Week5 Critical Thinking Reflection

Select one of the following questions and answer it in 200 to 300 words using the principles of critical thinking you learned in this course.
How can we reduce poverty in the United States?
Will receiving a college degree improve your career opportunities?
Has the United States peaked as a world power?

Will receiving a college degree improve your career opportunities?
Once I choice this question immediately my enculturation barrier surfaced, because as soon as I read the question I said to myself well yes it does, and I believe I said that to myself because that what we have all been taught by our parents, teachers, and media, so that’s what I know to be true. After realizing that I allowed my barrier to surface I stopped and started to ask myself questions that might help me figure out what the answer really is on my own. I asked myself things like, where is there proof of this? Are there facts that will support what I currently believe? After going through the series of question in my head I started doing some research. After I completed my research I found information that did support my original thought, but there was also information that I found to be informative but didn’t really go with my thought process. I found things like, “College grads also tend to make more, which many view as a benefit. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, over a lifetime of work, the typical college graduate earns $650,000 more than the typical high school graduate. (The study also found that college graduates have more stable employment.” (“Finding the Value in a College Degree,” 2014, para.). Which shows that having a college degree can benefit you. The other information I found that was informative was that “A college degree doesn't guarantee high earnings. This benefit will depend on your intended major and school.” (“Finding the Value in a College Degree,” 2014, para.). This tells me that just because someone has a degree it doesn’t mean that they will make more