Common sense and taking action
In the crminal justice field this is an important aspect of being successful and making the right decisions
John,
So true as the right decision needs to be made for the benefit of everyone. Much thought needs to go into how to react in each situation in preparation for the day when all of the training will be put to the test.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I would tend to think that the use of common sense and taking action with the use of the same are paramount in any field. Unfortunately, society has formed preconceived notions that only "super-educated" individuals have common sense. This is a fallacy. I have found that many scholars have absolutely no common sense at all. However, I have equally found that new college students have no common sense either.
If we understand common sense to be a process in which logic is used to work through any type of situation, then everyone is capable of implementing common sense. Maybe what we need is a little more implementation of common sense, which in the long run will make us all better critical thinkers.
Daniel,
I concur with our concern for the development of common sense. It seems to be lacking in some many different settings. The development of common sense is hard work and requires self discipline which are two qualities that many students today don't seem to want to develop.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Daniel,
I totally agree with your statement that the "super-educated" only have common sense is a fallacy.
Earlier in my life after spending seven years in the military I attended college on the GI Bill. I had a 27 year old Physics professor whose entire adult life up to that point had been the education process that resulted in his Ed.D and position. It was his first paying job. Absolutely clueless about anything else in life and no common sense. He had a very difficult time communicatiing with adult learners.
Tipton,
I think I had that same instructor. One of the smartest individuals I have ever known had a fourth grade education but could do almost anything. He had common sense and the ability to analyze situations and to solve problems. Degrees can credential people but it doesn't necessarily mean they are critical thinkers.
I make these comments based upon my own background of being raised on a farm where we had to problem solve if we were going to be successful and complete our tasks. Machines had to be fixed, animals cared for and crops planted no matter what came up. It was a matter of getting it done, no excuses.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think Emotional Intelligence only partially relies on common sense.
I also have found that not everyone has common sense, but wait, this course tells us that common sense is logic and make us better critical thinkers and to become better critical thinkers logic has to be taught and learned.The education system is designed for students to listen, read, and test.Students are often left on their own to think things through and tell what they came up with, but not tell how or what questions they raised to derive at the solution.So often a course or a chapter is reserved for critical thinking.
Kleinkauf,
You make a very good point about common sense and the educational system through which the majority of our students are coming. It becomes a challenge to ask them to do reflective thinking and use common sense when all they have been taught is to prepare for a standardized test with specific answers. We need to try to provide as many experiences as we can to help our students to develop some skills in the area of reflective thinking while they are in our courses so they will be better prepared when they are out in the workplace.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
There is nothing common about common sense is an old saying and is so true with todays youth. You're spot on about on your views about instant gratification and how easy technology has made life.(I'm a boomer if you haven't guessed) For years I've been driven crazy trying to find out why I can't get students to ask questions, or for help, not just the solution to a problem and you solved the mystery for me. Effort, it takes effort to ask a question. Maybe it's time to stop giving trophies to last place.
Douglas,
Like your thinking. The fact is that not everyone deserves a trophy since trophies should be earned not gifted. Making the mental shift from entitlement to self discipline is a tough one for many students and presents some real challenges for instructors. We need to help them all we can but in the end they have to put forth the effort to be successful.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
One would hope it does, but at the same time I can see how ones own emotional intelligence can get in the way of whats right and wrong, don't you think?
