Thinking about Thinking

Bertrand Russell famously said that: "Many people would sooner die than think.  In fact they do so." (Russell quoted in Halpern, p.2)

It seems that too often people only want to learn enough to pass the test or the assessment.  They read for the assignment rather than for the broader understanding of a topic.  I wonder what happened to curiosity.  Have testing and tight deadlines created a movement away from learning, to memorising information long enough to get through? It seems that an increasing number of students just want a degree, and care little about knowledge and developing skills. Yes, having a qualification is nice.  But what is so wrong with learning something along the way?

As a specialist support tutor, when I teach my on my one-to-one sessions I don't bombard them with information.  I like to ask them questions so that they have to think for themselves.  Surely that is the point of being a student.

               "Can you think of another word you can use?"

"Yeah, right click and use synonyms"
(photo: shutterstock images)

Reference

Halpern, Diane F. Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking (New York: Psychology Press 2014)