I have often been placed in a 'teaching' position with students and non-students and when asked a question I usually would ask them to take five minutes and try to consider some possible answers or solutions to their question. This was often met with disdain due to an impatient desire for immediate response, as though any thinking at that point would be akin to lifting 300 pounds. Some would say they had thought about it and I would then engage in a series of questions regarding their thought process [the so-called "Socratic" method] which, often, would lead to the expressions of disdain and impatience. Seeking the immediate answer or solution deprives themselves the duty to try and lift the '300 pounds' of thinking that would help train them to endure the responsibility of trying to think for themselves.
This is a great piece. One person can truly make a difference. Thank you Mr. Droz. I enjoy all your writings and your “Critically Thinking” pieces. There’s precious little of that left in America.
The implications of this are profound! Children must learn how to think for themselves - how to effectively seek answers to all the issues that we face daily. The Scientific Method arms them with this knowledge - and arms them with the ability to challenge others' opinions as well. In a world where anyone, at any time, can ask siri, or alexa, or google, or chatGPT a question about anything and get an immediate answer - effectively quashing the need to think independently at all - well, the Scientific Method (and critical thinking) are our two best defenses against losing this precious skill. The battle is far from over!
Jo: Thank you for your accurate summary. Indeed the benefits of learning the Scientific Method go WAY beyond Science. Literally, the Scientific Method is a universal problem-solving procedure. What's not to like?
John...this is the best news that I’ve heard in months. Congrats on your efforts and it shows how one person, with facts, smarts and being on the right side of right can have a big impact. Onward and upward toward having the same outcome for Critical Thinking.
I count the change in NC science education a great victory. Thank you. A quote comes to mind**. Quotes are easy to come by. Efforts like yours are rare.
John has laid out a roadmap that should inspire citizens in every state and motivate them to pursue changing science education standards in their own states, from the local school boards to the state boards, as John has been so successful at doing. His is a remarkable achievement that shows that actually engaging with the review process of proposed changes to education standards can achieve much more than simply sending letters and text messages to board members and other elected officials (although that remains important). John's hard work reminds us of Edison's remark that achieving results is 99% perspiration - meaning it takes research and then the hard work of engaging with the standards review processes, and sticking with it, to restore sound education standards in the schools.
Payne: TY for your support. I'd be glad to have a personal phone call with anyone committed to fixing some of the key science curriculum issues in their state — and explain some other details that I did not have the space for above.
I am amazed and impressed that you were able to influence these results. I know you will keep an eye on the situation. It's difficult to trust our elected and appointed officials to do the next right thing. We must watch what they do and relegate what they say to the bank burner. Hopefully, in the next election we WILL replace many of the woke left with responsible sensible individuals.
Nancy: Thank you for your support. Public support for initiatives like I outlined above is EXTREMELY important. Citizens need to speak up, intelligently.
Mark: Although local control sounds good, it's extremely unlikely to ever happen, for a multitude of reasons. Our best chance for good outcomes is to out-maneuver the Left and win the game as it is setup. The above example shows that it CAN be done!
Matt: Yes, we have had some serious setbacks in the education sphere. My view is that these are all fixable, but we HAVE to work together. In the example above, even though I reached out to national Conservative groups (Heritage, AEI, etc.) for help in the war over the Science curriculum, they stayed on the sidelines. The reason is that they are almost exclusively focused on School Choice. Although that has merit, it pales in comparison to fixing WHAT is being taught every day. I discussed this in detail before <https://criticallythinking.substack.com/p/school-choice-vs-school-curriculum>..
Have you ever contacted Christopher Rufo? He's very a strong vocal opponent of CRT. I once was involved with Heritage, but now question their motives, and feel they may be controlled opposition. I have had so many beliefs crushed over the years. Power and influence make strange bedfellows with principles.
Do you subscribe to City Journal or his Substack? Perhaps if you commented on one of those you might get some traction. Sadly, he may be too busy or caught up in his own "importance".
I have often been placed in a 'teaching' position with students and non-students and when asked a question I usually would ask them to take five minutes and try to consider some possible answers or solutions to their question. This was often met with disdain due to an impatient desire for immediate response, as though any thinking at that point would be akin to lifting 300 pounds. Some would say they had thought about it and I would then engage in a series of questions regarding their thought process [the so-called "Socratic" method] which, often, would lead to the expressions of disdain and impatience. Seeking the immediate answer or solution deprives themselves the duty to try and lift the '300 pounds' of thinking that would help train them to endure the responsibility of trying to think for themselves.
Robert: Good observations. Those children obviously did not get trained to employ and enjoy Critical Thinking.
This is a great piece. One person can truly make a difference. Thank you Mr. Droz. I enjoy all your writings and your “Critically Thinking” pieces. There’s precious little of that left in America.
Ginny: THANK YOU for your support and kind words.
The implications of this are profound! Children must learn how to think for themselves - how to effectively seek answers to all the issues that we face daily. The Scientific Method arms them with this knowledge - and arms them with the ability to challenge others' opinions as well. In a world where anyone, at any time, can ask siri, or alexa, or google, or chatGPT a question about anything and get an immediate answer - effectively quashing the need to think independently at all - well, the Scientific Method (and critical thinking) are our two best defenses against losing this precious skill. The battle is far from over!
Jo: Thank you for your accurate summary. Indeed the benefits of learning the Scientific Method go WAY beyond Science. Literally, the Scientific Method is a universal problem-solving procedure. What's not to like?
Bravo, John! Your efforts have made a tremendous difference in the future of K-12 education. This is a game-changer for sure. Thank you!
PG13: TY for your enthusiastic support. Maybe someone should check out what's happenning in Maine?
John...this is the best news that I’ve heard in months. Congrats on your efforts and it shows how one person, with facts, smarts and being on the right side of right can have a big impact. Onward and upward toward having the same outcome for Critical Thinking.
Thank you. It was the positive result of teamwork
John:
I count the change in NC science education a great victory. Thank you. A quote comes to mind**. Quotes are easy to come by. Efforts like yours are rare.
Stan
**Benjamin Franklin
Energy and persistence conquer all things.
TY. Who can argue with Ben Franklin? Of course he is on target.
John has laid out a roadmap that should inspire citizens in every state and motivate them to pursue changing science education standards in their own states, from the local school boards to the state boards, as John has been so successful at doing. His is a remarkable achievement that shows that actually engaging with the review process of proposed changes to education standards can achieve much more than simply sending letters and text messages to board members and other elected officials (although that remains important). John's hard work reminds us of Edison's remark that achieving results is 99% perspiration - meaning it takes research and then the hard work of engaging with the standards review processes, and sticking with it, to restore sound education standards in the schools.
Payne: TY for your support. I'd be glad to have a personal phone call with anyone committed to fixing some of the key science curriculum issues in their state — and explain some other details that I did not have the space for above.
I am amazed and impressed that you were able to influence these results. I know you will keep an eye on the situation. It's difficult to trust our elected and appointed officials to do the next right thing. We must watch what they do and relegate what they say to the bank burner. Hopefully, in the next election we WILL replace many of the woke left with responsible sensible individuals.
Nancy: Thank you for your support. Public support for initiatives like I outlined above is EXTREMELY important. Citizens need to speak up, intelligently.
Thanks for this John. Local/regional control of K-12 education is critical to countering state educational overreach.
Mark: Although local control sounds good, it's extremely unlikely to ever happen, for a multitude of reasons. Our best chance for good outcomes is to out-maneuver the Left and win the game as it is setup. The above example shows that it CAN be done!
Matt: Yes, we have had some serious setbacks in the education sphere. My view is that these are all fixable, but we HAVE to work together. In the example above, even though I reached out to national Conservative groups (Heritage, AEI, etc.) for help in the war over the Science curriculum, they stayed on the sidelines. The reason is that they are almost exclusively focused on School Choice. Although that has merit, it pales in comparison to fixing WHAT is being taught every day. I discussed this in detail before <https://criticallythinking.substack.com/p/school-choice-vs-school-curriculum>..
Have you ever contacted Christopher Rufo? He's very a strong vocal opponent of CRT. I once was involved with Heritage, but now question their motives, and feel they may be controlled opposition. I have had so many beliefs crushed over the years. Power and influence make strange bedfellows with principles.
I have emailed Chris a few times, but he has not responded. Maybe I don't have the correct email for him...
Do you subscribe to City Journal or his Substack? Perhaps if you commented on one of those you might get some traction. Sadly, he may be too busy or caught up in his own "importance".