On December 17th, I posted (as excerpted from "Practical Matters")
"My thought is that we should be teaching a course on the benefits and perhaps hazards of critcal thinking AND the benefits and hazards of Magical thinking and let the chips fall where they may. If we provide these two knowledge bases, perhaps our children will be able to sort out a more amicable set of belief structures than our generation could ever hope for."
Somehow, my former blogging buddy got...
".... She has even expressed a 'desire' to see that all schools eliminate any reference to religion, and emphasize rather, a tactic of indoctrination that would label any religious concept as being a 'fairy tale'...." (See www.speedbumpsinroad.blogspot.com for the entire post).
How he got this from that I can only surmise was based on my use of the terms "critical" versus "magical" thinking. I am guessing that he infers this to mean that I am using "Magical Thinking" as a slur. I am not. For reasons I don't really understand myself, I regularly "count crows"... an absolutely, positively magical sort of thinking! I also have and will continue to study world religions, which in many, many cases involve the belief in prayer and ritual connected to future life recompense. This IS a viable definition of magical thinking but is NOT an indictment or a put-down.
In my post, I very explicitly suggested an ADJUNCT COURSE wherein the merits and demerits of BOTH critical and magical reasoning styles could be presented and the students allowed to judge for themselves which they prefer. How is this "indoctrination"? In fact, I do not object to religious education in public schools and have never said such a thing. I truely don't mind having science class right along side RE class, in fact, given the importance religion has in the world, I cannot fathom how RE could responsibly be left OUT of a curriculum!
Now, I will say that I lost my temper with this person and flamed him in a direct email once.... exactly once. He has since seen fit to twist and exagerate much of the content of my blog posts to his own liking (or not) and to do so exclusively on his own blog where he screens any and all retort comments. He has rarely retorted to my blog posts directly so readers can compare his words directly to mine. He now is "saying goodbye", with a final swipe, suggesting how benign he is and how, something, I am.... In his words...
"As a result, our discussions, for the most part, turned into my questioning 'why' she believed what she did about her journey, and her, casting self-righteous, 'illuminai'/elitist arrogant insults at me for not accepting the 'authorities' she esteemed."
... and as a closing remark...
"My 'fairy tales' vs your 'imaginations' is not a battle either of us won, or will win. I was wrong to think my efforts mattered; I was wrong to think you could be anything but the enemy."
"Enemy?". How am I any real threat to you? Arrogant I may be, but I never counted you an enemy. In fact, I can't say I have ever had a stated enemy. I don't sit on any community boards (aside from occasionally volunteering to sanitize the local dog pound floor... and you know that is true), I gave up any thoughts of running for town office because, as a townie once told me "they would eat me alive!", and I don't sit on any school board (having no children of my own)... I just pay taxes that allow other people's kids to go to school and eat a hot lunch. And you know what? I don't complain about paying those taxes. And up until recently, I didn't have the guts to say a peep to anyone near me about my view of the world. So I guess if arrogance makes me a public menace, I must be one! Oh, woe to the world for my arrogance and dangerous opinions!
NOT!
nighthawk said:
ReplyDelete"...My thought is that we should be teaching a course on the benefits and perhaps hazards of critical thinking AND the benefits and hazards of Magical thinking and let the chips fall where they may. If we provide these two knowledge bases, perhaps our children will be able to sort out a more amicable set of belief structures than our generation could ever hope for..."
Journeyman replies, and be prepared, this will move the needle on MIT's seismic register:
If you use terminology without defining it, how am I to know what you meant, and not assume it is an insult or a slur? like you haven't done that before! Your phraseology (magical thinking), didn't suggest a less inflammatory inference. You're very logical, very thorough,(you think)! anyone who isn't, who thinks magical stuff, must be inferior, right?
(what is 'counting crow's? or does is that also a hidden meaning word, too?)
Also, if you inferred an 'adjunct' course be taught, where both sides of the discussion would be offered, isn't that exactly what the illuminati and liberals are fighting against, the meddling of church and state (-run schools)? Oh wait, you mean magical thinking like what is already taught in public schools, that glorify Kwanzaa and Islam, as politically acceptable religions. The dept. of public instruction throughout America is already doing what you suggest should be done. Problem is, they've determined what is and what is not acceptable as 'magical'. Not having any children, nor being religious, even in childhood, I can see why you would think any RE with balance is possible. By the time you were in HS, it was gone already.