Introduction
“Thinking Matters: Critical Thinking Is Crucial for Success” is the article for the analysis written by Stedman Graham for the Huffington Post in 2014. In this short piece of writing, the author succeeds at evaluating the skills American children and adults have but are not always able to develop properly. Its main idea is about the modern challenge based on the inability to comprehend the importance of educational excellence and the ways of how to use the learning material in a real life. Graham admits that this so-called educational challenge is not only a philosophical problem but a serious disaster the Americans face today (par. 8).
Being the chairman and CEO of a management and marketing consulting organizations in the sphere of corporate and educational markets (“Stedman Graham” par. 1), Graham knows a lot about the necessity to find a practical application to the gained knowledge. People may have their Doctorate’s; still, they may know nothing about the core of the problem. At the same time, Graham proves that sometimes it is enough to have a bachelor’s degree in Social Work that he got at the Hardin-Simmons University (“Stedman Graham” par. 7) to create interesting projects and inspire people.
The qualifications, credentials, and experience of the author seem to be enough to create such kind of articles. It seems that all author’s words are fair-minded and trustworthy because he relies on the things he observes around. Graham believes that the Americans have amazing abilities to improve this world; however, it is wrong to invest these abilities in the technological processes and rely on the information found online. People have to understand how to learn and think critically using their personal knowledge, skills, and words, and Graham’s article is one of the first steps that should be considered by ordinary people to realize how to start asking right questions and analyze the answers got.
Summary
There are no definite sections in the article. Graham enumerates several ideas and explains that critical thinking is a crucial ability that helps to develop appropriate questions and represent interesting solutions. Still, nowadays, many people fail to divide personal skills, wisdom, and technology. Critical thinking has to be self-monitored, and people cannot develop self-discipline and comprehend what they can do with the knowledge and experience gained.
The Americans, like many other people around the whole globe, depend on gadgets and the information that can be found there. The decisions to rely on online facts are not connected with money or disabilities. It seems to be that people are lazy to use their minds and wonder. Graham calls the readers to identify their dependency on technologies and focus more on thinking, evaluations, and analysis of personal achievements to reunite human will, wonder, and wisdom.
Evaluation
According to the article, Graham has two purposes. The first goal is to introduce the problem and prove that the American people face a challenge of critical thinking. The second goal is to investigate if there are some solutions and options on the basis of which people can learn how to think and use the information around. In spite of the fact that Graham shares his personal vision of the problem, he tries to combine his ideas with the results of another author, Amanda Ripley, who succeeded in analyzing the experience of three American students in different countries. It is proved that the smartest American students could fail in answering questions about real world applications (Graham par. 7).
Such argument can become a solid basis for researchers to start working on a program to improve human critical thinking skills. The chosen idea is clearly presented and well-organized. The reader comprehends why the author cares about the issue and wants to understand if there are the solutions. There are no particular strategies in this article. What the author tries to do is to explain that the Americans have already faced a problem. “Children are not able to take what they are learning and make it relevant to their lives” (Graham par. 8).
People have already been identified as dependent on technologies. It is wrong to develop some preventive methods. It is more important to make people think and analyze. Graham combines the expert opinion with real life examples to explain that research studies on critical thinking and human skills have to be improved considerably.
All facts and evidence are presented clearly in the article. Graham does not intrigue the reader or set some complicated goals. He uses the quotes of different people, like Isaac Asimov or James Martin, who may be known to certain groups. He interprets the quotes in a clear and personal way to explain that the opinions of these people, as well as his position, are interrelated. The only disadvantage that can be observed is the failure to introduce all people and their backgrounds to the reader. It is impossible to comprehend who Asimov, Martin, and the author of the book used by Graham, Amanda Ripley, are. An ordinary reader cannot comprehend why the opinions and ideas of these people do matter.
The idea of Asimov that “science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom” (qtd. in Graham par. 1) is powerful indeed. Still, the reader should know why it is reasonable to pay more attention to the ideas of this person, and if his experience is a credible source of information. Finally, Graham suggests the United States several ideas on how to correct the situation and explanations of what step should be taken first. For example, people need to wonder more and use theoretical information in a real life. A learning process should matter not only because it is expected to be so but because people can gain with learning opportunities a lot. Finally, the experiences of such great scientists as Newton or Einstein prove that sometimes it is enough to comprehend what is said.
Conclusion
In general, the evaluation of the Graham’s articles helps to realize that people face a number of problems because of their intentions to promote the technological progress. People become the victims of their own dreams. They stop thinking and analyzing things. They trust technologies more than people. Graham tries to understand if such dependence is harmful to people or not. This evaluation is a chance for the reader to clarify if such articles can promote changes. The only recommendation that can be given is to provide more famous names and examples so that the reader can understand the worth of each written word. My personal opinion about the article is positive. I like the topic and the style used by the author. There are no too complicated words or word combinations. Each sentence makes sense. The problem has been identified. Now, it is time to check if it is possible to use Graham’s hints and improve the situation.
Works Cited
Graham, Stedman. “Thinking Matters: Critical Thinking Is Crucial for Success.” The Huffington Post 2014. Web.
“Stedman Graham.” The Huffington Post. 2015. Web.