A set of materials on learning, and teaching, some basics of Essential Thinking (because ‘critical’ in ‘critical thinking’ is often misunderstood and misused): coming eventually, and piecemeal: three parts are below…

These materials are created for people who are at least typically developing and probably around ten years old or older (intellectually gifted students might find them useful sooner), so I don’t assume cognitive abilities that don’t come into place until later in people’s cognitive development, but I do hint at such skills, because it’s never too early to start moving in better directions. I also don’t hold back on complex syntactic structures, and I do introduce a lot of vocabulary because in order to make progress, we need to move forward from where we are, not keep doing what we already know how to do.

A short guide to learning how to concentrate: everyone wants to be able to do it, many people demand that it be done, and no one teaches how to do it–until now: concentrate

Introductory Material: preET

If you haven’t learned to concentrate, here’s the whole Essential Thinking project on a page: EThandout

Essential Thinking, Part I (getting started): essentialthinking

Essential Thinking, Part II (things that go bump in the mind): ETII

Essential Thinking, Part III (basics of logic):

Otherwise, some fun:

Which of these was posted in a men’s room and which in a women’s room? And what would the little sign look like in a gender-neutral bathroom? (Photo credit: my brother)

In defense of freedom of speech and thought: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/13/mute-button

I also recommend the works of literature by Salman Rushdie, one of the few (and these days, only) consistent defenders of freedom of speech.

Squidge: my suggestion for the sound made when one pulls one’s feet out of mud.