Teaching Critical Thinking Skills

We all want our kids to be resilient and have critical thinking skills. We want them to be critical thinkers – to be respectful, to value diversity, and be tolerant of various lifestyles and backgrounds.

Just like our immune system needs to be challenged by foreign substances, our values, beliefs, and opinions are bolstered and improved by being challenged. 

Teach Critical Thinking Skills

In this episode I’m going to discuss how to teach critical thinking skills, and why our kids need to be exposed to alternative points of view in order to become healthy, functioning adults.  

DEPOLARIZE:
Harmonize, Communicate & Connect
(Even With People You Completely Disagree With)

Critical Thinking Podcast TimeStamps:

[00:43] Have you seen “The Social Dilemma”?

[04:05] We are living in an echo chamber.

[08:18] Each of us are living in our own little universe online

[10:25] If we want our kids to develop critical thinking skills, they must be exposed to alternative points of view.

[12:24] We need to resist the urge to “protect” our kids from any views or opinions that we don’t agree with.

[13:32] Shielding your child from an idea makes them more vulnerable to that idea.

[15:43] We want our children to learn how to discern.

[16:23] We want our kids to develop balanced and nuanced opinions.

[17:34] Even some of the best ideas, when taken to the extreme, can become unhealthy.

[19:04] If we want to stay balanced, we need to be exposed to alternative viewpoints.

[20:30] Hearing alternative points of view can bolster yours. 

[22:33] I want to teach my children that everyone is at least worth listening to.

[23:23] We want our kids to develop empathy and diversity.

[25:25] I want my kids to understand that it’s ok for others to believe differently, live differently, vote differently, etc. 

[28:06] I use a Socratic method of asking questions to help my kids think through an idea or opinion.

[29:15] There’s always something to learn from other people.

[29:54] Ideas are something that we can contend with.

[31:48] I want my children to understand that we all have more in common with others than what divides us.

If We Want Our Kids to Develop Critical Thinking Skills…

If we want our kids to develop empathy & critical thinking skills, to value diversity & tolerance, and understand that it’s ok for people to live and believe differently than us, we need to be purposeful about exposing them to alternative points of view.

We need to show them that we can contend with ideas, and lead the way as we discern information and value what other people have to say. 

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Critical Thinking Skills & Resources

For more inspiration, check out these critical thinking skills, courses, and resources.

1. ALCHEMIZE – Mindset Coaching Experience & Companion Course

Alchemize is my new course and coaching experience that helps you take your thoughts, fears, frustrations, and anxieties and transform them into mindsets that can actually help you become anti-fragile, resilient, confident, gritty, and abundant. 

2. Criticism vs Critique Video

When you don’t have anything nice to say… how can you say it anyway?

3. Love Parenting with Avital Facebook Group

Want to connect to like-minded parenting junkies? Join our (free & awesome) FB community Love Parenting with Avital.

4. My Brand New Course, DEPOLARIZE (Course + Coaching!)

As someone who stands firmly for unity, harmony, and the ability to hold space for each other and to coexist peacefully… I offer this mini-course to share the 10 switches that you’ve got to flip in your conversations with people that you very much disagree with.

It will not only help you to be more influential and more persuasive in your opinions but also help you to save your relationships with the people that you love, even if you completely disagree with them.

I don’t have any particular horse in any particular race on these subjects – I have very complex and nuanced opinions on all of them.

But I do have a very clear horse in the race of keeping families, relationships and friendships united, harmonized, happy, connected, and communicative. 

I look forward to helping you deepen your critical thinking skills on the inside >> check out DEPOLARIZE here!