"Critical Thinking" (an expectation in many college courses), is it taught adequately (or at all)?

   

                             

                                                

First and foremost, critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking to improve it. (Paul & Elder, The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking, Concepts, and Tools) 

We all think and have thoughts and opinions, but how are they formulated? In everything we do, we should have some sort of standard to follow and if the standard is not followed long enough to develop a habit, it will fail and you will be right back where you started or maybe you would have picked up one or two things. 

Richard Paul and Linda Elder believe that only through long-term planning can a substantive concept of critical thinking take root in instruction and learning. They believe that when it comes to Educating Educators, unfortunately, most of them are taught didactically and have not grasped how the subject they teach represents a mode of thinking. " One learns critical thinking by doing critical thinking". 

The concept of actually "doing" is polluted by noise. We are surrounded by information and ideas that are contrary to what we have been taught in the classroom. I think it is difficult to teach this concept of critical thinking in the classroom adequately if you are only engaged in the classroom for a short period. I believe that a very determined person could assimilate and see the manifestation of  Paul-Elder's critical thinking framework if they know how to apply it and hence become very successful. 

In our world today, many receivers are influenced by the news. I wonder if anyone is thinking about what the news is informing us. In light of the tragic deaths of 19 children and 2 adults by a gunman in Uvalde, Texas, who is said to have been only 18 years old, is anyone else thinking about how this man formulated his thoughts? There is a lot of talk about gun laws, and this is necessary, but how about mental health? We as a society, need to be informed on how we can pick up and decode the messages of someone crying for help.