"Critical thinking is thinking about your thinking while you're thinking in order to make your thinking better." - Richard Paul
If you had asked me before I entered the Human Services Program what this quote was saying, I would have told you that I had no idea. Prior to entering this program I wouldn’t have been able to analyze and fully grasp the meaning Richard Paul put behind these insightful words. Western Washington University and the Human Services Program have pushed my limits and my thinking ability farther than I could have ever imagined and my ability to think critically has expanded beyond comparison to any other skill I have accumulated.
CRITICAL THINKING
Critical thinking is incorporated into every aspect of the Human Services Program. It challenges students to examine new perspectives and ideas and learn in different forms with each course. According to Susan Kincaid (2009), “critical thinking involves the analysis, interpretation, and defense of ideas based individually and collectively on the identification of underlying assumptions and alternative options.” Over the two years I have spent in the Human Services Program I have developed skills to write and think with clarity, precision, accuracy, breadth, depth, logic, relevance, and fairness through many assignments and discussions. When thinking critically it is essential to always seek out and evaluate evidence, question assumptions, be clear and precise in my position, and to examine issues in depth and across multiple points of view.
One example that accurately portrays my skill development in analyzing and identifying underlying concerns and assumptions within a population was the needs assessment written in HSP 485 Program Planning and Evaluation. This assignment requires students to research social issues (for example homelessness and chemical dependency) and assess the problem in terms of current services and their success in meeting the population’s needs, examine current resources for this population, and describes a potential solution to the problem that is not currently being used (for example, case managed housing for homeless and chemically dependent individuals). This assignment stretched my thinking ability and forced me to look at social issues in a different way. I started by getting to know the concerns as well as the holes in current resources and then created a new program that will better fit the needs that are not being directly met as well as they should be. The development of this program required me to seek out and evaluate evidence, question assumptions, be clear and precise in my position, and examine the relative issues in depth from multiple points of view.
Analyzing current social issues at a national or community large scale has contributed to my enhanced critical thinking skills as well. One issue I have largely focused on is the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the United States. This assignment required me to utilize my skills in thinking with accuracy, depth, logic and fairness in order to advocate for this policy change in a proactive manner. My policy brief expresses my interpretation of why this declaration needs to be ratified in the United States and is a prime example of my critical thinking ability. As a developing Human Services professional it is essential to understand how to think about policy change with these critical thinking skills in mind. I have been taught to seek out and evaluate evidence, question assumptions, be clear and precise in my position, and examine this issue in depth across multiple points of view. This process can be beneficial in advocating for any policy or community change or when analyzing current services within an agency.
Developing an understanding of diversity and social justice has also been an influential piece in the development of my critical thinking skills. HSP 455 Diversity and Social Justice challenged me to understand my position in controversial topics such as my privilege, or disadvantages, in race, gender, sexual identity, ability, and socioeconomic status through the frequent usage of thinking with depth, clarity, and relevance to analyze and form my own perspective on each of these different forms of privilege. My homework assignments and my privilege essay are prime examples of my understanding in these areas. These assignments challenged me to understand historical context and current issues surrounding these controversies. From this course I now understand what it means to be a White, heterosexual, able minded and bodied, lower middle class woman. It means that I am perceived and judged in a certain manner by United States culture and assumed to act, be, and look a certain way in order to be accepted as an individual. The ability to examine culturally sensitive topics with an open mind and clarity is essential in the Human Services field. As a developing professional I will continuously practice and enhance this skill as it will be useful when advocating for clients and policy change. This course has also made me more aware of the socially constructed ideologies of race, class, gender, sexual identity, and ability and I will continue to practice being aware of how these privileges affect individuals as co-workers, as clients, or as friends and family. This class and all of its corresponding discussions and assignments required me to question assumptions and examine issues in depth and across multiple points of view.
Critical thinking strongly involves the ability to think outside the social norm. This can include analyzing social issues and developing an understanding of how current resources and services are affecting a given population. When examining the link between chemical dependency and homelessness I noticed there was a gap in Whatcom County nonprofit programs that serve these social issues hand in hand. After coming to this realization I developed a program plan in HSP 485 Program Planning and Evaluation. The goal of this program was to work with both concerns at the same time and hopefully reduce the number of individuals speaking with chemical dependency and homelessness within Whatcom County. This assignment taught me to seek out and evaluate evidence, be clear and precise in my position and examine issues in depth across multiple points of view.
Critical thinking is one of the most important skills for a developing Human Services professional to gain for working in the Human Services field.It allows me to analyze social issues and cultural controversies through clarity, breadth, depth, fairness, logic, relevance, precision, and accuracy. This allows a professional to have the ability to work with diverse clients and advocate for any change they are passionate about. Writing this paper I have come to understand the true importance of having an open mind and the ability to think critically about any given situation. Every class has prepared me to think outside the social norm and to try to understand every person and every situation as its own. Thinking critically and writing with these skills is an incredible asset to any nonprofit organization. This means I have the ability to understand and examine multiple sides of any story and have an open mind that is willing and yearning for new knowledge. This particular skill set can help a nonprofit build a new program, create change, or advocate for services they provide. Critical thinking allows a Human Services professional the ability to see past what services that are currently being offered and develop an insight towards what services still need to be developed. This can be seen in advocating for equality or a new program within a community.
References:
Kincaid, Susan. (2009). Student capstone manual. Retrieved from: http://www.wce.wwu.edu/Depts/HS/Forms/OtherForms /Student-Capstone-Guide-rev2010.pdf
One example that accurately portrays my skill development in analyzing and identifying underlying concerns and assumptions within a population was the needs assessment written in HSP 485 Program Planning and Evaluation. This assignment requires students to research social issues (for example homelessness and chemical dependency) and assess the problem in terms of current services and their success in meeting the population’s needs, examine current resources for this population, and describes a potential solution to the problem that is not currently being used (for example, case managed housing for homeless and chemically dependent individuals). This assignment stretched my thinking ability and forced me to look at social issues in a different way. I started by getting to know the concerns as well as the holes in current resources and then created a new program that will better fit the needs that are not being directly met as well as they should be. The development of this program required me to seek out and evaluate evidence, question assumptions, be clear and precise in my position, and examine the relative issues in depth from multiple points of view.
Analyzing current social issues at a national or community large scale has contributed to my enhanced critical thinking skills as well. One issue I have largely focused on is the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the United States. This assignment required me to utilize my skills in thinking with accuracy, depth, logic and fairness in order to advocate for this policy change in a proactive manner. My policy brief expresses my interpretation of why this declaration needs to be ratified in the United States and is a prime example of my critical thinking ability. As a developing Human Services professional it is essential to understand how to think about policy change with these critical thinking skills in mind. I have been taught to seek out and evaluate evidence, question assumptions, be clear and precise in my position, and examine this issue in depth across multiple points of view. This process can be beneficial in advocating for any policy or community change or when analyzing current services within an agency.
Developing an understanding of diversity and social justice has also been an influential piece in the development of my critical thinking skills. HSP 455 Diversity and Social Justice challenged me to understand my position in controversial topics such as my privilege, or disadvantages, in race, gender, sexual identity, ability, and socioeconomic status through the frequent usage of thinking with depth, clarity, and relevance to analyze and form my own perspective on each of these different forms of privilege. My homework assignments and my privilege essay are prime examples of my understanding in these areas. These assignments challenged me to understand historical context and current issues surrounding these controversies. From this course I now understand what it means to be a White, heterosexual, able minded and bodied, lower middle class woman. It means that I am perceived and judged in a certain manner by United States culture and assumed to act, be, and look a certain way in order to be accepted as an individual. The ability to examine culturally sensitive topics with an open mind and clarity is essential in the Human Services field. As a developing professional I will continuously practice and enhance this skill as it will be useful when advocating for clients and policy change. This course has also made me more aware of the socially constructed ideologies of race, class, gender, sexual identity, and ability and I will continue to practice being aware of how these privileges affect individuals as co-workers, as clients, or as friends and family. This class and all of its corresponding discussions and assignments required me to question assumptions and examine issues in depth and across multiple points of view.
Critical thinking strongly involves the ability to think outside the social norm. This can include analyzing social issues and developing an understanding of how current resources and services are affecting a given population. When examining the link between chemical dependency and homelessness I noticed there was a gap in Whatcom County nonprofit programs that serve these social issues hand in hand. After coming to this realization I developed a program plan in HSP 485 Program Planning and Evaluation. The goal of this program was to work with both concerns at the same time and hopefully reduce the number of individuals speaking with chemical dependency and homelessness within Whatcom County. This assignment taught me to seek out and evaluate evidence, be clear and precise in my position and examine issues in depth across multiple points of view.
Critical thinking is one of the most important skills for a developing Human Services professional to gain for working in the Human Services field.It allows me to analyze social issues and cultural controversies through clarity, breadth, depth, fairness, logic, relevance, precision, and accuracy. This allows a professional to have the ability to work with diverse clients and advocate for any change they are passionate about. Writing this paper I have come to understand the true importance of having an open mind and the ability to think critically about any given situation. Every class has prepared me to think outside the social norm and to try to understand every person and every situation as its own. Thinking critically and writing with these skills is an incredible asset to any nonprofit organization. This means I have the ability to understand and examine multiple sides of any story and have an open mind that is willing and yearning for new knowledge. This particular skill set can help a nonprofit build a new program, create change, or advocate for services they provide. Critical thinking allows a Human Services professional the ability to see past what services that are currently being offered and develop an insight towards what services still need to be developed. This can be seen in advocating for equality or a new program within a community.
References:
Kincaid, Susan. (2009). Student capstone manual. Retrieved from: http://www.wce.wwu.edu/Depts/HS/Forms/OtherForms /Student-Capstone-Guide-rev2010.pdf