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🧠 One of the most important goals of education is to foster critical thinking skills in students. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information from various sources and perspectives, and to use it to solve problems and make decisions. Critical thinking is not only essential for academic success, but also for personal and social development, civic engagement, and lifelong learning.

🧠 However, many students are not taught how to think critically, but rather what to think. They are exposed to standardized tests, rote memorization, and one-sided views of complex issues. They are discouraged from questioning, challenging, or exploring alternative viewpoints. They are expected to conform to the dominant norms and values of society, without reflecting on their own beliefs and values.

🧠 This approach to education is detrimental to students’ intellectual growth and creativity. It also undermines their autonomy and agency, as they become passive recipients of knowledge, rather than active constructors of meaning. It also limits their ability to cope with uncertainty, ambiguity, and change, which are inevitable in the modern world.

🧠 Therefore, educators should strive to teach students how to think, not what to think. They should provide students with opportunities to engage in inquiry-based learning, where they can explore topics of interest, formulate questions, conduct research, and present their findings. They should also encourage students to develop metacognitive skills, such as self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-evaluation, which can help them monitor and improve their own thinking processes. Moreover, they should foster a culture of dialogue and debate in the classroom, where students can exchange ideas, listen to different perspectives, and respect diversity.

🧠 By teaching students how to think, not what to think, educators can empower them to become independent and critical thinkers who can contribute positively to society and the world.

Lars Andersson