You realize that parents, who do not want to brook any disagreement, and who want their children to follow their beliefs, probably have something to do with the lack of critical thinking we see in kids. From dogmatic parents come dogmatic children, unless some other "liberal" adult sets them a different example. One lesson of Socrates' life is that critical thinking can be very upsetting to the establishment, and parents. I use the following definitions for liberal:Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.
Youngsters don't get their POV from the tube, since they aren't generally watching news. Most of them parrot their parents, and if their parents have never encouraged them to think for themselves- and if their parents are already parrots- then they are doubly doomed.
You can't pin this one on the street or the tube. Lack of critical thinking is the fault of parents, completely- because these are the skills we model for our children 24/7. If my children weren't canny about things, I know who I would blame- me. Luckily they are canny, so I don't need to blame anyone :-)
Getting a kid in high school, or even elementary school, who hasn't been thinking until then, is very sad. That's a dereliction of duty on the part of parents, and parents ought to know it is. And our society ought to be doing something about it (imo). Better parents make better kids- and it's far easier to start the kids right from day one, than remediate once they get to school. |
