Critical Thinking #2

During my own personal history of education I have noticed that the majority of my studies have not incorporated the idea of critical thinking into their curriculum. The way that things have been presented and instructed to me have been done so through verbatim. Most of the work done in my prior education has been entirely from the book. Read the book due the bookwork. That is the usual way things went. I can say that we seldomly looked at critical thinking as a major element of education, when in actuality I believe that critical thinking is a part of everyday life skills. When I did complete all of my studies I retained many individual aspects of critical thinking that were not implied to me. So the statement that I am making is that education has done a poor job of incorporating and teaching the idea of critical thinking. With this said there needs to be some movement towards the incorporation of critical thinking in our education department. Even though critical thinking is not the easiest form of thinking it needs to be advocated in our studies. How does society expect to gerd up a new generation of doctors, scholars, political parties, historians, etc. The futue of this country depends on the people who take it upon themselves to further educate and broaden their minds.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking in my opinion has many definitions. The important thing is the one giving the definition. My definition of critical thinking invovles three elements: Logic, analysis and explanation. First logic is needed to explain critical thinking because logic has to do with using the brain power that you have to first identify the underlying concept of what is being critically thought out. Next is analysis, when you analyze something you disect it or in other words pick it apart. When using critical thinking you must analyze all the possible outcomes that could happen, and then use the information you gathered to go more into depth. Explanation is the last element that I think helps define critical thinking. After your brain starts working and using logic and you have analyzed the outcomes of the logic, then you explain what it is that you have discovered. Critical thinking: Using logic to identify a concept, then analysis to disect the concept and in end explaining what it is you discovered. I think that critical thinking over time can be learned and if something can be learned than it can be taught. As I have gone through all of my years of schooling I have learned that critical thinking is not the easiest form of response to a question. Back when I was in Jr. High school the critical thinking question on the homewrk or the exams was a BIG OH NO!! At first I had no idea how to answer critical thinking question. Over time my teachers would give instructions that involved structure that could help define a critical thinking question. It takes structure and practice to become good at using critical thinking.

Good Public Space in General

The Question is, what makes a good public space in general? A good public space must have all the vital necessities. First there must be drinking fountains and restrooms. The public population does not want to be in an area that confines them from the everyday life comforts. Next, the public area has to have landscape and waste management maintained. Or in other words the public space needs to be pleasant to look at and clean. It is always important to maintain a nice facility so that the facility attracts the right type of people. Activities are an important factor when considering what public space to visit. People come and go to different places for specific purposes. If there are not many things to do at a public space then what is the point of spending precious time there. Another element that is important is accessible walkways and efficient parking conglomerations. If you cannot walk or park the purpose of this public space is defeated. A good public space in general has a balance of security and openness. The people that are visiting the public space want to feel like they have freedom, but also feel that the premises are secure. People don't like being told what to do they want to feel in control at all times. The compromise is to set boundaries and the way to mark off public spaces can vary. A good public space is marked off with the premises of the public space visible by sight. With an attractive gate that allows people to see through it, trees or nature landscaping, signs designating that there is a public area around, etc. The things that could prevent a public space from being functional: poor air-quality, homeless people, gang activity, unclean premises, no trashcans, no parking, no shade, etc.

Public Spaces

The objective here is to go to any public space and give an analysis of the surroundings or area. I decided to go ahead and analyze Bouquet Canyon Park located in Saugus, California. I chose this public area because it suits the eye and offers a feeling of relaxation as you enter the park. To start off my analysis of this park I wanted to make sure that the essentials to a public space were up to quota. When you first enter the park the entire premises is available visually in one shot. Being aware of your surroundings is important when choosing to spend your time in a particular area. The next thing I noticed was that there was more than enough shade covering the park. Having a place that is air- circulated and clean can affect your choice when visiting a public space. Included in the essentials of the park was a fair amount of parking, accessible, clean walk ways to navigate to the play areas, plenty of trash cans to throw away garbage, some water fountains, and lastly restrooms that are visible and close to the play areas. In ordinance to activities and the purpose of taking part in this public space; there is a recreational play area for children, there is a baseball field playng area, the is a space to play soccer, there are tennis courts, and enough area for picnicing. I did not choose this space because it is a big booming place of attraction. This place is a place to be together, whether it be with your friends or with your family. I conclude this short analysis with the improvement ideas. I think there could be a little more parking, there needs to be a changing table to accomidate people with infants in the restroom, there needs to be more drinking fountains to hydrate, and lastly there is no security watching the premises on a regular basis.