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Every subject claims to teach critical thinking. If I learned it anywhere, it was from my parents, both scientists. Observing my kids, the high school classes t
by analog31 4y ago
Every subject claims to teach critical thinking. If I learned it anywhere, it was from my parents, both scientists. Observing my kids, the high school classes that seemed to teach the most about critical thinking were in English and social studies. Unfortunately, STEM was heavily burdened by test prep.
- WalterBright 4y ago> STEM was heavily burdened by test prep That's the wrong way to learn STEM, and is the fault of your high school. Sadly, I know some highly educated STEM professionals who rigorously use the scientific method to separate truth from crap in their field. Outside their field, the scientific method goes right out the window and they rely on emotional arguments and wishful thinking.
- Apocryphon 4y agoIn a rapidly overcomplicated world where people are forced into hyper-specialization, everyone compartmentalizes.
- analog31 4y ago>>> That's the wrong way to learn STEM, and is the fault of your high school. Indeed, but I would say the high school "system" as a whole, burdened by pressure from parents. And pressure from the state, which was rewarding and punishing schools for test scores and other metrics. Middle class parents were just gaa-gaa over pushing their kids into STEM programs at top colleges, to the point where it was kind of overbearing. I might have been one of those parents, but my neighbor, a high school math and physics teacher, talked me out of it when my kids were younger. At the same time, some of the non-STEM classes were pretty hard nosed, like the one were they took apart media and advertising. Fortunately my kids learned the scientific method at home, same place they learned to read. But it was for the love of knowledge and learning, not to get ahead. That's also how I learned it.