The reason college kids go gaga over Obama (undeveloped critical thinking skills)

American Thinker ^ | 01/18/2011 | Rick Moran

[wbill]

Easy was to meet and hook up with someone.

A (much younger, single) acquaintance of mine works on a college campus. During the elections of 2008 he told me that he went to ALL of the Obama-type rallies.

Since he's even more conservative than I am, I asked him "GAAA! Why!!?"

He told me that the BO rallies were the best places to meet ladies "of a certain morally ambiguous nature". He also said that, in general, they were "not as intellectually gifted as other women he'd meet, like the ones in bars".

His quotes, not mine. So long as he's still only shopping around for one-night-stands, I'm sure that he's looking forward to 2012. :-)

[aruanan]

The reason college kids go gaga over Obama (undeveloped critical thinking skills)

The same reason they go gaga over Lady Gaga: puerile taste.

[dartuser]

My GF took an online college course titled “Critical Thinking” ...

It recommended that people only use “reputable” news sources for reliable information. Naturally, they went on to list some of those “reputable” news sources ... the NY Times, CNN, Washington Post, etc ... They specifically mentioned not relying on the “disreputable” cable outlets.

... lol ... critical thinking ... lol ...

[Seruzawa]

Critical thinking ability stands in the road of the communist NEAs goals for America. The NEA wants a dumbed down populace that will accept the lies that education is underfunded and that the govt does more good than harm. The NEA wants a nation of weak-willed robots.

[cripplecreek]

I define at least one part of critical thinking as the ability to see dissimilar problems and refine and use solutions and conclusions from one situation in another.

My recognition of the “teaching” that goes on in schools today comes from reading the book “Five years to Freedom” many years ago.

In the book, James Rowe spent 5 years in Vietnamese prison camps in the jungle. During his time he watched and took part in the daily classes with the North Vietnamese. He saw that their “learning” had nothing to do with thought because independent thought wasn’t useful to the state and a potential threat to the state.

Over the past few years I’ve recognized the same sort of teaching in our schools where independent thought is discouraged. In fact, I suspect much of the increasingly Vicious bullying at the hands of students AND teachers is intended to suppress independent thought.

[SonOfDarkSkies]

I posted the following comment at American Thinker:

“It is also possible that college students are more susceptible to the full-frontal assault of the Obama cult of personality. Once having fallen for the Obama idol worship indoctrination program that swept campuses nationwide, students cede their individuality and individual responsibility to the group/cult. In becoming followers of their idol, they relinquish their minds and consciences to the group. They cease to exist as individuals.

Once inside the cult, their identities merge with the group and with Obama. All their insecurities and worries are replaced by a powerful new sense of belonging. They become one with Obama. They share his narcissism, his vision, his messiahship. As Obama said, they are the Ones we have been waiting for.

As cult members, all that is required from these students is to support the group and defend it against all outside forces, particular that pesky and ever threatening problem, reality. As is the case with all narcissists, rational thinking, introspection, and empirical reasoning are the enemy. Blind adoration of the cult leader and the group is demanded and nothing else is permitted.

The question raised by this is “what are Obama’s ultimate plans for this cult? What is his end game?”’

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Reputable News Sources (e.g. The New York Times )

I wonder if the NY Times ever even considered repudiating the Pulitzer Prize they won for Walter Duranty’s lies about the Ukrainian famine of the 1930’s...

See here :

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/002/791vwuaz.asp

AT LONG LAST a Pulitzer Prize committee is looking into the possibility that the Pulitzer awarded to Walter Duranty, the New York Times Moscow correspondent whose dispatches covered up Stalin’s infamies, might be revoked.

In order to assist in their researches, I am downloading here some of the lies contained in those dispatches, lies which the New York Times has never repudiated with the same splash as it accorded Jayson Blair’s comparatively trivial lies:

“There is no famine or actual starvation nor is there likely to be.”

—New York Times, Nov. 15, 1931, page 1

“Any report of a famine in Russia is today an exaggeration or malignant propaganda.”
—New York Times, August 23, 1933

“Enemies and foreign critics can say what they please. Weaklings and despondents at home may groan under the burden, but the youth and strength of the Russian people is essentially at one with the Kremlin’s program, believes it worthwhile and supports it, however hard be the sledding.”

—New York Times, December 9, 1932, page 6

“You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.”

—New York Times, May 14, 1933, page 18

“There is no actual starvation or deaths from starvation but there is widespread mortality from diseases due to malnutrition.”

—New York Times, March 31, 1933, page 13

And that’s just one... what about the Time’s disgraceful reporting of the Duke University Lacrosse Team rape case where before even considering the evidence presented at the trial, they practically convicted innocent men of a henious crime they did not commit. After they were all declared innocent and the lying Prosecutor disbarred, guess what, the Times DID NOT EVEN APOLOGIZE !!

Yeah, and we’re supposed to accept what they present like sheep — Critical Thinking alright.

[cynwoody]

Perhaps it's because students are more likely to get professors who believe in brainwashing rather than teaching.

Yes. It appears Professor Arum and his colleagues failed to consider the most obvious possibility: that critical thinking skills negatively correlate with college education!

Four years of hanging out on FR would do more for one's critical thinking skills than four years of college. And be much less expensive, too, even if you do click here once in a while.

[Lou L]

I remember when I took logic 101 in college (it was a required course at the time for everyone). I thought it was a “gimme” class; I pretty much slept through class and still got an A.

I too, took such a logic class, and was also very fortunate to pass with an A. (Though, I wouldn't say I slept through it.)

But that kind of logic is not necessarily what I would call "critical" thinking. That logic is very much rules-based. True, a logical argument is a logical argument, but in real life, we must learn how to differentiate what are true, and non-true assertions. In order to do this, we have to be intellectually ambitious, often drawing on a multitude of disciplines just to start with the correct premise. That is what I find lacking with many of today's young adults. They don't have the perspective of historical understanding; if a question can't be summarized into a single sentence within a Google search, it's not worth pursuing to them.

[SMARTY]

I read not TOO long ago an article that in Great Britain, young people believed that Winston Churchill (their world class author and statesman) was a fictional character.

[RexBeach]

College kids liked McGovern, too. Including me! Hah!

[bankwalker]

Our education establishment sometime after the 1960’s, began to be infiltrated by leftists who sought to “work within the system”.

It was actually several decades earlier. Do a little research on Antonio Gramsci.

[MSSC6644]

In the late 70’s, I was teaching high school sophomores the difference between fact and opinion. How can one learn expository writing without learning to think?

[twoputt]

“If you’re not liberal by 20...you have no heart.

If you’re not conservative by 40...you have no brain.”

Winston Churchill

[SeekAndFind]

RE: College kids liked McGovern, too. Including me! Hah!

Apparently, there were not enough of you who voted back then... he went down in a huge landslide.

[MortMan]

Teaching WHAT to think is so much easier than teaching HOW to think...

[Matchett-PI]

Thomas Sowell agrees:

“One of the painful signs of years of dumbed-down education is how many people are unable to make a coherent argument. They can vent their emotions, question other people’s motives, make bold assertions, repeat slogans— anything except reason. “

Thomas Sowell
Monday, September 3, 2007
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2007/09/03/random_thoughts?page=full&comments=true

[The Comedian]

This is by design.

Government schools are intended to produce drones, not individuals.

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[matt1234]

I consider Logic to be among the most valuable classes I’ve taken. It should be required for all college freshmen.

[luckystarmom]

I think what you get out of college is determined by what you major in.

I never had to write much in college because I was an engineering major. I was first a chemical engineering major, and then switche to computer science.

I learned a lot in both majors, but computer science was much more practical for me.

Also, the first 2 years of college tend to be your core classes. If you had a good high school education, you might not learn that much in those 2 years. The last 2 years of college tend to dive into your major.

My son is a junior in high school, and my daughters will be in high school next year. We talked a lot about college.

One of my daughters is totally into performing arts. She wants to major in music. We won’t pay for her to get that degree. She’s already saying that if she decides to major in music, she may go to our local state school and live at home. The college has a very well-respected flute teacher. I’m glad she’s already thinking like that. She’s trying to figure out how to follow her dreams without going broke.