Can anyone help me with details regarding this passage from an article?

[RandomPoster]

I am trying to learn more about changing trends in American education regarding Logic courses. Here is a quote from the following article:

Why critical thinking is overlooked by schools and shunned by students

"By contrast, critical thinking as a subject has been around in schools for many years. It was brought in as a replacement to the brilliantly terrible general studies in the hope that students might get something specific and useful, rather than well, general."

Does anyone have any idea what "many years" is and what the author means by replacing "general studies" with critical thinking?

 

[Darkwind]

I am trying to learn more about changing trends in American education regarding Logic courses. Here is a quote from the following article:

Why critical thinking is overlooked by schools and shunned by students

"By contrast, critical thinking as a subject has been around in schools for many years. It was brought in as a replacement to the brilliantly terrible general studies in the hope that students might get something specific and useful, rather than well, general."

Does anyone have any idea what "many years" is and what the author means by replacing "general studies" with critical thinking?

Many years means more than one year.

Glad I could help.



Critical thinking used to be a method in which teachers would instruct their students the necessity of asking questions about a specific issue, topic, or....and get this....a written article.

General studies never really covered such teaching, per se. The historical method was to teach by rote - meaning memorization of facts -- but little in the way of analyzing those facts. There is a current school of thought -- pardon the pun -- that memorization isn't the best way to teach and that people, particularly children, learn a deeper understanding of the subject material if they are taught to think about it critically rather than just memorize the information.

Both have the pros and cons.

I suspect that the author used 'many years' as opposed to 'historically' because historically does not really have a defined time frame. It could be yesterday, or 100,000 years ago. Plus, I suspect the author was being intentionally vague so as to be able to change the goal posts if challenged.

 

[there4eyeM]

I am trying to learn more about changing trends in American education regarding Logic courses. Here is a quote from the following article:

Why critical thinking is overlooked by schools and shunned by students

"By contrast, critical thinking as a subject has been around in schools for many years. It was brought in as a replacement to the brilliantly terrible general studies in the hope that students might get something specific and useful, rather than well, general."

Does anyone have any idea what "many years" is and what the author means by replacing "general studies" with critical thinking?

It seems like a gentle way to say not very much. Some critical thinking might have helped.

 

[Disir]

I am trying to learn more about changing trends in American education regarding Logic courses. Here is a quote from the following article:

Why critical thinking is overlooked by schools and shunned by students

"By contrast, critical thinking as a subject has been around in schools for many years. It was brought in as a replacement to the brilliantly terrible general studies in the hope that students might get something specific and useful, rather than well, general."

Does anyone have any idea what "many years" is and what the author means by replacing "general studies" with critical thinking?

.

IDK. I don't live in the UK.

We have critical thinking in the States most often as a philosophy course. I don't recall ever seeing "general studies" as a course.