Perspective Taking's Role in Critical Thinking

We're now back on track with entries on chapter 5. This entry was written by Kristen, and when you read it, you'll see why she accompanied it with this photo from one of her childhood birthdays. Happy reading!

When first hearing the term “critical thinking,” learning to think comes to mind, yet, there is so much more to critical thinking than just knowing how to think and understand. This chapter talks about problem solving for young preschool students who don’t make the most thoughtful decisions. Many young children cannot tell the difference between right and wrong and only know what they want. Parents can become concerned with whether or not their child will move past this phase of their life, and begin thinking about not only themselves but others as well.

The author starts off explaining six different steps to problem solve for a child who has not fully developed critical thinking. The first step the author mentions is to identify the dilemma, problem, or issue. She goes on to say not to use the question “What’s the problem?” because this implies that there’s an immediate solution, which in most cases there is not. You should always ask, “What is the dilemma?” to better understand what thought the child has in their mind. She goes on saying that, for preschoolers, fantasy and reality become blurred, and this should be acknowledged when approaching the situation.

The next step she mentions is to determine the goal that is helping the child to be able to tell the difference between what you want and what’s real. She wants the child to understand the truth and to tell the truth.

After this she goes on to the next step, which is to come up with alternative solutions for times when the child is doing something where reality and fantasy are difficult to distinguish. Because a child doesn’t understand what is right and wrong, punishing may not be the best solution. She goes on to suggest giving a child options, such as asking politely. She says to then consider how to use these alternative solutions by putting yourself in the child’s shoes and trying to understand what would get through to the child. The next step is to select a solution to try and see if that solution works out. This brings me to the final stage, which is to evaluate the outcome and, if the solution isn’t working, try something else.

These steps made me think about my own childhood. One of my earliest memories was my second birthday when I didn’t understand I had to share my birthday cake with the rest of the party. I began putting my hands in the cake and eating it, and didn’t understand why everyone was upset. On subsequent birthdays, my mom brought me my own small cakes until I understood what sharing was. Critical thinking allows you to understand the concept of sharing, making connections, communicating and exercising perspective because we consider how our solutions affect others.

Children have a way of understanding on their own and learning as they go. They have a different pattern of thinking when it comes to understanding objects made by humans. It takes them time to put together why each object is there and why it is made. The process in developing critical thinking comes quite naturally, but guidance is needed from adults, according to the author. Critical thinking is more than just understanding; it’s a way of getting through life. Learning through others, understanding patterns and different problem solving situations are all steps young children take to mold their young minds.