Abstract of

First Person
Critical Thinking and Reading

Lisa Mendelman

From freshman composition courses to high school exit exams, the term critical thinking is everywhere. The educationally ubiquitous term has been defined as criticism that combines research, knowledge of historical context, and balanced judgment.

In theory then, critical thinking should be taught in virtually every course in the humanities. In practice, however, my years as a high school English teacher, as well as my decades on the other side of the desk, have proven that the lofty title is a gross misnomer, conveniently obscuring the fact that the majority of our schools fail to teach critical thinking and, as a result, the majority of our populace does not practice it.

Abstract from Mendelman, L. (2007, December). Critical Thinking and Reading. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 51(4), 300–302. doi: 10.1598/JAAL.51.4.1