Why Do We Need Critical Thinking

Perhaps the future hangs in the balance.

Because my best friends are Jewish, I’m asked, “Why do you think there are so many Jewish people in Professional positions around the world?”

Questions: that’s our real topic today.

How do you teach children to compete in the professional world of business?

This article may help. Let’s begin with statistics. According to the 2020 Census, more than 60% of the U.S. population are professionals.

Here’s a list of positions the study considered to be professionals:

Accountants, Architects, Artists/Authors, Chemists, Designers, Doctors/Surgeons/Dentists, Editors, Engineers, Lawyers, Registered Nurses, Scientists, and Teachers

How Critical Thinking is Taught in the Home

Many of us were raised by our parents to eat at the dinner table. Many of us would catch dinner any way we could (mine was the latter). Regardless, typically, awkward activities and conversations would go something like this.

Once everyone was in their place, a prayer may be offered to give thanks. After that, Mom or Dad would ask, “So, how was school today? Did you meet someone new?” Or, my personal favorite, “What did you learn in school today?”

Let’s contrast and compare that same time with many Jewish homes. After giving thanks, the Father asks an open-ended question such as “Why should people be punished for doing something against the rules or the law?”

Are the questions all this hard? No, but every question is designed to draw out substantive thoughts. These thoughts, on topics far and wide, will literally determine the course of one’s life.

With each new topic, every question moves the child to think deeper. The goal is to think ahead and consider the intended and unintended consequences of your opinion or decision. The questions asked are on a myriad of topics. Each child begins to form original thoughts and look at questions, decisions, opportunities, and “the way things are” differently.

Ultimately, many discussions will teach the children how and why we ask questions. The end result is each child will develop their own opinion on any subject via the questions they ask. It’s an adventure of discovery.

________

Within Jewish folklore is a story that gives us an understanding of the value of discovery embodied in a teaching moment.

An old Rabbi was out in the dead of winter, checking on friends and family. He suddenly realized that he hadn’t eaten breakfast, and it was now lunchtime. He was also beginning to get a sore throat. It was probably from the cold, he thought.

He was traveling in the borough of Brooklyn, one of the five boroughs of New York. It also has the largest Jewish Delicatessens population in the state (some would argue that point). So, he looked left and then right, and sure enough, there was one just a block or so down the street.

It had begun to snow just as he was arriving at the Deli. He quickly popped in and took the first seat he could find at the counter. He decided the counter would be the quickest way to get served. It seemed like he had just finished that thought when a twenty-something-age server asked, “What will it be?”

He said, “I’ll have a bowl of Chicken soup and Matzo Balls.” The server said, “You too.” His head pointed down the counter, and literally, everyone had what looked like a bowl of soup in front of them. The Rabbi said, “Yeah, me too.”

The Rabbi remembered that since he was a small boy at home, his Mom had given him what she called Jewish Penicillin. She felt it could cure anything.

The server arrived with a bowl of soup, placed it before the Rabbi, and then took off. The old Rabbi looked it over and around. Ummm, he thought. And just like that, the server was there asking, “How’s the soup?”

The Rabbi paused and said, “Taste the soup.” The server said, “What’s wrong with the soup?” The Rabbi asked again, “Taste the soup.” He was now speaking a bit louder. Again, the server asked, “What’s wrong with the soup?”

The old Rabbi sat back in his seat and softly said, “Taste the soup.”

The server looked annoyed but decided to give in to the request. He looked around the soup bowl and said, “Where’s the spoon?”

The old Rabbi looked right into the server’s eyes and said, “Awww ha.”

This story sums up the discovery method of learning better than multiple pages of examples.

I wish I had known this is one of life’s great lessons when I “wore a younger man’s clothes (my thanks to Billy Joel for that line) and was raising six small children plus my brother and sister.

Now, I see that I am responsible for sharing this knowledge with friends and family, and now on medium.com.

Over the years, as I’ve traveled the world on business. There are always many questions about where I live, whether “this is true about America,” etc.

In America, we’re privileged to be able to learn from every nationality, race, and religion. We have not always embraced this benefit of living in America. However, I’ve found that those that do are typically wiser than others. Why? It is because many do not have a narrower point of view.

What customs and traditions did your family have? If the rest of us embraced them, would this be an even better society?

I hope you found this engaging.

Thanks for reading,

✍ — I would greatly appreciate it if you commented to let me know you saw this post. Thank you!

©DR Rawson

Don’t miss out on future stories — subscribe to read.💙