These look like trick questions.....

[nancylebov]

From The Last Psychaitrist:

Was Brontosaurus A Herbivore?




I.

1a. George Washington is the father of our country, the Revolutionary War general who helped free the colonies from their British rule. In what country was George Washington born?

2a. What modern animal is most genetically similar to a triceratops?

3a. T or F: The majority of the available scientific evidence strongly suggests that nicotine increases the risk of cancer.

4a. Your best friend in the whole world, Tom, sends you a letter which begins with the first two lines of Richard III: "Now is the winter of our discontent..." That's bad, right?

5a. Galileo, the scientist famously remembered by his first name, invented the 3x telescope. What, if anything, was going on in America at the same time?

The questions are entertaining, but I'm most interested in one of the comments, which says that European schools do a better job of teaching critical thinking in the primary and secondary schools than the fact-based early education in the US.

As far as I can remember critical and contextual thinking were hardly touched on in my primary and secondary education, which was at what were considered pretty good public schools in the US. (1959-1971)

I'm curious-- were you taught critical thinking in primary and/or secondary school? When and where were your schools?

And would smoking be safer if nicotine was added to cigarettes?

Comments

[milimod.livejournal.com]

I attended public school on Long Island during the 1960s and 1970s. I don't believe we were taught critical thinking, except that the teachers wanted to believe they were teaching it. We had straitlaced schoolmarm types in elementary school teaching us to shut up and obey and be good citizens; in jr high and high school we had a few younger activist teachers who tried to tell us that everything we'd been taught up until that time was a lie. Either way, no one wanted us to think for ourselves. If you answered questions on tests that went against their agenda, they'd find a way to flunk you.

I think the most constructive teacher I ever had was a Spanish teacher who had traveled the world and lived in Manhattan. Her wise words were: "One day, if you're lucky, you will all come to understand how terribly provincial your existence is." I found out what the word meant and made up my mind that the last thing I ever wanted to be was provincial. Judging from what I've seen and heard of some former classmates, the words did not make any difference for them.

[sterlingspider.livejournal.com]

It took me a long time to realize that we on Long Island really are the bizarre timeless village shut off from the rest of the world by impassable mountains and cruel dragons.

It sounds ridiculous initially, but the geographical barrier of the city makes it so difficult to come here or leave (between the time sink, the expense, and the danger if you are not familiar with city traffic) that our world is impossibly tiny and squished.