Critical Thinking Reflection Essay

Select one of the following questions and answer it in 200 to 300 words using the principles of critical thinking you learned in this course. How can we reduce poverty in the United States?  Will receiving a college degree improve your career opportunities? Has the United States peaked as a world power? Will receiving a college degree improve your career opportunities? Once I choice this question immediately my enculturation barrier surfaced, because as soon as I read the question I said to myself well yes it does, and I believe I said that to myself because that what we have all been taught by our parents, teachers, and media, so that’s what I know to be true. After realizing that I allowed my barrier to surface I stopped and started to ask myself questions that might help me figure out what the answer really is on my own. I asked myself things like, where is there proof of this? Are there facts that will support what I currently believe? After going through the series of question in my head I started doing some research. After I completed my research I found information that did support my original thought, but there was also information that I found to be informative but didn’t really go with my thought process. I found things like, â€Å"College grads also tend to make more, which many view as a benefit. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, over a lifetime of work, the typical college graduate earns $650,000 more than the typical high school graduate. (The study also found that college graduates have more stable employment.† (â€Å"Finding the Value in a College Degree,† 2014, para.). Which shows that having a college degree can benefit you. The other information I found that was informative was that â€Å"A college degree doesn’t guarantee high earnings. This benefit will depend on your intended major and school.† (â€Å"Finding the Value in a College Degree,† 2014, para.). This tells me that just because someone has a degree it doesn’t mean that they will make more money, they have to have a degree that applies to that job. After asking myself questions and doing some research I am going to say that having a college degree will improve career opportunities. Citation Finding the Value in a College Degree. (2014, September). The Student Loan  Ranger, (), . Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/student-loan-ranger/2012/09/12/finding-the-value-in-a-college-degree Write, once you have answered the above question, a reflection of the process of critical thinking you used in forming your response. Include the following in your reflection: How does the process of critical thinking you used relate to or differ from the process you used to find content for your answer? How can you use critical thinking in other areas? What steps can you take to ensure that you continue to use critical thinking in the future? Reflection The process of critical thinking that I used to answer my question relates because in critical thinking you have to be willing to think differently and not just go with what you think you already know. You also have to ask yourself question and be able to understand the answers. I believe that I can use critical thinking in other areas by making sure that I am always open minded and be willing to listen and learn form others. The steps that I can take to ensure that I continue to use critical thinking in the future are to be able to acknowledge when I’m letting barriers get in the way, and make sure that I try to avoid them in the future. Other steps that I can take are to make sure that I question almost everything, don’t always go with what someone wants me to believe. I will always ask questions and try my hardest to make sure that I understand the answer. I will also continue practicing and learning about critical thinking as much as a can so I can strive to become an advanced critical thinker.