Simply possessing information won’t make your homeschooled child intelligent. He needs to learn how to analyze, organize, evaluate, and apply information so that he can make intelligent judgments about daily life. The Ancient Greeks and Romans didn’t consider a person fully educated until the three skill sets of the classical trivium were mastered.

Language, step one of the trivium, has the power to represent thoughts, feelings, and experiences using symbols. Therefore, language is the most important thinking tool your child has at his disposal. Language is not just for communicating but provides the structure for critical thinking, step two of the classical trivium. That’s why the ancients began the education with learning the primary language. The three skill sets of the trivium are related as follows:

Clear language that is specific, precise, and accurate results in clear thinking which is focused, coherent, and analytical which results in clear communication which is articulate, organized, and persuasive.

You should begin teaching the child to think critically before language acquisition is mastered. In an earlier post, “What is the Purpose of Reading?“, I recommended that you have the child narrate the meaning of the read-aloud story to you. This step is actually a critical thinking exercise! To be an active thinker, she has to use language to articulate an idea (the meaning of the story), evaluate the quality of the reasoning (is the child’s narration based on the pictures and on the text?), and refine and improve the thinking process as you respond with leading questions for more understanding. In simpler terms, the child gathers information, processes the information, and creates meaning from the information:

• Gather
• Evaluate
• Conclude

What does your child need to become a critical thinker? He or she needs keen observation, quality information, and analytical tools. Allow your child to work through problems, make mistakes, and improve over time. Developing critical thinking skills is a process not an event.

Keen Observation

Encourage your child to pay attention to details. When you take walks in the woods, stop and look at the creatures, the stones, and the decayed logs. Listen to the rustle of the leaves in the wind. Smell the fresh scent of dirt in spring. Touch the rough tree bark. Taste the sweet nectar of a golden honeysuckle. Ask lots of questions along the way. Teach him how the multiplication tables advance with each number so that he starts to see patterns. Talk about the details of the story that you’re reading like character, setting, and conflict. Train him to ask probing questions and be patient when listening to others. As he ages, have him write about what he sees, hears, touches, smells, or tastes.

Quality Information

If the information is corrupted or inaccurate, a valid conclusion cannot be reached. Give him the best possible experiences and data. Train him to find quality texts at the library and bookstore. Teach him how to research, consider the credibility of authorities, and evaluate evidence. Expose him to alternative possibilities so that he learns to be open-minded and empathize with other people’s perspectives even if he doesn’t agree with them.

Analytical Tools

There are lots of tools for developing critical thinking skills. In the earliest years, start with storybooks and narration. Play lots of games, and work puzzles. Use manipulatives when teaching mathematical concepts. Teach scientific concepts with hands-on activities. Ask questions throughout the day.

Around the ages of 9-12, introduce thinking matrices like Mindbenders by Critical Thinking Press. (My kids preferred the software to the books.) Usborne puzzle books were a favorite at this age, too. Sodoku puzzles range in difficulty and teach systematic analysis. Formal logic can be introduced for high school credit as early as 7th or 8th grade if your child is disciplined enough to tackle the formal syllogism. In my opinion, Memoria Press offers the clearest formal logic courses.

Learning how to structure a paragraph with a topic sentence and supporting sentences is another analytical tool that teaches organization skills. Older kids should be writing their observations and interpretations. According to Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, “I write to understand as much as to be understood.” Writing helps clarify our thinking (more on this later under step 3 of the classical trivium).

One final requirement

Finally, in order to raise a critical thinker, you need to model critical thinking yourself! Demonstrate critical thinking on a regular basis. When you read the newspaper editorials, discuss the issues with the kids and point out bias, alternative perspectives, and possible solutions. If he is stuck on a math problem, sit down and work on it together. Walk him through the steps of analysis. Teach her how to write up a scientific laboratory observation and conclusion. Share what you are learning and thinking about the book or magazine that you are reading in your personal time. Do you keep a written journal of your learning? Show the kids so they can see how important critical thinking is to you. Model the behavior, and provide the tools that they need to practice, and soon you’ll have young adults who know how to express a clear thought in an influential and persuasive manner.

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Do you have other ideas for how to give your children practice at thinking critically? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. Next post…evaluating beliefs and evidence in “Know Why You Believe What You Believe.”

 

 

Tags: classical trivium, critical thinking, effective communication, homeschool, learning the language