Well this is my first attempt of publishing an online on a blog. This is all new to me. I have seen the development of the internet. From the computer the size of a class room where you had to punched cards for input and the data was put on large spools of tapes. To what it is today where you sit down at the computer, size of a deck of cards, and enter the data by keyboard or spoken word. The young adults of today are so connected by the internet. There isn’t anything that they can’t find there. I want to thank them for inviting me to join them in their environment.
What critical thinking means to me? Before I read the introduction in our book “Exploring Reading” I never thought about breaking apart articles into their different attributes. In most articles I look for the topic of the article. Whether I agree or disagree with his view point of view. Was the author’s material relevant for use in my paper?
The idea of breaking an article down more than that never crossed my mind. Did the author get across to the reader his ideas? Did the author justify his facts? Show pro and con of his argument? Did the author use wit in the article?
Now that I have read about critically thinking the idea sounds like a good idea. To being able to look at an article objectively would greatly improve my understanding of what the author is trying to say. The use of constructive criticism is good when reading an article. You don’t have to agree or disagree what the article says. Only listen to what the author has to say.
My personal use of critical thinking is another thing. When reading the newspaper I develop emotions for the article that I am reading. Politics rings my chimes. I think to myself what fools to think that way but who am I.
The media today, TV commensals to name a few, are geared to the age, I swore, of a five year old. They tax my intelligent. Being hard of hearing I don’t understand, without close captions, what is being said. After a particular “wonderful” commensal on TV, my husband watches TV; I turn to him and ask what that was about? He looks at me with a puzzled look surges his shoulders as to say I don’t know. The kids are smarter than us I guess.
My academic work is another area that I am critical at. My school work is very important to me. It shows who I am what I think. I like A’s so I work hard for my grades. Constrictive criticism to me is what makes my papers better and me a better writer. To become a better writer you need to learn from your mistakes.
In my professional endeavors I was very critical of my work. Being an aircraft electrician was a lot of responsibility. The life of the pilots and crew depended on me and everyone else doing their job right the first time. No short cuts are used. My crew as well as I takes a lot of pride in everything that we do and it shows. No shuttle every exploded because of Palmdale electrical work.
What do I expect to get out of this class? This class will teach me to improve my analysis skills of literary works through hard work, as well as constructive criticism from my peers and well as from my teacher. I want to add depth to my knowledge through critical thinking in all aspects of my life. To learn not to judge until all of the aspects of the works are looked at closely. To become a more enlightened person about the world around me.
