I cannot draw. I’ve known this for all of my life. And no, I don’t buy the “anyone can draw” bullshit. So, when I signed up for a psychology class, the last thing I expected was an art component. But that’s what I have to do. Now, I’ll draw, but it does not do anything for my learning experience. Just the opposite, it bogs me down. I do not get the thought behind making me do art. It seems to be an unsound theory not supported by any real-world situations.

Now, I get the concept of critical thinking. I believe it is a crucial aspect of being able to succeed in the world. However, I’m not convinced that it is a process that can be taught equally to everyone with the expectation of a universal time-frame. People learn at different paces and in different ways. I am a word thinker. My thoughts are dialogue. I cannot visualize anything. Nor do I hear music. Or have music in my mind. Just words. Just dialogue. So, I am a simple man who likes to receive information through words. I will go through life using what I was taught, gaining mastery at my pace.

It irritates me when education goes beyond educating and forces premature “mastery” of subjects. In other words, they are trying to force comprehension. It is the one thing I have learned in all my years as a counselor – I cannot force my clients to gain comprehension. It is a spontaneous process that occurs at a different pace for each individual. Mastery is gained through repeated effort. And through their respective manner of thinking. Kinetic thinkers, auditory thinkers, visual thinkers, and emotive thinkers all learn in different ways. Unfortunately, teachers are forced to craft a classroom without regard to the various manner of thinking. And that’s a shame.

Oh, and for the first time since I started college, I have an instructor that I am not liking. It’s a first for me.