Discipline is such a loaded word. One of my brothers-in-law asks his misbehaving young son if he wants consequences or discipline, meaning time-out or loss of privilege or a spanking. (He usually chooses the spanking, which is over quickly and doesn't interrupt his life much.)Both choices are intended to lead to skill in self discipline, the ability to control one's own focus and actions. At present, there's a chasm to cross.
That ability to discipline one's thoughts to focus on one line of reasoning and follow it to its logical conclusion is crucial to critical thinking. A further need for the personal self control is highlighted when we need to follow multiple interlocking (and sometimes contradictory) lines of reasoning, all converging on the given problem.
I think it's critical to our positive thinking (and to positive results of our critical thinking) that we keep our attention on the control and focus aspects of discipline and not fall into self-flagellation when we slip up.
Thinking things through is great but if it is done with a closed mind end result is one sided.
Shantel,
You hit upon something that a lot students don't want to hear about and that is hard work. We all got to where we are through hard work. Sometimes our students think we were given our positions without any effort. The more you can help them to see the value of hard work and self discipline the more you will be providing them a life long gift toward success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Tracey,
You have touched on the core of critical thinking. You are so right about the need for personal discipline. With it lacking in so many of today's students it is a hard concept for them to understand. They think with the internet problem solving and critical thinking is no longer needed. The more you can do to help them see that through self discipline they will increase their career potential the better. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Not everything in life is easy and quick. Success takes work and self discipline. The student who is disciplined takes time to stop and think, look at the large problem, analyze it's parts, and consider several possible solutions and their consequences will arrive at better solutions. The habit of self discipline is key to the critical thinking process and leads to successful problem solving in every area of life.
Personal discipline can be difficult for many students if they were not taught how to do it since they were children.
It takes time, effort, and dedication to critically think. You must have self control and not expect things to be spoon fed to you.
Harpreet,
This is such an important part of the problem solving process. They need to have the self discipline to acquire the needed knowledge and skills to be successful in the field, without it they are not going to be able to perform the required tasks.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Personal discipline is very important in critical thinking as it will help the person to be focused, controlled, manage time, respect decisions, have self trust, not be over confident, and respect boundaries within which the project needs to be done.
Candace,
Personal discipline is essential if a person is going to develop into a critical thinker. So many students today do not want to invest in themselves and acquire the self discipline needed yet want the same results as those that have developed this form of discipline. They need to see how important self discipline is to their career success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Personal discipline is helpful to the critical thinking process because it helps keep the person focused on the decision at hand. It is easy to get off target when faced with so many ideas and information overload will take over if the person is not disciplined and systematic in their approach.
Paula,
This is a sequential way of providing discipline development for your students and they in the process of learning this get to see the value of following such steps. This will put them in a good position to problem solve when they are in their own workplace.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Beverly,
It is essential. So many students today do not want to invest the time and effort it takes to acquire self discipline. When they do they reap great rewards in terms of problem solving.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am fortunate to work in a clinical setting so it is easier to instill critical thinking skills and the discipline to develop them. Our learners need to work through an assessment protocol, develop an approved treatment plan and present it to the patient. My job as an instructor is to bring in the classroom instruction and apply the information all along the assessment and decision making process. Our students learn quickly that cutting corners any step of the way cheats themselves and our patients. Then our learners realize the discipline required to understand the fundamentals taught in the classroom and the discipline to apply them in the clinical setting.
Personal discipline is necessary for students to be successful in using critical thinking for problem solving. Critical thinking involves time and effort to develop and practice the skills involved in problem solving. They need to be motivated to take the time and effort needed. An instructor/course facilitator can encourage and guide a student in the process, but personal discipline will allow the student to progress and build the critical thinking skills.
Jason,
This is the element that is most often missing with my students. They do not want to put forth the time and effort to gain the knowledge they need to be critical thinkers. I work a lot with them on self discipline because I believe it has to start there if they are going to develop into problem solvers.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Self discipline is very important to critical thinking. I think as an educator coming up with constructive ways of making it rewarding is just as important. Without that, it's easy to just get lazy.
Franz,
I have found this as well. The previous generation had more and different experiences that put them in more hands on situations. The current generation has not had many of these experiences so we have expose them to these opportunities and they can then develop strategies for being problem solvers.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I believe one problem with young learners is most did not have things to build or take apart and put back together. Most have lived in the computer life and they know pushing buttons and watching a screen. This makes it harder to teach them mechanical work.
Jeffrey,
I appreciate your statement in terms of students not wanting to invest in the self discipline and effort it takes to be critical thinkers. It is not easy nor quick and both of these are what the majority of students want in their classes. As you say you have been successful by being a problem solver and helping them to see how you have benefited from being such is a valuable part of their career development.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
getting students to develop self discipline is quite a challenge. It seems to take too much of their time. That was an attempt at sarcasm. They want thins to just instantly happen with little effort on their part. It would be great if life was that simple, but I haven't found it to be so yet. I made my living for years on being able o use critical thinking skills and discipline. I try to encourage my students to just slow down and think before they take action.
