Your basic point is spot on. I'll just quibble with the first part -- I think a lot of teachers are not at all interested in teaching students to think; they want to teach students which opinions the students ought to hold.
Yes, the concept of teaching reasoning skills is given lip service and some students figure this out on their own but the schools do not go out of their way to teach concepts as important as thinking. The students are quickly satisfied if the kids grasp the politics of the left. Extra points if you go to a democrat candidate rally, super extra points if you hold a sign.
Yes, the concept of teaching reasoning skills is given lip service and some students figure this out on their own but the schools do not go out of their way to teach concepts as important as thinking. The students are quickly satisfied if the kids grasp the politics of the left. Extra points if you go to a democrat candidate rally, super extra points if you hold a sign.
They tell the kids "tell me why the viewpoint I told you to have is correct." They think that is an example of critical thinking when it's just parroting back what they were told. The teachers don't understand. The administrators are even dumber.