Self Education
SELF EDUCATION
William Pfleeger
ENC1101-12
Instructor Jackson
Everest University
Self-Education Salman Shocken dropped out of high school at the age of 16. He built a chain of retail stores in Germany in the 1920’s. With the money he made he surrounded himself with contemporary scholars of his era including Franz Kafka. He paid these scholars a monthly salary so that they could write in peace and share their ideas with him. Salman fled Germany in the late 1930’s to avoid the coming war. He then turned his focus on developing art, literature and education. He died at the age of 82 a wealthy man with a formidable intellect. (Schocken, 2012) “Thus is the power of self-learning.” quotes his grandson Shimon Shocken. (Shocken, 2012) Continuing self-education teaches critical thinking, research and individual responsibility. Contemporary education is only the first step in the pursuit of knowledge; it is up to us to continue the path. Critical thinking is perhaps the most important tool for evaluating facts. Edward Glaser defines critical thinking as, “( 1 ) an attitude of being disposed to consider in a thoughtful way the problems and subjects that come within the range of one 's experiences, (2) knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning, and (3) some skill in applying those methods.” (Glaser, 1941) Critical thinking is the process of scrutinizing information that is presented to you, and evaluating its source and validity. In order to think critically one must question information that is given and determine its accuracy without accepting it at face value. Critical thinking is essential to good decision making. As Peter Facione states, “…failing to anticipate the consequences of one’s decisions often leads to disastrous results not only for the decision maker, but for many other people as well (Facione, 2013).” Using critical thinking skills allows us the opportunity to learn for ourselves more about a subject or experience we
William Pfleeger
ENC1101-12
Instructor Jackson
Everest University
Self-Education Salman Shocken dropped out of high school at the age of 16. He built a chain of retail stores in Germany in the 1920’s. With the money he made he surrounded himself with contemporary scholars of his era including Franz Kafka. He paid these scholars a monthly salary so that they could write in peace and share their ideas with him. Salman fled Germany in the late 1930’s to avoid the coming war. He then turned his focus on developing art, literature and education. He died at the age of 82 a wealthy man with a formidable intellect. (Schocken, 2012) “Thus is the power of self-learning.” quotes his grandson Shimon Shocken. (Shocken, 2012) Continuing self-education teaches critical thinking, research and individual responsibility. Contemporary education is only the first step in the pursuit of knowledge; it is up to us to continue the path. Critical thinking is perhaps the most important tool for evaluating facts. Edward Glaser defines critical thinking as, “( 1 ) an attitude of being disposed to consider in a thoughtful way the problems and subjects that come within the range of one 's experiences, (2) knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning, and (3) some skill in applying those methods.” (Glaser, 1941) Critical thinking is the process of scrutinizing information that is presented to you, and evaluating its source and validity. In order to think critically one must question information that is given and determine its accuracy without accepting it at face value. Critical thinking is essential to good decision making. As Peter Facione states, “…failing to anticipate the consequences of one’s decisions often leads to disastrous results not only for the decision maker, but for many other people as well (Facione, 2013).” Using critical thinking skills allows us the opportunity to learn for ourselves more about a subject or experience we
References: Facione, P. (2013). Critical thinking: What it is and why it counts. Millbrae, CA: The California Academic Press. Fromm, E. (1947). Man for himself: An inquiry into the psychology of ethics. New York, NY: Fawcett World Library. Glaser, E. (1972). Experiment in the development of critical thinking. New York: AMS Press. Mergler, Amanda G. (2007) Personal responsibility: the creation, implementation and evaluation of a school-based program National Research Council. (2002). Scientific research in education. Committee on Scientific Principles for Education Research Ruyter, D. D. )2002). The virtue of taking responsibility. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 34(1), 25-35. Schocken, S. (Performer) (2012). Shimon schocken: The self-organizing computer course [Web] St. Pierre, E. (2006). Scientifically based research in education: Epistemology and ethics. (4 ed.,’ Vol