Loving is Caring

Introduction:

Do you also feel that competition in the 21st century keeps getting fiercer?

Advances in technology will replace many jobs and create many new ones we can hardly imagine today. Rapid social change puts people under more mental stress and strains close relationships. Adults’ problems often spill over into parenting, so many children feel stress and anxiety more easily from a young age…

How do we stay steady in a changing society? The key isn’t finding an “iron rice bowl” job, and an advanced degree can’t solve every problem either. The key is developing children’s judgment – the ability to make good judgments. This is what the international community recognizes as a core 21st-century skill: critical thinking.

Professor Robert Ennis of the University of Illinois describes critical thinking as reasonable, reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do. It is also the ability to think rationally and logically – an ability people are not born with, but must learn and practice to master.

When reading, it lets children read deeply and make the most of what they read. When studying, it lets them generalize and reason for themselves and master good learning methods. Facing the ocean of information online, it lets them tell truth from falsehood and actively choose quality information. Facing problems in life and school, it lets them analyze causes thoroughly and solve problems at the root. Facing different choices, it lets them weigh pros and cons and choose more wisely. When communicating with others, it helps them build better relationships and resolve conflicts…

Each of us adults also needs to understand and learn critical thinking. Applying it in our lives, in parenting and at work helps us solve the problems we face and give our children a better education.

At 9 pm Eastern on Saturday, June 11, we welcome Ms. Zhaofan Guo to UAC’s online event series for “How to Build Children’s Core 21st-Century Skills: Critical and Independent Thinking”, where she will share what critical thinking is all about. Many of us adults only encountered critical thinking at work or in a master’s program – so how can children develop it from an early age? Ms. Guo is co-founder of Plan C, which combines deep reading with systematic training in critical thinking for children and adults, and she professionally trains teachers, students and the public in logical and critical thinking. She graduated from Tsinghua University and the London School of Economics, and previously worked at Goldman Sachs and the 21st Century Education Research Institute.

What the talk will cover:

• What is critical thinking, and what is it good for?

• What are the core methods of critical thinking?

• How can we train children’s critical thinking through reading and writing?

• How can we develop children’s critical thinking skills?

If you’re as curious as I am, friends in the US and abroad interested in these questions are welcome to join this UAC online session. Event details:

Topic: Online Forum – How to Build Children’s Core 21st-Century Skills: Critical and Independent Thinking

Guest: Ms. Zhaofan Guo

Time: Saturday, June 11, 9 pm (US Eastern) / Sunday, June 12, 9 am (China)

How to join the live talk:

1. ZOOM app, ID: 993 6343 4466

or meeting link: https://zoom.us/j/99363434466

2. Tencent Meeting, in one of two ways:

① the Tencent Meeting app, ID: 537 990 723

② scan the Tencent Meeting QR code below and follow the prompts

3. YouTube live stream: https://uac-heroes.org/video/live

If you’re curious or have any questions, please email help@uac-heroes.org in advance; apply to join the UAC online community to ask questions at any time, or get added through the UAC WeChat assistant (scan the QR code at the lower right at the end of this post to add it as a WeChat friend).