TC² @ 25
Focus for This Month
Success Stories
Next Steps
Media Release
TC² @ 25
Focus for This Month
Success Stories
Next Steps
Media Release

Celebrating 25 Years of TC²


Our 25th anniversary celebration

As the 25th anniversary celebration of The Critical Thinking Consortium comes to a close, I thank you for joining us in celebrating everyone involved in TC²: the founders who had a vision; our past and present leadership teams; the facilitators who work every day to inspire educators; those of you who contribute to our resources and who are constantly grappling with how to best support teachers and students; the educators who bring the TC² dream to life in the classroom; and the learners who grow into adults who question. Thank you for being a part of the TC² story. Here’s to the next 25 years and beyond!

-Usha James, Executive Director

A welcome from our executive director, Usha James

Usha James

Every day, I am grateful.

I am grateful for the legacy left by Roland Case and the founders of The Critical Thinking Consortium (TC²). It was 25 years ago that this small band of educators brilliantly conceived of a rich conceptual framework designed to inspire learners to think critically, creatively, and collaboratively. That same year, they established TC²—a not-for-profit organization intended to bring that framework to life. (Learn more at Our Mission).

I sense the spirit of those heady days every time I meet with my TC² colleagues. I am so grateful for these wonderfully thoughtful, creative educators who exude enthusiasm for their mission to ensure that all learners have the opportunity and support to grow into great thinkers.

A welcome from a key co-founder, Roland Case

Roland Case

TC² is 25 years old.

The origins of critical thinking can be traced to Socrates’ famous dictum: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” To this day I can recall first hearing that statement in a lecture during the very last class in my otherwise uninspiring undergraduate degree in commerce. The idea contained in that statement transformed my life.

I began to ponder the extent to which I—like so many around me—was sleepwalking through a cloud of beliefs and ways of thinking that belonged not to me but to those who had influenced me. Even when I had rejected some of their thinking, I had simply assumed opposing positions. In short, I was either an inheritor or a reactor—rarely was I the creator of my own beliefs.

During every month of our anniversary year, TC² explored a different focus. In some months we focussed on how we bring critical thinking into a particular curriculum area, such as math. Other months we focussed on a particular challenge in teaching, such as assessment. Visit Focus for This Month to explore ways to enrich your classroom with critical inquiry.

Visit Success Stories, where our education partners told about their experiences of bringing critical inquiry into the classroom.

Feeling inspired to bring critical inquiry into your classroom? Visit Next Steps to find a few steps you can take to get started.

Read more about the origins of TC² at Our Journey. To find more about who we are, what we do, and how you can work with TC², please visit About TC².