The Lack Of Critical Thinking In Our Colombian Students

Today, Colombian students lack critical thinking. This has been happening for many decades and many claim that the Colombian government is incapable of training students towards a critical thinking that allows them to transform their reality. On the other hand, there are some who affirm that the education our students are receiving is the correct one for our development. However, It is my dissent that our students cannot think critically because teachers are not imbued with a critical thinking that could give students the skills and attitudes necessary to become critical thinkers.

 It has been argued that students go to schools to become more intellectual people. People who can transform their reality and solve problems. However, our recent history in the field of education has shown that our students are incapable of coming up with solutions. This is in part because our teachers have been indoctrinating our students into becoming greedy young capitalists. This is happening owing to the fact that our students are influenced by a democracy which has allowed the market values become the template for shaping all aspects of society even our educational system. In happening this, our students are enslaved under this new form of slavery that keeps them out of critical thinking as Henry Giroux states in his Critical Pedagogy lecture at McMaster University. " the free possessive individual has not obligation to anything beyond his self-interest. Market fundamentalism trumps democratic essays. Consumerism becomes the only obligation of citizenship.

There are others factors which influence on the student's ability to think critically. Another of them according to Peter Macclaren, is that teachers have seen schools as arenas of indoctrination where the aim is to reproduce dominant class interest directed at creating obedient, docile and low-paid future workers… (Mclaren, pg. 62) so, to that extent, students are incapable of thinking critically. Another important reason, it is that teachers are instructing students with huge amounts of content without having in mind the question " what this knowledge will be useful for? By not doing this, much of the knowledge and time that teacher provide is being wasted. So, students lose their first ages learning useless content and start becoming lazy learners.

As a consequence of this, students do not develop the skill to resolve social issues. For the only purpose of them under educational instruction is the competitiveness and the repetition of knowledge. This even knowing that the purpose of a critical student is to struggle for a better life for all throughout the construction of a society based on equal relations and social justice. In many cases, students are not to blame for their lack of critical thinking because their mind has been fossilised through the years with useless schools subjects which stayed in forgiveness because they were never brought to practice.

In conclusion, I must say that, on one hand, teachers are to blame because they lack critical thinking to teach children to become critical thinkers. On the other hand, they are not to blame because they are under a capitalist system that only cares about buying and selling. In addition to this, it also makes them act and teach according to this law system. Besides and more importantly is the fact that, students are the ones who are paying the high cost for the quality of education they receive. This is due to the fact that they are not being training by teachers to acquire skills and attitudes which can help them to become critical thinkers. Skills and attitudes that can help them to transform their reality.

Critical literacy a way of coming of age

To commence with, I would say that there is in Colombia some ignorance among our people. Even our more illustrious political representatives would seem as if ignorance reign over them because of the wrong decisions they take daily. This ignorance has taken control of every sphere of our society. Even our educational system is incapable of producing critical men who are soon rapidly corrupted by money and our society. Students and education have been the basis for a better society in every nation. Critical though also has been the engine of the revolution to detect failures in societies. So, how could we do to empower students with critical thoughts to spot fake information?



On one hand, it is undeniable that our government does not want to let our students think critically. For there are lots of economic reasons for keeping our students under ignorance. For this reason, our elementary schools and schools do not have any pedagogical subject that empowers our students towards critical thinking skills. This educational model works for those who are in power to dominate people. On the other hand, There is the effort of new educators who are trying to empower students with a critical pedagogy to emancipate them. Teachers in Colombia should implement some techniques which could help them to spot fake information. Just to mention some of them are:



Reading a wide range of texts is a good way of analysing different kinds of sources. By doing this, students can make a comparison between the different content that news present. After doing this, students can look for statements which are supported by evidence and those which are not or were said hastily. .Lastly, students can analyse different newspapers and try to do an analysis of facts that were true or false in the past.



To sum up, There are different ways of emancipate students towards a critical pedagogy. This, with the purpose of identifying fake news which could be a great danger for students. Also, by doing this, students can start constructing a better society where equality replaces inequality.

  

    Henry Giroux: Where is the Outrage?                 Critical Pedagogy in Dark Times

Human beings have passed through different stages to get where they are now. Many centuries ago there were no such as human values. People were seen as objects to whom any could take any advantage. But everything looked as if it were going to change with that appearance of the democratic values in the 20th century. The U.S.A emerged with a new ideology and pedagogy supposedly to live like a brotherhood. This was founded and motivated under the inspiration the  French´s Human Rights

Nonetheless, what started with a noble cause, finished by turning out in a Market of values where everything can become an object of value included people. This new ideology of capitalism permeated all of the spheres of our society. Elementary schools, schools, and universities became centers of teaching for consumerism. What matter now is who has the power and the ideology to dominate others. This is achieved through any means either by ideology or by using the war machinery which does not recognise justice much less compassion.

By analysing all this change which have been occurring in our time, it is the duty of all educators to start changing our reality. It is a proper time to start a revolution and insurrection against this new model of oppression. But as this society is mentally ill, the responsabiñity of the new change is in charge of new students. Their first tool for changing is the education, but not only school education but also education as is understood in social media and others. This with the goal of working for a better society from all the spheres.

Students all around the world have to become aware that governments have excluded them from participation and that their ideas have become useless and disposable. Also, that the power of those who have the money wants to keep on oppressing them. So, just to recap the solution for many of our problems lies with the empowerment of our knowledge looking for a new pedagogy that emancipates us.  A new educational pedagogy that teaches us to look for the well-fare of all humanity.

Stereotypes.

To commence with, It is quite assuredly to say that stereotypes are a way of discrimination towards people. I say this because stereotypes look for generalising people's customs and their way of behaving. Nonetheless, by using a general concept of people we try to create a global idea of what people are and as a result of this, we can treat these people unfairly. This is absolutely negative for this is the way towards hatred and violence. We cannot never forget that stereotypes were one of the trigger elements with which the Nazis started a holocaust against the Jews.


In our nation, we are infested with any kind of stereotypes. But what is really bad, it is that this is impregnated in our culture. This society is partly contaminated with bad and rude habits which makes it difficult to cope with. Changing the adult's mind is something really hard about doing. SO the only possible solution is to start working with the children. Because they are the future of this rotten world. If they are educated under a rigid discipline of critical thinking towards a mutual respect for human beings then society shall change.

Task 4

Should Champanzees Be Considered Persons?

 Position:
 I think that defining an animal as a nonhuman person can and should encompass a recognition of differences in moral/ethical understanding, especially as it is compared to humans. Unfortunately, we know no other standard by which to judge the behavior and intentions of other species.

Disagreement:

 Personally, I would confer greater protections to all of the above, and more. But I am not sure I would give any of them equal right

Argument:
The idea of nonhuman personhood might seem confusing at first, since we tend to use the terms “human” and “person” interchangeably. But they are not equivalent. “Human” is best understood as a biological concept that refers, at present, to a member of a particular species, Homo sapiens. In contrast, “person” is best understood as a moral and legal concept that refers to an individual who can hold moral and legal rights.

Discription:
I once held in my arms
Nim Chimsky, tiny Chimp,
With warm and furry charms
Tightly embraced not limp.

One of God's creatures, he
Learning sign language then,
A real signer to be
Wish I held him again.


Agreement
 It is arguing that if every being must be either a person or a thing, then Kiko and Tommy are persons, not things. I agree, and many other philosophers do, too.

Critical and creative thinking.

CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING

Task 2


tasks proposed by Stella Cottrell (2005) in her paper "What is critical thinking.



For me, the emotions that are most difficult to manage when others disagree with me are:

• Anger
• arrogant
• egocentric
• envious
• moody
• jealous
• unhappy
• sad       

I deal with these by: 

being calm and paying attention respectfully to the arguments of others. I also try to be prepared to accept my mistakes in case I am wrong. Also, I deal with sadness by studying harder next time and become aware of nothing is perfect and thing are changing continuously.


For me, the influences on my own thinking that I need to be most aware of  so they don't prejudice my thinking are:

• bias
• dislikes
• conformism
• beliefs

I deal with this by being impartial with myself and by accepting that I have got some mistakes in my way of thing. Also, by not being content myself with my knowledge because I am aware of  that what I know today cannot be useful tomorrow. so I have to be in constant change.

For me, the things I find most difficult about challenging the opinions of other people are:

• Science opinions
• religious opinions
• political issues

I deal with this by having a calm conversation, listening to people respectfully and by giving science evidence to my contenders. Also, by having a good knowledge before challenging an expert.


Do you recognise anything of yourself in Bodner's description of students?
Yes, I do. I recognise that I am a lazy student who believed everything other people have said. I have never had the capability of refuting with evidence what researchers in the field of education have made.

What effect would the approach he suggests have on your learning and understanding?

It has a positive effect because he invites us to think and reflect critically on the work of others. Also, in not giving everything people say for granted


Task 3.



                                

Stephen Brookfield 's summary on creative and critical thinking. 


Critical thinking is a process by which people became of aware of the assumptions which frame the way people think either in life decisions or normal things. It is at this point that people use critical thinking to figure out if all these assumptions are accurate or not. The person who thinks creatively is capable of view ideas from multiple points of view. This means that the person is able to go beyond normal things and get out of his comfort mental zone so as not to take everything for granted.
A creatively and critically informed action meets some conditions. They are based on evidence and experiences. Also, it is viewed from multiple perspectives.


When using the idea of critical thinking the word assumptions comes to our mind
So, students need to know the classification of assumptions which they can encounter which are: Causal assumptions, prescriptive assumptions, paradigm attak. One of the biggest problems with critical thinking is that when we use this word we are working with a very different understanding of what it is. There are four intellectual traditions which are analytical philosophy, natural science, critical theory, pragmatism.