E276. Are We Still Teaching Critical Thinking To Kids? - Warren Smith

Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy

Original Air Date - 3/14/24 Warren Smith is a teacher who went viral for a critical thought exercise he did with a student. The topic? JK Rowling. He sits down with Bridget to discuss what life has been like since Elon Musk retweeted his video. They talk about why the video made such an impact and resonated with so many people, the power of questions in the pursuit of objective truth, the application of critical thinking and whether kids are being taught these skills in school, and why the subject of JK Rowling in particular is such a charged and interesting topic. They also discuss what brought Warren to teaching, what he'd like to do with the opportunities this moment has given him, his responsibilities as a teacher, the lessons Bridget has learned from being in media, the learning curve of being a voice in the culture wars, Warren's perspective on the kids these days, his concerns about the state of teaching, the dangerous lack of innovation to keep up with technology in our classrooms, and why there's something uniquely strange about the culture war itself. Check out Warren's YouTube page Secret Scholar Society - https://www.youtube.com/ @SecretScholars

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Bridget Phetasy admires grit and authenticity. On Walk-Ins Welcome, she talks about the beautiful failures and frightening successes of her own life and the lives of her guests. She doesn’t conduct interviews—she has conversations. Conversations with real people about the real struggle and will remind you that we can laugh in pain and cry in joy but there’s no greater mistake than hiding from it all. By embracing it all, and celebrating it with the stories she’ll bring listeners, she believes that our lowest moments can be the building blocks for our eventual fulfillment.

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