Who Needs Critical Thinking

Our Children if They want to Compete

First, let's get into just a bit of background. When your two best friends are Jewish and you’re not, there will be questions. There will be lots of questions. Gavriel was a Pentecostal youth minister for more than two decades, and after a week of studying, in Hebrew, and meeting with a group of Rabbis, he was finally given the privilege of being Jewish. He was working for me at the time. What a celebration, he had accomplished one of his major spiritual goals. Gary,’s family is more on the reformed side. Gary’s parents were both Jewish. Again, my friends and business associates have so many questions.

My other friends would ask, why do you think there are so many Jewish people are in Professional positions around the world. Questions, that’s our real topic today. How do you teach children to compete in the professional world of business? Well, perhaps this article will help. Let’s begin with statistics. According to the Census taken in 2020, there are more than 60% of the total U.S. population that are professionals. Here’s a list of positions considered to be professionals:

Accountants, Architects, Artists/Authors, Chemists, Designers, Doctors/Surgeons/Dentists, Editors, Engineers, lawyers, Registered Nurses, Scientists, and Teachers

How Critical Thinking is Taught in the Home

Many of us were raised by our parents to eat at the dinner table. Many of us would catch dinner any way we could (mine was the latter). Regardless, there is typically awkward activity and conversation that would go something like this. Once everyone was in their place, a prayer may be offered to give thanks. After that, Mom or Dad would ask, “So, how was school today? Did you meet someone new?” Or, my personal favorite, “What did you learn in school today?”

Let’s contrast and compare that same time with many Jewish homes. After giving thanks, the Father asks an open-ended question such as “Why should people be punished for doing something against the rules or the law?” Are the questions all this hard? No, but every question is designed to draw out substantive thoughts. These thoughts, on topics far and wide, will literally determine the course of one’s life. With each new topic, every question moves the child to think deeper. The goal is to think ahead and also consider the intended and unintended consequences of your opinion or decision. Through questions on a myriad of topics, each child begins to form original thoughts and look at questions, decisions, opportunities, and “the way things are,” differently.

Ultimately lots of discussions will teach the children how, and why we ask questions. The end result is each child will develop their own opinion on any subject via the questions they ask. It’s an adventure of discovery.

Within Jewish folklore is a story, a bit of a joke really, that gives us an understanding of the value of discovery embodied in a teaching moment.

An old Rabbi was out in the dead of winter, checking on friends and family. He suddenly realized that he hadn’t eaten breakfast and it was now lunchtime. He was also beginning to get a sore thought. It was probably from the cold, he thought. He was traveling in the borough of Brooklyn, one of the five boroughs of New York. It also happens to have the largest population of Jewish Delicatessens in the state (some would argue that point). He looked left and right and sure enough, there was one just one block down.

It had begun to snow just as he was arriving at the Deli. He quickly popped in and took the first seat he could find at the counter. He decided the counter would be the quickest way to get served. It seemed like he had just finished that thought when a twenty-something age server was asking, “What will it be?” He said I’ll have a bowl of Chicken soup and Matzo Balls.

The server said, “You too.” His head pointed down the counter and literally, everyone had what looked like a bowl of soup in front of them. The Rabbi said, “Yeah, me too.”

Ever since he was a small boy at home, his Mom had given him what she referred to as Jewish Penicillin. She felt it could cure anything.

The server arrived with a bowl of soup and placed it in front of the Rabbi and then took off. The old Rabbi looked it over and around. Ummm, he thought. And just like that the server was there asking, “How’s the soup?” The Rabbi paused and said, “Taste the soup.” The server said, “What’s wrong with the soup?” The Rabbi paused and said, “Taste the soup.” He was now speaking a bit louder. Again, the server asked, “What’s wrong with the soup?” The Rabbi sat back in his seat and said very softly, “Taste the soup.”

The server looked annoyed but decided to give in to the request. He looked all around the soup bowl and then said, “Where’s the spoon?”

The old Rabbi looked right into the server’s eyes and said, “Awww ha.”

This joke probably sums up the discovery method of learning better than multiple pages of examples.

This is one of life’s great lessons that I wish I had known when I “wore a younger man’s clothes (my thanks to Billy Joel for that line) and was raising six small children plus my brother and sister.

Now, I see that I have a responsibility to share this knowledge with friends, and family, and now on medium.com.

Over the years, as I’ve traveled around the world on business, there are always many questions about where I live and if “this is true about America,” etc.

In America, we’re privileged to be able to learn from every nationality, race, and religion. We have not always embraced this benefit of living in America. However, I’ve found that those that do are typically wiser than others. Why, because those that have not have a more narrow point of view.

What customs and traditions did your family have? If, the rest of us embraced them, would this be an even better society?

Thanks for your time. I hope you found this engaging.