Raising a Critical Thinker

At the HEAV Convention on Saturday, this was the title of the first workshop I attended. It was given by a young lady from GeoMatters. I had expectations when I walked into this workshop; I was going to learn about some products I could use to help encourage critical thinking skills with my two oldest children, maybe they would talk about the differences in the ways boys and girls think (which would be great since I have both boys and girls), and I would be encouraged  to visit their booth in the exhibit hall for some great critical thinking products. And in the back of my head, I was thinking, "GeoMatters. Sounds like it is a geography company. What does that have to do with critical thinking? Well, I'll go anyway because my kids could use some help in this area."

And what I came away with? Practical parenting advice! (Remember, I told you yesterday that the theme for me seemed to be parenting.)

The speaker was excellent! (I wish I had caught her name.) In regards to critical thinking, she encouraged us to: ask open-ended questions; to give the kids jobs to help them learn to plan and to serve (to the best of their ability, not to the best of mom's ability); to stress teamwork; and to be an encourager. I can say that stressing teamwork has been something I have done a lot of but not consistently, and boy, do I need to remember that they are kids and can't do things on my level! (Do you need that reminder, too?)

When they make mistakes, turn it around and ask what could have gone right, what they could have done differently in order to avoid making that mistake. This is a life skill, not just something to apply to Math, English, Geography, etc. And it is a parenting issue. How often have I gotten upset with one of the kids for spilling milk for the millionth time, and always when we are running late? Granted, the Lord had already started working on my heart with this one, but this was the reminder that I needed to hear.

She did bring things back to the classroom, and even used Bloom's Taxonomy, which I had learned about in college but had forgotten about, to help us see how critical thinking develops. And she even listed a few resources for us to look at sometime--more summer reading for mom! But at the end, she brought it all back to this one point:

You can't teach your children everything they need to know, but you can teach them how to think.

As homechooling parents, it is easy to feel like it is our responsibility to teach them absolutely everything. But it isn't. If we teach them how to think, as opposed to what to think, then they will have the skills they need to be life-long learners.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to Him, and he will direct your paths.

Above all else, teach them how to trust in the Lord and how to completely rely on Him. He will show them the plans that He has for them.

(*Disclaimer: I have not been asked by GeoMatters to write a post on their HEAV Convention workshop, nor have I been compensated by them in any way. These are just a sampling of the notes that I took during the workshop combined with my own thoughts on what I learned.)