I grew up in a chaotic home. To survive I needed to find coping mechanisms. Mine was escaping into a book. I could get lost in a story that took me to faraway places and adventures where my imagination let loose. Reading all kinds of books continues to bring enjoyment.<\/p>\n
As this semester began, I was excited to dig into each book. However, my anticipation turned into panic when I opened the first book and thought, how can I, ever, read all this in a week then write something meaningful? Yet, the class meeting gave the journey a whole new perspective. My first lesson for this semester is not about how to read<\/em> critically. The first lesson is that jumping to conclusions without all the information does not serve my emotional, spiritual, professional, or educational growth. Professionally I know that. Personally, I needed the reminder.<\/p>\n In elementary school, my teachers instructed students to get to know a book before starting a story. This meant we would look at covers, talk about the author, and read the titles of the chapters. I had no idea at the time that I was learning a basic form of inspectional reading. Some of the methods that Mortimer Adler recommended in How to Read a Book<\/em> [1]<\/a>have been part of my routine since those early days when an initial perusal became my norm. Thankfully, Adler did not stop there. This year I am looking forward to practicing syntopical reading and writing. This will be a new skill. My initial impression is that syntopical reading and critical thinking are linked.<\/p>\n Several areas that Paul and Elder discussed in The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking<\/em> make sense to me. As a CEO of a nonprofit organization, I need to believe that, while I am not personally able to solve every situation brought to me, there are just resolutions within reach. That requires learning, listening, and trusting others while looking at all sides of the problem. I call it thinking strategically, but a correlation to developing critical thinking academically feels logical. In the final pages of this book, the authors discussed modes of thinking.[2]<\/a> \u00a0I see another correlation to work and this concept. My organization is committed to core values in service delivery and operations, my thinking needs to be strategic and critical. How will a decision fit the mission? Are we treating employees with more than simply the minimum legal standards but also ethically?<\/p>\n Smart notetaking is the most disconcerting to me. The practice of the slip box[3]<\/a> that Sonke Ahrens mentions in How To Take Smart Notes<\/em>, feels clunky. However, the online options of Obsidian and Zotero do not resonate either. I need to pick one and commit to giving it an honest chance.<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren, How To Read A Book, The Classic Guide To Intelligent Reading<\/em> (New York, NY: Touchstone, A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2014), 32-34.<\/p>\n