Does critical thinking always have to be critical?
I’ve been teaching at Johns Hopkins (the MA/Communication program) for some years now. I started out teaching in person, but now I teach both my classes completely online. As such, class discussions take place in online forums. And to make sure students actually log in and, you know, have a discussion, many of these forums are graded.
My students are given detailed rubrics that tell them how their comments will be graded, explaining what an “excellent” post is, as opposed to a “good” or “average” one. And typically, at the start of the semester, I have to remind them to post quality comments – comments that provide a helpful and useful critique of their fellow classmates posts and discussions, as opposed to simply being effusive and flattering.
I had to do this just a couple of days ago, and I know it hit home. Because yesterday, as I was going through the discussion boards, a comment one of the students had made stood out to me. He was very complimentary towards his classmate’s post, and said he was having a hard time finding something to make a “critical point” about.
That was a very sweet comment. But it did leave me wondering whether he was confusing being critical with thinking critical.
Critical thinking is one of the most important goals in education. Some would say it is the most important goal when it comes to education; else we’re just teaching, and learning how to become, automatons that don’t have an original bone in our body. And it is the ability to think critically that determines, to a large extent, how successful we are in our careers.
Critical thinking is what sets really good strategists apart from the crowd. It’s the ability to evaluate pros and cons, and communicate them effectively and efficiently. It’s the confidence to steer clients in a direction more aligned with the organization’s strategy. It’s the willingness to state a reasoned opinion that you know is in the best interest of the client… even if they are so caught up with the nitty-gritty that they can’t see it right away.
Critical thinking does not always equate to being negative. Sometimes, yes, we have to say things clients may not like. But it also means clearly identifying what is working, and explaining why, so that we can work better, work smarter.
We live and deal with a vocabulary that has become highly-charged. If one is always critical, of course that’s going to wear on one. But let’s not confuse being critical with thinking critical.
In communication, and in business, critical thinking is, well, critical.
Shonali no worries, it takes me months sometimes to even publish anything! :-)
3HatsComm Can we just ignore the fact that it took me MONTHS to come here and reply? I’m literally hanging my head in shame. But honestly – your comment was so neat… I didn’t know what to say. It stands alone!
Yes. Yes. YES. #thatisall
Critical thinking is what separates best in class companies from the rest. Being able to sift through data, identify opportunities, learn from mistakes, is key. This is a great post my friend Shonali
Sigh. It’s a knee jerk reaction, the default that any comment that isn’t flowers and rainbows praise is critical and therefore bad, therefore an attack, probably written by a hating troll. Or that if you can’t find something ‘negative’ then you’re not looking hard enough? IDK I think we got there out of fear — we fear losing our jobs, think ‘perfection’ is the only security; we fear not being liked; we fear a closer look at our house of cards, b/c we can’t walk our transparency cards.
Forget business, let’s look at entertainment. One of my favorite sites, Television Without Pity.. incredible content w/ well-developed discussion boards, was recently shut down b/c they took the time to take a more critical look at the TV shows they recapped. They called out bad acting, terrible writing, horrific lapses in ‘plot’ and story. They did this out of LOVE: they like TV, the love fans of TV, they respect and admire the work that goes into it and they needled the industry when it was warranted. They also lauded praise where deserved and really made you think about what you were watching.
Work smarter, look closer even if it hurts. That kind of critical analysis is like anything else; sure it may sting a bit but when you get over that and learn something, it’ll make you better. FWIW.