Thinking must not be forced

By Wagwau Jamesa Thinking, as a mental activity, has been grossly misunderstood by many. Teachers often urge pupils to, “Think!” “Do not look at me, think and tell me the answer,” is a common classroom phrase. Psychologists, however, believe that an invitation “to think” need not be begged. You can provoke a child’s mind to think without necessarily “begging” them to do so. The following tips can help you to sharpen young brains in critical thinking. l Turn the issue around and view it from all sides. Mr. Okumu, a lecturer of Life Skills, Department of psychology, Institute of Teacher Education Kyambogo (ITEK), believes that children can be best taught critical thinking using the “PMI” method. This involves looking for the pluses, minuses, and interesting points about any given question. l Challenge your pupils with questions like this: “Suppose all cars were painted yellow what would be the pluses, minuses and interesting points?” “The best questions to help children think are not those with single answers like ‘what is the capital of Egypt?” says Mr. Jackson Wavamunno, head, Highfield Junior Academy.” “Children need questions which invite them to puzzle and open their minds. In her book, How to raise a bright child, Professor Joan Freeman suggests the following kinds of questions to encourage early creative brainstorming. l For a three-year-old, “what can you do with a piece of paper?” l For a five-year-old, “what would happen if everyone doubled in height? l For a 10-year-old, “what do we need to feed all the world’s people?” l Find patterns and threats. Fitting bits of knowledge together is the foundation of education children should be taught to ask themselves, “how does this relate to what I learned last week?” l Try to improve the ordinary. Human progress is about over turning accepted ideas. Accountants added with pencil and paper until the adding machine and calculator revolutionised the process. Young people are always asking for the “way it’s always been done.” You can train them to think beyond the ordinary and find their “own way.” l Play simple thinking games. Dr. fisher in his book, Games for Thinking, gives simple games which can help children to be more precise in their thinking. Choose an interesting object and place it in a box. Ask a child to describe it without naming it. Can the class guess what it is from the child’s description? l You can also try with a mystery object in a bag and ask a child to describe it by feeling and guess what it is. Such games, according to Dr. Fisher, “help children to be more precise in their speech and more careful in observation. l Encourage children to listen to other views. By failing to consider the “other side of the coin” they remain ignorant of ideas that could broaden their outlook. l Remember that young people do not develop the habit of logical thought overnight. If children are exposed to an environment which broadens and stimulates their minds they grow up into adults who think constructively for themselves. The writer is a teacher and counsellor .