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Do you think that most people believe that it is negative thinking?
Here's a wee excerpt from this little document on CT:
A Definition:
Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it.
The Result:
A well cultivated critical thinker:
• raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
• gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively;
• comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
• thinks openmindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and
• communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.
Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective
thinking. It requires rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities and a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.
Although the statistics I looked at are pretty old, the last time I looked, most therapists work by themselves, for themselves. Do those first 4 bullets then become even more important to us, or less important to us because of that fact? Or does it matter what situation we're in?
Is there a type of sociocentrism in the massage industry?
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Hi Laura,
I know what you mean about the deaf ears. The attention given to CTS is slightly different from EBP though - at least it is in my mind.
Here are some of my thoughts on it:
- when you empower students with good critical thinking skills, the educator *could* view it as dis-empowering to them. In other words, "believe what I say and don't raise questions" is much easier to say a group of weak critical thinkers than strong ones. BUT the educators that encourage the development of good CTS are usually the ones that make the most impact - they force people to think well.
- Empowering students with good critical thinking skills also lessens the ability of having "guru" status. the way it is now, there are so much guru-worshipping going on, I don't think it would be welcomed. I think we like our gurus. (I'm not a big fan of guru-worshipping, but I can understand why it happens).
- People don't like being taken out of their comfort zones. Weak critical thinking has become comfortable for everyone and everyone is accepting of everyone else - their beliefs, their claims and tradition is all just great, because we're "live and let livey" types. Very, very few are addressing how bogus claims can be a negative. And when anyone does, they're immediately attacked. That's a huge red light as a sign of weak critical thinking overall in the profession.
- Maybe people can't be bothered to think. It's easier to have someone else do it for you and tell you what to think.
Status quo means stagnation and in my book, that means lack of progress.
So yes, it's a sad fact indeed.
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