not an option.
Beyond that, we hear time and time again: Soft Skills and Critical Thinking.  We hear it so often, it seems like "we should have figured that out by now."  Right?

Yes and no, and there are complicated reasons as to why this disparity persists. But - one thing that is for sure - I will do everything in my power to be sure that I am doing my part to impower my four kids to think critically.

How do we do that? By modeling to kids that thier thoughts, opinions and feelings matter. I've mentioned before that the children can go into any art studio and as real questions.  Not simply "your horse is pretty" but asking questions like "why did you choose to use that color" or "why does it look like you are sitting down when you painted that?"

Similarliy, this translated into our day at the zoo yesterday.  We were looking at the new Gorilla Forest exhibit and the zoo keeper explained that when looking at skulls, the larger the sagittal crest, the larger the bite force on apes.  We looked at a human skull.  We looked at the Gorilla skull.  Huge difference.  How big?  Well, an adult Gorilla can bite through a 1 inch steel pole.

Here are the questions that followed:

B: How did that knowledge impact your choice of materials when building the habitat?
A: Let's feel the baby's head, it might have a lump.  She bites hard.
R: I want a crest.  I like to bite and I need a spot to hold my crown.

When we talk about wanting college kids to think critically, I believe a lot of it comes down to how much experience they have being heard.  How much time did they have to ask, listen and decide the next step in their day. It is also about repitition.  I had B explain what we had learned to Nana.  From there, we discussed it in more detail that evening.  What other animal do we know that has a big lump on their skull? Answer: the beef jerky mascot.  Of course. Sasquatch.  But, we are connecting.  Thinking.  Experiencing. Thinking.

Thankfully, in our family, we have the luxuary of: time, resources and abundance of creativity to give our kids the attention and space to think about the world around them.  Today, this makes me feel blessed. There are other times I wish for promotions, money, stuff.  But today I feel blessed in the overabundance that is my life.