Ah, the '68 Convention. IMO, the focus on the anti-war protests obscure what was even bigger drama; the fight over the seating of the (non-elected) delegates led by Bill Singer & Jesse Jackson over the elected, hand-picked political cronies led by Mayor RJD. Sure, delegates elections are a farce (and a missed opportunity for change-seekers), but it ought to be a course, IMO.
I loved this article. Critical thinking skills are in danger. The embracing of AI is yet another example of the decline in critical thinking skills. I am so grateful I grew up in a time where critical thinking skills were taught. Thanks for reminding me what a jerk William Buckley was!
I WAS a critical thinker (my high school did a great job teaching this) and I STILL viewed my Research Methods class with dread! I truly did see the eed for it and it has helped me evaluate and question "Based on research" but it was still tedious. It probably didn't help that I took it the semester I was taking 21 credit hours, to be fair. HOWEVER, some sort of critical analysis course should be required both in high school and college. People today choose what news steam they pay attention to and are spoon-fed what they SHOULD believe. they are also NOT critical consumers of "news". Since the 1980s and Reagan's end to the fairness in journalism FCC requirement, most news has become propaganda for a particular school of thought. The media has pushed people along on this journey, for the sake of higher ratings and thus higher revenue. The rhetorical argument is one which most people today will never recognize, much to the detriment of society and social interaction.
As a teacher of this required course, there isn't much to disagree with!
And the examples help. I remember doing critical thinking exercises back in 8th grade Social Studies. The teacher had us fact check a set of op-eds from major papers. I don't remember everyone clustered at the top, but I remember Buckley came in last for accuracy (but since his Daddy sponsored his writing career, accuracy didn't matter).
One of the other things I remember is that Buckley, an avowed lover of sailing sportsmanship and rules, got caught cheating in a sailboat race. He had no explanation for his partially empty gas tank, when all the other racers started and ended with full tanks. Perhaps, as in My Cousin Vinny, gas just evaporates differently in his tank than every other tank in the world.
For the unaware, My Cousin Vinny features a key piece of testimony uncovered in a cross examination: a state's witness was reduced to arguing that if his testimony was to be believed, grits would have to cook faster in his kitchen than every other kitchen in the world.
Ah, the '68 Convention. IMO, the focus on the anti-war protests obscure what was even bigger drama; the fight over the seating of the (non-elected) delegates led by Bill Singer & Jesse Jackson over the elected, hand-picked political cronies led by Mayor RJD. Sure, delegates elections are a farce (and a missed opportunity for change-seekers), but it ought to be a course, IMO.
Thanks, whole piece is great and XX-thanks for ending with dance energy!
Isn’t that choreography phenomenal? I love the energy of that dance company and the interesting way they play with gender and other conventions.
I loved this article. Critical thinking skills are in danger. The embracing of AI is yet another example of the decline in critical thinking skills. I am so grateful I grew up in a time where critical thinking skills were taught. Thanks for reminding me what a jerk William Buckley was!
I WAS a critical thinker (my high school did a great job teaching this) and I STILL viewed my Research Methods class with dread! I truly did see the eed for it and it has helped me evaluate and question "Based on research" but it was still tedious. It probably didn't help that I took it the semester I was taking 21 credit hours, to be fair. HOWEVER, some sort of critical analysis course should be required both in high school and college. People today choose what news steam they pay attention to and are spoon-fed what they SHOULD believe. they are also NOT critical consumers of "news". Since the 1980s and Reagan's end to the fairness in journalism FCC requirement, most news has become propaganda for a particular school of thought. The media has pushed people along on this journey, for the sake of higher ratings and thus higher revenue. The rhetorical argument is one which most people today will never recognize, much to the detriment of society and social interaction.
As a teacher of this required course, there isn't much to disagree with!
And the examples help. I remember doing critical thinking exercises back in 8th grade Social Studies. The teacher had us fact check a set of op-eds from major papers. I don't remember everyone clustered at the top, but I remember Buckley came in last for accuracy (but since his Daddy sponsored his writing career, accuracy didn't matter).
One of the other things I remember is that Buckley, an avowed lover of sailing sportsmanship and rules, got caught cheating in a sailboat race. He had no explanation for his partially empty gas tank, when all the other racers started and ended with full tanks. Perhaps, as in My Cousin Vinny, gas just evaporates differently in his tank than every other tank in the world.
For the unaware, My Cousin Vinny features a key piece of testimony uncovered in a cross examination: a state's witness was reduced to arguing that if his testimony was to be believed, grits would have to cook faster in his kitchen than every other kitchen in the world.