Loving is Caring

Introduction:

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.

What is critical thinking? As Ms. Guo put it, simply speaking it is thinking about thinking – reflecting on your own thought process. Today, when we take in a flood of information every day, being able to decide for ourselves what we should do through an independent thought process is a vital ability that many people lack. Critical thinking has three key words: questioning, diversity and reason. Its core method is building arguments.

So what is it good for? What are its core methods? How can we train children’s critical thinking through reading and writing, and how can we develop their critical thinking skills? And does improving this ability also help us adults in our careers, and parents in raising their children? If you’re interested in these topics too, please watch the talk via the video below. (The guest’s views are her own and do not represent UAC.)

“What are my values, and how did they form? What should I reflect on? What are other people’s values, and what sense do they make? Exploring this is really a lifelong process.”

– Ms. Zhaofan Guo

The talk

Q&A session

Here are some of the questions and answers from this session:

Q: How should parents balance authority with giving children autonomy?

A: From the perspective of developmental psychology, I would use age 10 as the dividing line. Children under 10 are still young, so I suggest parents offer limited choices. With limited choices, the child really does get to choose, and the choices must be genuine. There should be plenty of communication during the process, and parents need to answer their children’s questions patiently. Children over 10 are just entering adolescence, and boundaries become very important. Parents should allow children to fail, encourage them to take their own detours, and let them explore and take responsibility. At this stage it’s important for parents, as adults, to lead by example and earn their children’s respect.

Q: Over the past couple of years, when discussing opinions with people – especially on social issues – hearing a different view easily escalates into an argument. How can critical thinking help avoid this, so we can calmly take in new information?

A: First, we need to understand why this happens. When we first started teaching critical thinking, we would begin by having people learn to distinguish between the public and the private sphere. Many people grew up with no experience discussing public issues, so they equate rejecting their view with rejecting them as a person. Second, avoid personal attacks. When someone attacks us personally, we can gently point it out. Third, ask questions instead of making long speeches. Asking about the gaps in the other person’s argument encourages them to think further. Our WeChat account, Plan C, has articles analyzing public issues.

Q: Are there books that can help children improve their logical thinking?

A: There are some in Plan C’s courses. Parents can also read and analyze the news with their children, and read books on critical thinking that include methods and examples for children to try out. This term we are reading books such as Père Goriot and All Things Wise and Wonderful with middle-school students. College students might try books such as Asking the Right Questions and Introduction to Logic.

Q: How can I take a course to improve logical thinking?

A: Search WeChat for the official accounts “C计划” (Plan C) and “C计划思辨教育” (Plan C Critical Thinking Education); both teenagers and adults can sign up for courses there.