EVIDENCE OF CRITICAL THINKING
"Critical thinking is that mode of thinking — about any subject, content, or problem — in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it. Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem-solving abilities, as well as a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism" (Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2013).
Improving the quality of my thinking has been a major part of my time in the Human Services program (and on Western Washington University's campus, in general). As the Foundation of Critical Thinking states above, this type of thought process involves skillful analysis and assessment, effective communication, problem-solving, and the ability to be reflective of one's own work. There have been many opportunities for me to practice and hone this these skills, including field experience and written work.
First, I had the privilege of interning at Bellingham's Hope House, a food and clothing bank run by Catholic Community Services. There, I learned to be clear and accurate in my thought process and communication skills. This was imperative because, without those skills, I would have confused the clientele. Many of the individuals that utilized Hope House were either non-English speaking, disabled, or homeless. There were also many people inside the building every day, so items went quickly and body space was limited. I had to quickly guide the clientele so that others could use the space. With effective communication came problem-solving. When we ran out of items, I was in charge of finding them in the upstairs storage room. However, the upstairs was a mess and completely unorganized. I spent a lot of time at my internship (and as a current volunteer) creating a system so that the items could be easily accessed and relocated downstairs when need be.
Second, my experience in Peru, where I interned with the Mary Bloom Center, a non-profit organization in Puno, Peru, who's "primary focus is to provide direct material aid in the form of medicine, food, clothes and educational scholarships as well as to help strengthen families by educating health professionals and young married couples in fertility appreciation and is associated with WOOMB International to help teach Natural Family Planning" (MBC, 2014). This internship relied upon the critical thought process immensely. Not only was I working with non-English speakers, I was entering in to a culture completely different from my own--located at an altitude that was dangerous to your health if you were not prepared (the picture below shows just how high above sea level I was).
While in Peru, I was also given the task of a.) assisting the Health Team (I am a certified Nursing Assistant) and b.) leading the Education/Catechesis Team. This took a lot of critical thinking to remain organized and have a logistics plan so that every task could be met in order for us to reach our goals. I also had to be a spokesperson for my team to the people we were serving. Cultural competency was a must, so I was very cautious about being too "American" with my behavior. In the picture below, I am supervising a group of Peruvian children while they learn about their culture on Lake Titicaca. The second image is of myself directing the children to their next activity.
There is another aspect to critical thinking--beyond problem-solving and planning strategies. Critical thinking also involves reflection on the injustices within various systems. Whether those injustices involve institutional, political, or social discrimination, the fact is that they exist across the board all over the world. This was a common discussion point in all of my courses throughout the Human Services program. We discussed strategies to overcome such discrepancies, why they exist, and why such things can not be fixed overnight.