the best way the best way to teach
people critical thinking is to teach
them to write and I made this little
thing that I put online it's I don't
know if maybe it is it in the site 4:34
website did I post that rubric for essay
writing is it not on 4:34 is that not
working oh oh okay well there's an essay
we're hope that's too bad it's not on
the SEC 4:34 website even because I
updated it anyways I have this guide to
writing that's that if it isn't on the
4:34 website it is definitely on the
4:30 website and it steps people through
the process of writing because what's
happened now it's very hard to teach
people to write because it's
unbelievably time intensive and like
writing marking a good essay that's
really easy check a you did everything
right right marking our bad essay oh my
god the words are wrong the phrases are
wrong the sentences are wrong they're
not ordered right in the paragraphs the
paragraphs aren't coherent and the whole
thing makes no sense
so trying to tell the person what they
did wrong it's like whoa you did
everything wrong everything about this
essay is wrong well that's not helpful
either you have to find a few little
things they did half right and you have
to teach them what they did wrong it's
really expensive and so what I did with
this rubric was try to address that from
the production side instead of the
grading side but the best thing you can
do is teach people to write because
there's no difference between that and
thinking and one of the things that just
blows me away about universities is that
no one ever tells students why they
should write something it's like well
you have to do this assignment well why
are you writing well you need the grade
it's like no you need to learn to think
because thinking makes you act
effectively in the world thinking makes
you win the battles you undertake and
those could be battles for good things
if you can think and speak and write you
are absolutely deadly nothing can get in
your way
so that's why you learn to write it's
like when I can't believe that people
aren't just told that it's it's it's
like
it's the most powerful weapon you can
possibly provide someone with and I mean
I know lots of people who have been
staggeringly successful and watched them
throughout my life I mean those people
you don't want to have an argument with
them they'll just slash you into pieces
and then not in a malevolent way it's
like if you're gonna make your point and
they're gonna make their point you
better have your points
organized because otherwise you were
gonna look like and be an absolute idiot
you are not going to get anywhere and if
you can formulate your arguments
coherently and make a presentation if
you can speak to people if you can lay
out a proposal god people give you money
they give you opportunities you have
influence that's what you're at
university for and so that's what you do
is you that's your name you're in
English right you're in ya new language
is anyways it's like ya teach people to
be articulate because that's the most
dangerous thing you can possibly be
so and that's motivating if people know
that it's like well why are you learning
to write cuz you're here's your sword
here's your m16 right here's your
bulletproof vest like you learn how to
use them but it's just it's an endless
mystery to me why that isn't made
self-evident so that's the sort of thing
that can drive you mad trying to sort
out it's like people are there's a
there's a conspiracy to bring people
into the education system to make them
weaker so I guess that keeps the
competition down maybe that's one way of
thinking about it if your students are
stupid they're not gonna challenge you