Critical Thinking

If we could list the skills most needed for success in all aspects of life, critical thinking would rate near the top. Without the ability to stand back and look at the situation objectively, we get lost in the stew of human emotions that greatly influence our perception. The formula for this thinking process can be broken into components or steps. After we can see the big picture and identify the facts, we take the logical steps for a solution.

At the beginning of the process is an overview of the entire situation. What exactly are we looking for or at? The subject must be narrowed to focus on one problem. For example's sake, the topic of my daughter's dating views vs. mine will be the problem I use critical thinking to resolve. My daughter's view on dating is greatly different than my own. The upbringing I received from my grandparents taught me the value of family, a trait instilled within me from an older generation of thinking. Thus, my views on how to raise a child are far from the vision of today's generation. One does not just allow a child to do as they please, go where they wish to go, or simply run amok unsupervised. The newest perception in parenting seems to deem it okay to allow a child free access to dating, going wherever they will, or staying out as late as they desire. This however is unacceptable. My daughter thinks that at the young age of sixteen, she should be allowed to date unsupervised, go out to movies as late as she wishes, and change her location from one friend's home to another without calling and informing her parents of her whereabouts.

Secondly, we have to remove ourselves from any subjectivity or bias in the situation. I must put aside my natural protective feelings as a father guarding his treasured daughter, and look at this in a way fair to the young lives involved. So the difficult task of removing oneself from the restraints of upbringing, culture, or personal ideas has to be implemented. I must evaluate not only the person she is wishing to go out with, but also how much of what I have tried to teach her has remained with her. I know she has been taught morals, what is right and what is wrong. Yet, as a child, is she capable of making the right decisions at that crucial time when all emotions need to be set aside? When all of her friends are encouraging her to do something that she knows is not right, will she have the fortitude to critically think of the situation before her and make a logical resolution? Is she in her adolescence, reacting on hormonal impulses, emotions, or peer pressure? Back to the friend she wishes to go out with; I have more organizing of the facts. How was that person brought up? What are there parents