This week I helped a college student from Mongolia to write, what in simpler times would have been called a book report. Now or "nowadays" as she would say, the assignment is termed a critical essay.To her credit, the student did not ask me to suggest an opening sentence, thesis, or conclusion that she could paraphrase. Instead, she asked me to read her paper about a science fiction book and offer an opinion about the quality of the writing.
"It's good," I said cautiously. "BUT I don't understand the metaphor....."
I don't want to go into the whole literary issue here. It's enough that you know that there was an issue with the metaphor because I began the second sentence with a BUT.
"I've showed this paper to three different Writing Center tutors," the young woman said. "And each or them told me something different. And I'm not sure that they're right. I'm thinking about handing in the paper just the way I wrote it. But will the professor hate it? Maybe my style is wrong for her. Now I'm really confused about what to do, and I HATE being confused."
"This is college. You are supposed to be confused." I say. "Think about what the three tutors told you, see if you agree with any of it, and then follow the suggestions--or don't."
"College students are less confused in Mongolia," she answered.
If you tutor or coach or are a parent helping students with challenging (or maybe not so challenging) assignments, you are going to hear the request "just tell me the right answer so that I can get this thing done and get a good grade."
In fact, you may pay thousands to an afterschool center or private tutor and ask them to tell your kids the right answers or strategies so that they can "get this thing done" and go to Stanford.
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| GUERNICA--WTF? |
Making connections takes time and attention and, well, critical thinking.
Making thoughtful connections also means that we may feel uncomfortable with our confusion for a while as we sort it all out.
Confusion? Sorting things out? Is there really time for that now? My kid has a piano lesson at four and swimming at 5:30 . Many parents, students, and, yes, some teachers, are turning their attention to how to "game" the critical thinking system. Did a student use enough big words in their college application essay? Can they fake deep thinking and insight.
"My teacher hates men," one high school student told me as he prepared to write an essay about the relationships between the Gods and mortals in Homer's Odyssey. "I need to use the term toxic masculinity at least three times."
Interestingly, it may be our sports coaches who may be doing best at teaching young people how to think critically. There's an actual game to be won, and gaming the system is, well, critical.
Why did we win? Why did we lose? Who are our strongest players and where should we position them? Who do we know will show up for practice and who are the slackers?
I don't have a lot of opportunities to talk with the coaches on the Menlo College campus or at the local high schools, but I have a sense that it takes a village to educate a scholar/athlete.
My own goal is to encourage critical thinking in each and every student that I work with.
Hopefully, the grades will follow--although not always.
"What do you think will happen next," I ask in an attempt to encourage critical thinking a fifth grade boy half way through the novel Island of the Blue Dolphins?""Who cares!!?"
"What do you think will happen next,?" I ask another fifth grade boy about the same novel.
"A meteor crashes into the island and they all die."
I do much better with a discussions of superpowers like invisibility or time travel.
Ask a kid which superpower they would like to have, and you might get them to write an essay about it. Or at least draw a picture. Many of my middle school student's essays have begun as works of visual art.
Right now I'm winding up a series of weekly tutoring sessions with a high school freshman who will be taking the Advanced Placement(AP) World History exam in a few weeks. He is a very bright, articulate, athletic young man at a local prep school and until recently I couldn't figure out why he wanted tutoring. Each week we review a chapter of the textbook, A History of Western Society (Bedford/St Martins) using the Chapter Review Guide: Identify Key Terms, Review the Main Ideas, and Make Connections.
And mostly, I listen. The kid knows his stuff and articulating it helps because the AP Exam has an extensive essay section. Coherent speaking is often a prelude to coherent writing.
I can help with the making connections. Almost every historical period has featured nationalism--and we are certainly living in a period of nationalism today. We talk about leadership and economic movements. I even had lunch with the Menlo College professor who is the expert on Marx and Engels and he handed me a tattered copy of The Communist Manifesto. I read it and even in 2018, took it covertly out of my tote bag at a Sunday tutoring session and my student and I discussed it. I even discussed the reasons for the hesitant "reveal".
My high school student's grades this semester have averaged out to a B+. I asked him if he was concerned that with all our tutoring, he wasn't getting As.
No, he insisted. "I just feel calmer about the whole thing."
His Mom sent me a note thanking me and telling me when the last tutoring session will be for the semester. She did not mention grades, but mentioned an increase in her son's confidence.
Confidence is good. Calmness is good. And I hope that translates into passing the AP World History exam.
But more importantly, I hope it leads to a thoughtful answer and approach to one of the most important Chapter 27 (Dictatorships and the Second World War ) textbook questions:
Why would ordinary people support dictatorships that trampled on familiar political freedoms and civil rights?
He could start with: They weren't doing enough critical thinking.
