The overall theme of the article is to consider facts rather than emotion when considering an opinion or course of action:" Instead of trying to propagandize children to hug trees and recycle garbage, our schools would be put to better use teaching them how to analyze and test what is said by people who advocate tree-hugging, recycling, and innumerable other causes across the political spectrum.
The point is not to teach them correct conclusions but to teach them to be able to use their own minds to analyze the issues that will come up in the years ahead, which may have nothing to do with recycling or any of the other issues of our time."
"Unfortunately, our educational system is not only failing to teach critical thinking, it is often itself a source of confused rhetoric and emotional venting in place of systematic reasoning."I understand the "value" in minimizing disagreements and confrontation from the standpoint of emotion. No one wants their feelings hurt. But as addressed in the article, greater understanding of issues often comes from disagreement if a discussion of facts ensues.
From an institutional education position, this is yet another example of incompatible goals: embrace diversity but think the same way.
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