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Importance of critical and creative thinking to students
Importance of critical thinking in everyday life
Importance of critical thinking in everyday life
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Singapore’s education journey can be divided into three broad phases namely the Survival-Driven Education (1959 – 1978), Efficiency-Driven Education (1979 -1996) and the Ability-Based, Aspiration-Driven Education which Singapore has adopted since late 1990s. The education policies have evolved to address the context of the country’s stage of development and the challenges it faces at each point. More recently, we are transiting into a knowledge-based economy to face external challenges such as market volatility, increasing globalisation and rapid technological advancement. As Singapore does not have its own natural resources, it is a necessity to develop the people to their fullest to survive. And as the future becomes more volatile with rapid …show more content…
Key education initiatives are introduced to develop a framework for 21st century competencies and student outcomes. It aims to developing a broader range of skills such as critical thinking and creativity. Schools will have more autonomy so as to encourage innovation and cater to a wider variety of interests and aptitudes in the students. In the opening speech of MOE Work Plan Seminar 2015, Dr Heng reiterated the new phase, Student-Centric Values-Driven Education which was introduced in the year 2000. He had spoken about putting values and character development at the center of the education system. Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) is emphasised as values shape the character of our young and the character of our society. With that, Dr Heng related outcomes of encouraging stories of how students do well in CCE and how the values instilled has impacted other …show more content…
As an educator, we need to ensure that children develop strong sense of critical thinking as this would help to ‘interrupt the tabloid culture’. When we look at the media-driven society, we see that children are constantly being bombarded with messages about how to live as part of the socially acceptable herd. They are being initiated into ‘herd thinking’ and ‘groupthink’ (Janis 1972) at a very early stage. Groupthink describes how individuals feel pressured into agreeing with the consensus of the group, often against their own better judgement. The group can make bad judgement due to lack of consideration of alternative viewpoints. I believe that children need to be able to think critically so as to make informed choices. They need to be able to think for themselves so as to resist ‘herd thinking’ and
The article, “Critical Thinking? You Need Knowledge” by Diane Ravitch, discusses how in the past people have been deprived from the thinking process and abstract thinking skills. Students need to be given more retainable knowledge by their teachers to improve their critical thinking skills. (Ravitch).
When students become critical thinkers they are analyzing and reflecting on what they are learning, therefor advancing their skills in problem solving. Problem solving requires one to be able to tackle the problem abstractly from many points of view. Often problems can have more than one solution so it is required to be able to analyze the information and be able to apply it in various ways. In “Idiot Nation” by Michael Moore, he argues that the lack of attention political leaders give to schools in America is one of the biggest factors hindering proper education .Moore puts the blame on leaders like Dwight D. Eisenhower and William Clark, as well as the people who vote for them. The problem is that “the political leaders...have decided it’s a bigger priority to build another bomber than educate our children.”(Moore 131)Moore believes leaders put more effort into military artillery rather than proper education .The solution to America’s problems is not more bombs or weapons. The real solution are the children, the future of America. Therefore it is vital that we turn them into impeccable problem solvers, to solve America’s problems not with weapons but with knowledge. Critical thinking does just that. In an article called “How Critical is Critical Thinking” by Shawn Ryan D he makes references to the various studies of critical thinking and its relation to problem solving.
Finally, Wagner’s research concluded that the number one skill employers now demand is the ability to ask good questions. Students need to demonstrate they have both curiosity and imagination. No innovation, discovery or invention was ever found without these particular skills. In short, in 2008 Wagner laid out a road map for bridging the global achievement gap. By focusing on the mental processes students need – on the journey, rather than the outcome, the skill rather than the content – he believed that future graduates would have the skills we will need as the world continues to develop at a faster and faster rate.
See, S. (2013, December 30). Education landscape sees gradual shift in 2013. Retrieved on 4th February, 2014, from: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/education-landscape-sees/937574.html
By educating children, we need to prepare them for the life in a fast changing society where they can be responsive, fulfilled and innovative. The ability to use methods of teaching and learning within the curriculum is important when trying to make it possible. Countless amounts of schools have already been familiarising themselves with the importance of creativity and ways of how to teach, how to make the learning more holistic, more engaging and more creative. With the new curriculum complete, there are consequently many more opportunities and challenges for teachers to provide the best and most appropriate learning opportunities for the pupils they teach. The White Paper on education, publicising the new curriculum, stated it ‘creates scope for teachers to inspire’. It foresees ‘teachers taking greater control over what is taught in schools, innovating in how the...
Critical thinking and articulate speech is not valued in today’s society because teenagers are spoon fed today. We have media that takes away our ability to express ourselves and instead replaces it with meaningless slang. We have parents and other leaders in daily life that make their views very precise that
Due to the dependence on non-internal markets, Singapore is more vulnerable to repercussions and actions of the global markets and as a result, the global recession had impacted unemployment rates heavily, which had resulted in a rise in unemployment. Putting that aside, Singapore is known to be among one of the highest employment ratings in the world. Another form of unemployment which is a challenge to Singapore is structural unemployment. Moving alongside Singapore’s speedily developing economy is its shift from being a labour intensive economy to a capital intensive one. This is inescapably met with the challenge of the substitutions of skills in the labour force of Singapore. For example, the recent shift into the biomedical and Research and Development (R&D) industries subject workers who can only work in the lower end of manufacturing industries tend to find themselves unemployed because the mass production work is usually outsourced to other economies that are developing. In order to solve this issue, the government of Singapore had invested a large sum in training and education, with and average of one in four citizens who were employed in 2010 to be degree holders, therefore allowing citizens of Singapore to remain relevant and
Character education involves teaching students social values and good morals as part of the curriculum and is embedded within the delivery of instruction and performance tasks. Out of all the topics that we have discussed throughout this course, character education appears to me to be a critical aspect of teaching. To be able to help guide students along in the process of making choices such as taking turns, showing tolerance for different ideas, and being gracious, are behaviors not only good for the individual but for society. Teachers design their work in a manner that provides opportunity to mentor students as they strive to be a positive role model knowing that to children, actions speak louder than words.
Education is generally seen as a formal process of instruction, based on a theory of teaching, to impart formal knowledge to one or more students (Cogburn, n.d.). Henceforth, individuals seek to acquire some form of schooling from pre-school through secondary school while others may go on to tertiary to better him or her in some way. A definition of education according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary is that education is “a process of teaching, training and learning, especially in schools or colleges, to improve knowledge and develop skills.” Where education in the common parlance has become a process of adding layers of one’s store of knowledge, the true aim of education is to call forth that which is essential to the individual (White, 2006). Furthermore, and according to Coombs and Ahmed 1974, education is a continuing process, spanning the years from earliest infancy through adulthood and necessarily involving a great variety of methods and sources. Education also involves inculcating in students distinct bits of knowledge; therefore education is an additive process (White, 2006). It adds to an individual as well as it adds to a country through the individuals who are and would have been or are being educated. According to a study conducted by Olaniyan and Okemakinde 2008, education creates improved citizens and helps to upgrade the general standard of living in a society. Furthermore, education plays a key role in the ability of a developing country to absorb modern technology and to develop the capacity for self-sustaining growth and development (Todaro and Smith, 2012).
In recent years, Hong Kong education system has undergone a great change. In the past, students studied five-year junior secondary education, two-year senior secondary education and three-year tertiary education. Since school year 2009/10, secondary and tertiary education composed of three-year junior secondary education, three-year senior education and four-year tertiary education (3-3-4 Scheme). Apart from the academic structure of education system, new compulsory subjects like Liberal Studies was also introduced to facilitate independent thinking of students. The examples given above showed that the HKSAR government is working hard to change the education system from similar to the British system, to similar to the Chinese system. Given that Hong Kong’s education system changes from time to time, how will the sociologists see from these changes? The following essay is going to discuss the education system of Hong Kong based on the following three sociological perspective: the structural-functional approach, the social-conflict approach and the symbolic-interaction approach.
In a society with a vast array of different beliefs and mediums through which these beliefs are presented, children can get lost in an overwhelming sea of influential ideas and concepts not necessarily intended for their eyes and ears. Character education is a concept that calls for teachers and school curriculums to guide students in learning what Edward F. DeRoche and Mary M. Williams (2001, p. 25) described as “core values held sacred by a democratic society.” Parents are generally considered the teachers of morals, but if values like sharing, compassion, and honesty are never enforced or addressed outside the home, these values may never be established as a stable foundation in the child’s mind. Character education’s purpose is to help children choose to be well-mannered, stable, cooperative individuals. Character education is not in every school system, but its support is growing along with the amount of research evidence increasing in its favor (Viadero, 2003). The teaching of values in education has evolved into character education, and today there are different studies, designs, and resources for character education programs in schools to foster moral growth and citizenship in children.
With the global economy relying more than ever on brainpower and innovation rather than raw materials and manual labour as generators of wealth, a good education has become the key factor determining who will succeed and who will be left behind.
My core educational values define what I believe is necessary tools students need to be successful. Such values are provided by the community of people (educators, parents, business partners) who touch the students’ lives. I value knowledge because without awareness of specific content, students are not able to truly feel a part of society. I value development of skills in order for students to apply their knowledge. When skills are applied, students demonstrate their knowledge and ability to function in our current world. I value critical thinking in our students so they can extend their knowledge and skills to solve complex problems benefitting our present and future. I value citizenship and feel that education has a responsibility to model and nurture character qualities in our students. Educating students is raising them equipped with tools that will enable them to function as contributing participants in a productive society. Knowledge, skills, critical thinking, and citizenship are educational values at the core of developing a student ready for the world’s challenges.
Students need to be inspired to think critically. By this they comprehend what has been learned and be able to use it. I hope my students will be able to achieve their greatest potential that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. We can give our children these building blocks thru education to use in decision making situations, moral value of their thoughts and actions. This will guide them to realize how their actions and decisions will affect themselves and others.
One of the most clearly seen and common aim of schooling is to develop individuals ‘who have skills an...