Jessica's Critical Thinking Exercise - Part One

a) Academic Work - When I think of my academic work throughout college the piece that helped me understand critical thinking the most was when I had to create a lesson plan for an Education class. The focus was to design higher learning/critical thinking questions to go along w/ a book. I thought this was going to be an easy process becuase we had guidlines to help, suggestions for questioning, and some examples. However, trying to think critically for elementary aged children and not make the questions too difficult was hard. So I got some help from my younger brother and asked him things they discussed in his class bc he was in 1st grade at the time. He made it sound so simple. So for me to write this lesson plan i had to put myself in the shoes of a 6 year old. Writing the lesson plan in this way gave me a new perspective on the book I had choose.

b) Written Text - One particular piece of work that helped me to better understand critical thinking was from a packet I got in my NCLC 391 class on critical thinking by Sylvan Bannet & Hugo Beder. There was a particular part that talked about drivers' licenses and photo id's, and how in Florida it is law to have a photo on a drivers' license. There was a Muslim woman who had applied for a drivers license and then refused on religious grounds to take the photo without her veil on. Unveling would violate her islamic beliefs, so she sued the state. Her response was "I'm fighting for the principle and the religious freedom of all people in the country". Trying to see her situation from something I could understand, I related this to being a vegetarian. If someone tried to force me to eat meat because that was to society norm, I wouldn't do it. It is my right to choose what I eat and a law shouldn't dictate that. Being able to relate her situation to something i am passionate about helped me to better understand, and take a critical look at what was really being asked. What would the big deal had been if she left her veil on, its not like she'd be driving w/ it off.. so the DL pic and her image would be the same.

c) Non-written Text - If i had to choose a non written text to better understand critical thinking, I would have to go with the newscasts after 9/11. Seeing the unthinkable happen and then be broadcast all over the world for days on end after the attacks led me to think more about life and feeling safe where I live. Up until that day I was a HS senior with my only worry being graduation and the next football game. And then we got the announcement in class about what had happened, and not only was I shocked but my friends were astonished as well. Some of my friends had parents working in the Pentagon and immediately left to call and check on them. I use this to refrence critical thinking because had 9/11 never happend I wouldn't have reevaluated life, what i take for granted, and what I was really doing. I know being in HS I shouldn't have been too worried about the future, but this really made me analyze it. The broadcasts showed the devestation and how it brought everyone together. It also showed the different perspectives everyone had about what had happend. The media let the world in and even though at the time some felt they were going over board I think now i value the views that were expressed during the broadcasts.


b) Bannet Sylvan & Hugo Beder. "Critical Thinking, Reading, & Writing: A breif guide to argument" 5th Ed. Bedford/St. Martin's. Boston/New York. 2005.