Critical Thinking With English

If you searched the world, you would find nothing better than Ms Purviance and her English class. This year, I have gained much ability in critical thinking in Ms Purviance’s fourth period class. This shows most clearly in two assignments I did this year: the Red Scarf Girl reading quiz for chapter numbers three and four, and in “The Chinese Revolution Quiz.”

First, I obtained much new ability in Critical thinking through the Red Scarf Girl reading quiz. When you complete the quiz, you must understand why Ji-li decided to accuse Xi-Wen. Since I knew that Xi-Wen is Ji-li’s relative, and that Ji-li is not cold-hearted, I said that Ji-li knew that if she didn’t, then she would be humiliated by all of the others, so she had no choice. Sounds simple, right? Wrong. To get this answer, it takes a heap of critical thinking, without which, I would have said something dumb. In another question, you must answer what you think about class status determining your future. If you read the book, and knew how Ji-li felt, you couldn’t have possibly said that it was right. If you think hard, you can come up with very strong arguments. For example: Yes, a grandparent is your relative. But so what? He is a whole different person. Since you don’t share a life with him, especially if you haven’t even seen him alive, how could he convey anything to you? Class status determining is definitely wrong. This is also very simple, but it also requires a lot of critical thinking. It is clear that without thinking about these questions, you wouldn’t be able to put down anything smart. I am proud of this assignment, because I had to use a lot of critical thinking to finish this project, and after I did, I was so successful, that when I looked back, I almost started crying. It was very true, and I was good at arguing my point. I am proud of myself, because I improved my critical thinking, and because my answers made me realize how to answer most effectively.

In addition, I gathered some skill in critical thinking through “The Chinese Revolution Quiz.” You had to know and understand what the revolution did exactly. You also had to convince the reader that there were good things in the revolution, not only bad. However, to figure out what good the revolution did, you couldn’t copy from anywhere, because it was not written. You had to think, and figure out on your own the good and bad outcomes of the revolution. For example: women gained equal rights with men, so they could be educated, work, and own property. That is not stated in the book, but many different things hint on that. You had to combine those ideas in your head to figure out the correct answer. Another example is that the quiz made you state what kind of commercializing during the Revolution used lies to cause people to change, or start using their product. This is called Propaganda, and not all commercials have it. That is why you need to use critical thinking to separate the types of commercials with propaganda from the types without. This requires an amount of critical thinking, and I used it to create a good answer. I am proud of this assignment, because it had a lot to do with the revolution that you had to understand, not just know. I mean, that when you write down your answer, it must be true, a commercial with real propaganda in it, and not just any commercial. I used critical thinking to sort this out, and I got it all correct – on the test, and in my mind. I am proud of myself, because I not only understood the quiz, but I added some of my own opinion to it, and that could develop critical thinking assignments to create the most likely successful answer. Adding your own thoughts to open-ended critical thinking questions is a good technique I learned when I completed this test.

I gained much from critical thinking, but I also learned something about it: everyone knows it is hard to start, but I found out that when you do start, you really get into it, and zip across pages and pages of paper in a frenzy, and when you finish you looked at how much you wrote and think “Wow… That was easy.” That also partially relates to what I learned about myself this year. I do these assignment maybe a little too vigorously, ending up having to erase some bad angry words, but in the end, it always turns out well done, and very persuasive. I learned a lot this year, but nothing like it would have happened if not for Ms Purviance, and her hard, but good, assignments. She always tries so hard to keep us going, and because of that – we do. She is a devoted teacher, and would do anything to help her class. Special thanks to you, Ms Purviance, and thanks!!! ;-)