Back on topic - Sonoma State University has an entire set of DVDs and pedagogy surrounding the teaching of critical thinking without involving the questioning of another person's religion. Critical thinking and believing in a God are not mutually exclusive - that would be illogical! It is comparing apples to oranges to think that a process of organizing thought and discourse can be applied to a metaphysical, ephemeral, ethereal concept and have veritas applied to it. Additionally, people on both sides of the issue have lots of time, money, emotion and various other vested interests to defend before being able to discuss it in a rational way - as this very post and the others below demonstrate (I never reply to these things, but it got me!). Stop on by http://www.criticalthinking.org/ to see the teaching of it in a masterful way.
I agree. There has to be some incentive for being in class. It is like the CD business. If RIAA and others want us to buy their stuff, why not put something worth having in it - like a discount for the next concert or 1/2 off a t-shirt on the band's homepage. I am an educator and beleive that good teachers/professors are going to make their class so exciting/worthwhile that kids won't want to miss it. Try teaching 150 high school seniors a semester all about the wonderful science of economics. I have to be funny and interesting or else they just don't get it - even though they are required by law to be there!
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Back on topic - Sonoma State University has an entire set of DVDs and pedagogy surrounding the teaching of critical thinking without involving the questioning of another person's religion. Critical thinking and believing in a God are not mutually exclusive - that would be illogical! It is comparing apples to oranges to think that a process of organizing thought and discourse can be applied to a metaphysical, ephemeral, ethereal concept and have veritas applied to it. Additionally, people on both sides of the issue have lots of time, money, emotion and various other vested interests to defend before being able to discuss it in a rational way - as this very post and the others below demonstrate (I never reply to these things, but it got me!). Stop on by http://www.criticalthinking.org/ to see the teaching of it in a masterful way.
I agree. There has to be some incentive for being in class. It is like the CD business. If RIAA and others want us to buy their stuff, why not put something worth having in it - like a discount for the next concert or 1/2 off a t-shirt on the band's homepage. I am an educator and beleive that good teachers/professors are going to make their class so exciting/worthwhile that kids won't want to miss it. Try teaching 150 high school seniors a semester all about the wonderful science of economics. I have to be funny and interesting or else they just don't get it - even though they are required by law to be there!