I Teach Critical Thinking but Some Would Accuse Me of Indoctrinating

I can understand why, but it’s easy to prove I’m not

Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

While many teachers work to develop the critical thinking skills of their students — something sorely lacking in the age of standardized tests — I teach it exclusively. For the past several years I’ve been teaching the Theory of Knowledge, an IB (International Baccalaureate) class for high schoolers that’s part philosophy, part epistemology, and all critical thinking.

My test questions are all open-ended, which means there are no right answers, with the sole exception of a logical fallacies test. While discussing questions like “Can someone who’s never been to New Orleans (where my school is) know more about it than someone who’s lived there?”, and “Are a child and an astronomer seeing the same thing when they look at the night sky?” students are allowed to take any position they want. They are only scored on how well they explain their thinking. This includes them clearly stating their position, using real-life, historical, or hypothetical examples to logically support it, and fairly presenting counterarguments or alternate points of view.

My students are frequently reminded that I don’t care what their answer to a question is; I only care why they think it’s the answer. They’re also told…