Finished finals yesterday… & the trend continues. In STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) 20+ years ago “critical thinking” was the educational “issue du jour”. Then it slipped off the radar, replaced w/ classroom student initiated group-think (having students teach one another in small break-out groups). I find it a waste of precious classroom time, nothing more than a failed social experiment. I get called out by my peers for not implementing it often enough. Calif (once the leader in STEM ed) has suffered heavy damage, slipping from one of the highest to mediocre national ranking, particularly in math. If you think about it this group-think trend has invaded all areas of our culture. We are fast losing our super-power of individual reasoning, led by well-planned propaganda & the drive to be socially accepted.
I say: RESIST. Cling to your own conclusions. “This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man”.