Sir, – Dr James Finnegan (December 27th) asks that if we request that schools, particularly State-funded schools, teach children “how to think rather than what to think” then are we not ourselves guilty of telling them “what to think”?
It may be a clever play on words, but it is no joke that denying children critical thinking is detrimental to their wellbeing in so many areas of their lives.
As a doctor he might appreciate that a little more critical thinking would benefit the nation’s health more than the “Sure granny smoked 40 a day and she lived to 90” or “Sure five pints a day never did your da any harm”.
So, in answer to his last point – no, it’s not really that tricky at all.
A good dose of critical thinking all round is long overdue, and I don’t need an apple a day to work that out. – Yours, etc,