Critical Thinking

Simply put, “critical thinking” means pushing your own thoughts beyond the conventional wisdom, being brave enough to challenge your own rigidly held assumptions as well as those of others. Pushed hard enough, some assumptions may gain clarity and ring with even more truth; others may fall by the wayside because they turned out to be little more that a collection of half –truths and even untruths.

For example, it is widely held that undocumented immigrants take away jobs from “red blooded Americans.” Beyond the fact there is no statistical evidence for this, just look around you. Are you and your friends standing in line waiting for jobs cleaning the restrooms at Wal-Mart, plucking feathers from chickens and cleaning out their slop, making the beds and cleaning the toilets at the nearest Red Roof Inn? Hardly. And for those who say round then all up and send them home, just exactly what would that cost? Surely, if one thinks about it, there has to be a better way to handle whatever problems there are with the immigration system as it now stands than building more jails. I’m just saying. (If you need more evidence on this matter, I recommend http://www.immigrationforum.org/research/economy and http://www.immigrationforum.org/research/economy.)

A more precise definition, offered by the Foundation for Critical Thinking, lists ten keywords that when taken together serve as a “guide to belief and action. These descriptive words are, “clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness.” Think abut those words – they are very specific and freighted with meaning.

Why, then, you may ask, does IPFW place such a premium on critical thinking? Two reasons:

1. Only by thinking for yourself, by not letting others tell you what to think, can you become a fully actualized citizen, friend, spouse, parent, free and happy human being.
2. Critical thinking, much like exercise limbers up your limbs and improves your endurance, improves your thought processes and helps make you a life long learner – these are skills that employers in today’s information age are looking for: if you want to rise above the ranks, be a manager, platoon leader, company commander, police chief, marketing executive, you name it, you will need these skills, trust me.

Photo credit: W. Weller, France, 1970.

Understanding "Argument"

IPFW, as you have probably figured out by now, places a premium on “critical thinking,” which means that we will not be arguing in this class strictly for the sake of argument. Instead we will be creating “supported” arguments, because unlike what you hear on talk radio and Faux News these days, positions that are based on documentable evidence and widespread experience are the only arguments that have any real value or merit. Anything else is just an opinion, and opinions are a lot like …. (can’t really go there here, but you can guess if you would like): everybody has one, which makes yours hardly unique or important.

That said, what exactly is an argument? I once had a student who scoffed at the idea that a stained glass window, for example, could be an argument. The more I tried to explain it, the more he resisted. I had the advantage, however, of having studied Art History in college (documentable evidence), not to mention that since then I had visited nearly every major cathedral in Europe and Central America (widespread experience), whereas his main exposure to art and history had been a trip to Disneyworld in Orlando. I understood the stories and historical significance behind the art of stained glass windows, because I had immersed myself in these issues (which, btw, are political and economic, as well as religious).

I’m not saying that my argument was better than his argument (but it certainly was more accurate); I’m simply saying that there are all kinds of messages coming at us from all different directions, and nearly each one is arguing that we should buy this product, act this way, vote that way, believe this, believe that, eat this, not eat that, whatever. Unless we learn how to interpret these messages, to see the “arguments” that are in them, we will always be at the mercy of the messenger.

That’s what critical thinking is – recognizing the real argument behind any message, pushing beyond the “conventional wisdom” to, as Jim Morrison put it “break on through to the other side.” The point here, then, is when you are in control of the messages, when you can see the arguments for themselves and how they really play out, then you are in charge of your own life and can thus make the best possible decisions, for your own good, for the good of your family, your children, your friends and neighbors. That’s one of the main points of going to college, and that’s why IPFW values critical thinking and places it high on their list of Baccalaureate Framework learning goals for you.

Photo Credit: I took this picture of Chartres Cathedral in 1970, when I was a soldier with the US Army Europe.

The Writer's Memo

The Annotated Bib

Although students often resist this project at first, an Annotated Bibliography is a great way to organize your research to date, make sure you have the citing under control, and begin brainstorming how you will write or present your project. It also serves as a “check point” to make sure you are making good progress towards meeting the project deadline. What follows is the Annotated Bibliography I compiled for my project to find the right shotgun for me (see earlier post).

Worth Weller
Prof. Worth Weller
ENG W131
25 March 2011

Annotated Bibliography: Purchasing a Remington Shotgun

In the winter of 2010/11 I decided I wanted a firearm of some sort for home protection during the times we stayed at our rural cabin in North Carolina. This weapon needed to be multi-purpose, with enough stopping power to halt an intruder and scare off bears. Following is bibliographic information for the artifacts that I used during my search.

Barcode. Remington 870 Shotgun. 27 Feb. 2011.

This item is the barcode from the box my new shotgun came in. It shows the model number and reveals that this is a 20 gauge shotgun with an 18.5” barrel with a 12” pull. I’m going to use it in my project because it shows the position I reached on which type of weapon to purchase.

Hawks, Chuck. “Introduction to Shotgun Gauges and Shells.” Outsidehub. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. < http://www.chuckhawks.com/intro_gauges.htm>

This article explains the different bores and shell sizes for a shotgun in layman’s terms.

“Mossberg 500 vs Remington 870.” GunWebsites. Web. 10 Feb. 2011.
< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EkjLkDYFRY>

This four minute YouTube video helped me decide between the two most popular brands of shotguns.

Pedchenko, Vitaly. Rem870.com. Web. 11 Jan. 2011 < http://www.rem870.com/>

This is a frequently updated blog that contains lots of pictures and useful information about how to use, modify, and maintain the Remington 870.

“Pick up a New Shotgun for Turkey Season.” Gander Mtn. Web. 12 Feb. 2011.
< http://search.gandermountain.com/?cname=Shotguns&Ne=1000&N=1775>

I used this web page to compare prices, specifications and features among popular shotguns.

“Owner’s Manual: Instruction Book for Model 870 & 870 Super Magnum Pump Action Shotguns.” Remington Arms Company, Inc. Madison, NC. 2010.

This owner’s manual tells how to break down the rifle for cleaning and how to use the trigger lock. I will use it in my paper to discuss safety issues.

Robinson, Roger H. The Police Shotgun Manual. Springifled, IL: Thomas, 1973.

Although dated, this book from Helmke Library, has a lot of useful information about shell size, stopping power, and related tactical information.

Store Receipt. Gander Mountain. 27 Feb. 2011.

This item shows the purchase price, purchase date, and other items that I bought with the shotgun. I’m using this to show that there was more costs involved to owning a weapon than just the price of the shotgun.

Towsley, Bryce. “Top 5 Pumps.” Outdoor Life. 211.8 (2004): 101-02. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Helmke Library, Ft. Wayne, IN. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.

This article compares the Mossberg to the Remington and explains the features of each. Although not rating one above the other, it told me enough to help me determine the Remington was the best model for me because of the placement of the safety and the available lengths of “pull.”

Definition of "Artifacts"

Much like an anthropologist or archeologist goes out into the field to search for “artifacts” that give clues to the cultures they are researching, for our W131 multi-genre research project we will look for artifacts that will help us comprise our “argument” for our readers. The argument in this case meaning the “supported” position we will take on our topic. It is the “artifacts” that help frame, support and illustrate our position.

Above are two such “artifacts” that I used in my search to find the right shotgun for me when I decided recently I wanted to return to my roots as a gun enthusiast as a teenager (I lived within sight of the Everglades) and soldier during the Vietnam War. If I were actually completing the multigenre research project for this class, about this topic, I would actually use these artifacts in my submission, along with a discussion as to how these artifacts helped me reach the decision that the Remington 870 was the best weapon for my purposes.

These "artifacts" would also be listed in my Works Cited list and included in my Annotated Bibliography.

Welcome to "Mind Meld"

Welcome to my new blog, especially implemented to describe my unfolding thoughts about the "mutligenre" research project that I'm using to replace the traditional research paper next semester in my four online W131 English Composition classes. The word "meld" comes from Tom Romano's description of this type of project, which he writes is meant to "meld...fact, interpretation, and imagination."

In these postings, which I expect to unfold over many semesters, I will describe the project and my students' reactions to it. I will also provide student examples where appropriate.

In that I ask my students to think about and describe their own audience, I should do the same thing here: the blog is meant for three audiences:

1. me, as I think through these issues
2. students, to help explain to them the nuances of the project (as well as some of the specifics, although most specifics will be contained in Blackboard)
3. interested educators who would like to see how and if this experiment at updating and making more relevant the research paper works!

PHOTO CREDIT - the picture that accompanies the title of the blog is a deliberately out of focus view of a stained glass window in Chartres Cathedral - I took it when I was a soldier with the US Army Europe, in 1970.