Critical Thinking Essay Example

Critical Thinking Essay: Introduction

Critical thinking is among the essential aspects of having a decent education. That is, many complex daily life challenges, along with exams and determinants, have been long based on the concept of problem solving, creative and critical thinking. In this sense, this paper examines a personal and an author's critical thinking on education by giving examples and comparing them in detail. It also covers topics such as Americans' view of education, factors behind the educational ideals and their impacts. It is evident throughout the article that factors are shaping the ideals of education, and critical thinking is a must to improve education.

Personal Critical Thinking

My family always told me that education comes first and is a must. They did whatever they can to make my education level higher and make me successful at school. They always checked my grades, talked to my teachers, rewarded me when I am successful and punished me when I am not. I believe education is essential. However, I have a gut feeling that education is not so important as much as my family believes.

The reason is that I think education cannot fulfil my every need as a person. I also need to spend some leisure time and do some other activities to relieve stress or socialize. There are some other areas which are not related to education at all. One cannot become a competent adult or a parent without life experiences, and most of these experiences are not related to education. For example, some of them are related to work, and some of them are related to other non-educational activities.

Most of my friends and neighbors do not put education in the first place. However, they do agree that education is a must. Most of them indeed remind me of the education, but they do not put pressure on me as much as my family does. When it comes to gender, ethnicity, media, and religion, I think they do not have the same effect on my education as much as my family, friends, and neighbours. In terms of education, gender, ethnicity, media, and religion loses its importance day by day as the World becomes more connected. In the case of Americans, I think they care about education and want it to be improved. They are also open to education reforms. However, I believe the inclusive education ideal is different from reality. We still see many problems with equal education for all American students.

My thoughts on education changed through time because I noticed that sometimes I lose the balance between educational and non-educational activities. I think World is a place where one can show his skills which he gained through education, but when one spends so much time for education, he can not put theories into practice. Sometimes I fail at practical activities in life.

Author's Critical Thinking

The writer of the essay "Against School" first published by Harper's magazine in 2001, John Gatto, who taught at a high school over his six-year tenure, condemns and censors the educational structure in American public schools in his argumentative essay of various convincing arguments (Gatto 33). Gatto argues that "counter-school" demands from public education are essential problems. Gatto demonstrates some good examples of education without forced education and models success without modern forced education (Gatto 81). Indeed, the writer emphasizes that historically forced education is not related to American history's intellectual and financial success.

John Taylor Gatto 's essay 'Against school' points out all the opposites to the 12-year high school study. He has twenty-six years of experience at the schools in Manhattan and shares his experience of being boring and seeing that all around Gatto. He also points to the original explanation of why schools were established and what their function now is. He also indicates that all the great discoverers never went to school and were self-learned (Gatto 237). Gatto's principal argument in his essay is that compulsory education does harm to children.

Similarities and Differences

There is a similarity in thinking that America does not owe it's success to education. The author states that the most successful persons are not highly educated (Gatto 32). I also believe that education is not everything when it comes to being successful in life. There are non-educational skills, such as being ambitious, creative, or brave. The author implies that kind of non-educational factors.

However, there is a difference in thinking that education does harm to children. The author states that schools are being used for raising children according to evil ideals (Gatto 32). I believe children are the ones who need the schools most. They get to know each other and the World around them. They socialize and synchronize in a way that makes them prepared for the coming years. Whether evil ideas are being applied in schools or not should be discussed in other fields.

Critical Thinking Essay: Conclusion

In conclusion, the paper has analyzed the critical thought of a particular citizen and a writer on education with explanations and detailed comparison. The paper has also addressed topics such as the opinion of Americans on schooling, ideal educational variables and their consequences. After all, the article indicates that the values of knowledge and rational thinking are considerations that must be strengthened to improve education.

References

Gatto, John Taylor. "Against school." Harper's Magazine, 307.1840 (2003): 33-38.

Gatto, John Taylor. "Why schools don’t educate." Nexus 1316 (1997): 81.

Gatto, John Taylor. "Both Sides Now of a Learning Revolution." " I Love Learning; I Hate School": An Anthropology of College (2016): 237.

Gatto, John Taylor. "Some Thoughts On the National Socialization of Children." SKOLE: The Journal of Alternative Education 12.3 (1995): 32-56.