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
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.
Another deep source of inspiration is the tireless dedication of educators across Canada and abroad who strive to find new ways to support their students, even when faced with seemingly overwhelming challenges. When those educators embrace the pedagogical approach we encourage at TC²—and then generate results in the classroom—I am filled with awe.
So thank you for being a part of the TC² story.
In this 25th anniversary year of The Critical Thinking Consortium, I invite you to join me in celebrating everyone involved in TC²: the founders who had an vision; our past and present leadership teams, who have protected and supported that vision; 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.
I invite you to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Critical Thinking Consortium with all of us.
Sincerely,
Usha James,
Executive Director, The Critical Thinking Consortium
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.
My realization that I could shape my own opinions was profoundly liberating. Even when I came to conclusions similar to those that I had held originally, the process of determining my own beliefs made them my own. The difference was in how I arrived at them: by thinking rigorously, weighing evidence, and scrutinizing my heretofore unquestioned assumptions. I took control of my thinking and, consequently, of my beliefs. This realization is analogous to the release of a prisoner after decades in jail—except that it was not my body but my mind that was liberated.
We see the unliberated mind in the students who diligently transcribe statements printed in a textbook or spoken by a teacher. George Leonard is reported to have defined lecturing as the “best way to get information from teacher’s notebook to student’s notebook without touching the student’s mind.” I am reminded of an incident from the classroom: when presented with possible evidence for or against a conclusion we were considering, a certain student looked at his activity sheet hoping to find a designated space to insert a statement he has just read. Finding none, he turned to me and asked, “Where do I put this?” I pointed to his head and said, “In here.”
Fortunately, because of the efforts of TC² and all our partners, we have been privileged to see and hear what happens when minds are ignited. I recall a teacher in India who was amazed by the enthusiasm and singular focus of her pre-kindergarten students that afternoon. She had challenged them to think critically about four mediums: Which would be the best medium for tracing the outline of their bodies the next day? On leaving the classroom, one four-year-old child excitedly announced, “Do you know what we got to do today? We got to decide what we’re doing tomorrow!” That flash of empowerment paralleled the one I had had so many years before in my final undergraduate class.
The etymology of education indicates that one root of this term is the Latin “educere,” meaning to lead out. In other words, our role as educators is to lead students out of the cloud of inherited beliefs and unexamined thoughts and actions--to liberate them so that they can form their own beliefs.
At this point, I know why the Consortium has thrived for 25 years. It is because the need to make up one’s own mind is fundamental to any meaningful life. And we’ve known that for 2500 years.
Sincerely,
Roland Case,
Senior Editor, The Critical Thinking Consortium
TC² was co-founded by four BC educators: LeRoi Daniels and Jerrold Coombs from the University of British Columbia and Sharon Bailin and Roland Case from Simon Fraser University.
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.