Critical Thinking

Critical thought is rarely an aspect of learning in the average public school system. The schools teach 2+2=4 but rarely move into the realm of understanding where students look at situations of 2+2+2=what? The “what if,” situational learning is illusive to the average student. Critical thinking never really develops.

Practical learning is almost non-existent in the public schools. When do schools teach students how to balance a check book? When do they teach how to make change with money? Today is the day of, the age of computers and calculators. The Internet is full of sites that will write research papers for students for a fee. These sites will also do complicated math assignments. The Internet is replete with sites that do summarisations of books so that students do not need to really read and become learned.

Left Brain vs. Right Brain Learning

The left brain is the analytical part of the mind that does rote learning, practical calculations and struggles to memorise. The right brain is imaginative and connected to feelings. The left brain controls right side functions and the right brain is in control of left side functions. If a person has a stroke in the left brain, the right side may be paralysed but the analytical part of the brain is affected. Right brain strokes cause the reverse situation.

Schools usually concentrate on left brain, rote, mechanical learning. When the right brain is nurtured through imaginative, creative projects the whole brain begins to work in concert, and the mental output is totally different. Learning advances exponentially and students begin to display a sense of true brilliance.

An example of right brain intelligence can be found in this situation. A woman has a stroke within the left brain. Her right side is paralysed and she is unable to speak. When words are printed on a paper she has no idea what the word means. When the names of her children, grandchildren and pets are written and shown to her, she has a quick and absolute response and remembers exactly who they who they are. Her right brain was involved in that learning because all of these people and pets had an emotional connection for her and so the words were recognised by the right brain alone. Normally that would be a function of the left brain.