Teaching Children to Think

I would never have thought Bertrand Russell, of all people, to have anything useful to say in this arena. I would add to the above that, as children get older, they should be exposed to debate and logic and various aspects of analytical thinking. Give reasons for why things are the way they are, or why you want them to do such and such, beyond the all too easy, "because I say so." Teaching them to think does, indeed, take effort. But our national survival depends on doing so.

at the risk of self-aggrandizement, may I also suggest as reading Neil Postman's book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, for which I am doing a serial synopsis/review starting here:

http://theinterface.townhall.com/g/f735b23e-d30c-4962-894a-42f642a36540

We homeschoolers usually don't have reading issues, but this insight into our current culture is critical to understanding what's going on today (IMHO).

Good point about giving children reasons for why things are, and for why they should do things, is excellent. It's something I do almost without thinking about it, but not everyone does.

I will check out the Neil Postman book. I have heard good things about it.