Why “Do I Have to Go to School?” Is a Powerful Question
One of the most honest questions a child can ask is also one of the most important: “Why do I have to go to school?” In the article Critical Thinking in the Educational Environment, Deeann M.K. Cowan shares a moment many families recognize. Her young son, Jacob, wonders why school matters—especially when he feels like he already knows what they’re teaching.
As a Special Education Director, I’ve heard versions of Jacob’s question from students of every age and ability level. Sometimes it sounds like boredom. Sometimes it sounds like anxiety. Sometimes it sounds like frustration. But underneath, it’s often a signal that a student is ready for something deeper: the chance to think, not just repeat.
What Critical Thinking Really Means (In Plain Language)
Critical thinking can be hard to define because it shows up in so many ways. Cowan highlights a Merriam-Webster definition that captures the “doing” of thinking: actively conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach a conclusion.
Dr. Manu Aluli Meyer adds an important layer that resonates strongly in schools: critical thinking includes awareness of context, recognition of bias, and the ability to stay open—taking a “makawalu” (multiple) approach without judgment.
And Paige Brown, a veteran third-grade teacher, brings it home with a classroom lens: critical thinking is the curiosity in your mind, paired with strategies you’ve learned, to reach a conclusion you can explain.
Put simply, critical thinking is when students can say:
- “Here’s what I notice.”
- “Here’s what I wonder.”
- “Here’s the evidence I’m using.”
- “Here’s my best answer right now—and I’m open to revising it.”
The Core Skills Behind Critical Thinking
The American Philosophical Association outlines cognitive skills that sit at the heart of critical thinking. Cowan summarizes them in a way that maps beautifully onto what we want students to do across settings—general education, special education, and related services:
- Interpretation: sorting information, clarifying meaning
- Analysis: examining ideas, identifying arguments
- Evaluation: assessing claims and reasoning
- Inference: using evidence to draw conclusions
- Explanation: justifying procedures and presenting thinking
- Self-regulation: reflecting, self-correcting, adjusting
In IEP meetings, we often talk about “access,” “progress,” and “goals.” These skills are a powerful bridge between academic goals and real-life readiness. They also align with what many of our therapists target every day: language organization, problem-solving, self-monitoring, and flexible thinking.
Why Critical Thinking Can Get Lost in the School Day
Cowan raises a concern many educators share: critical thinking can become a buzzword—something we say we value, but struggle to protect in practice. In many systems, an over-emphasis on uniformity, measurement, and comparison can push instruction toward memorization and multiple-choice performance.
From a district perspective, I understand why this happens. Schools are balancing:
- Accountability systems and standardized assessments
- Curriculum pacing expectations
- Staffing shortages (including therapist vacancies)
- Student mental health and behavior needs
- Time constraints that make “deeper learning” feel like a luxury
But here’s the truth: critical thinking is not an “extra.” It’s a way of teaching that can make learning stick, build student confidence, and improve generalization—especially for students with disabilities who need repeated, meaningful practice across contexts.
What It Looks Like When Schools Teach Students to Think
Cowan describes visiting learning environments where critical thinking is intentionally built into the day. Two examples stand out because they feel doable and realistic, not theoretical.
A Simple Shift: Let Students Help Build the Rubric
At Parker School, students didn’t just receive an assignment—they helped create the rubric used to assess their work. Third and fourth graders generated expectations like:
- “Did our team work well together and stay on task?”
- “Did everyone participate?”
- “Did we use our time wisely?”
That’s interpretation, evaluation, and self-regulation in action. It’s also an executive functioning lesson disguised as a class project.
Redirection That Builds Thinking (Instead of Ending It)
Paige Brown’s classroom examples are a reminder that critical thinking doesn’t require a brand-new program. It can be embedded in the way adults respond. When a student asked where to put something away, instead of giving the answer, she prompted the student to look at what others were doing. That one moment required the student to pause, observe, infer, and adjust.
In special education, we often call this “prompting for independence.” In everyday language, it’s teaching students to think through the next step.
Project-Based Learning and Cultural Relevance: Thinking With Purpose
Cowan also highlights Kanu o Ka ‘Āina New Century Public Charter School (KANU), where students engage in project- and place-based learning grounded in “Education with Aloha.” Students explore essential questions such as sustainability—balancing ancient and modern practices.
When learning is anchored to real questions and lived experience, students are more likely to:
- stay engaged
- use language for authentic communication
- practice collaboration skills
- retain and apply what they learn
This matters for all learners, and it is especially important for students receiving speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, or counseling supports. Skills generalize faster when students use them in meaningful contexts.
Technology: Tool, Crutch, or Catalyst?
The article raises a timely concern: in an age of constant connectivity, are we becoming more distracted and less reflective? Maggie Jackson’s work is referenced to highlight a paradox—abundant information does not automatically create wisdom.
In schools, technology can absolutely support critical thinking when it is used as a research and creation tool rather than a shortcut. The key is adult guidance: teaching students how to evaluate sources, explain reasoning, and reflect on what they’ve learned.
Where TinyEYE Fits: Supporting Thinking Through Communication
TinyEYE provides online therapy services to schools, and that work connects directly to critical thinking—even when the therapy goal doesn’t use that phrase.
Here’s why: critical thinking depends on communication. Students need language to ask questions, organize ideas, explain reasoning, and self-advocate. Related services support the foundation that makes “thinking out loud” possible.
From a district leadership standpoint—especially during therapist staffing shortages—online therapy can help maintain service continuity and compliance while supporting instructional priorities. When therapy is aligned with classroom learning (projects, rubrics, discussion routines), students get more opportunities to practice:
- explaining their answers
- using evidence words (because, so, I noticed)
- reflecting and self-correcting
- participating in peer discussion
Easy Ways to Build Critical Thinking Starting Tomorrow
If you’re looking for practical next steps, these are school-friendly moves that don’t require rewriting your curriculum:
- Ask “How do you know?” and wait long enough for a real answer.
- Use student-friendly rubrics and let students help define “quality work.”
- Replace one direct answer per day with a prompt: “What do you notice?”
- Build in reflection: “What would you do differently next time?”
- Teach source-checking for online research: author, date, purpose, evidence.
- Protect discussion time in small groups so more students can talk and reason.
Closing Thought: The Goal Isn’t Perfect Answers—It’s Better Questions
Cowan ends where she began: with a child’s honesty. After thinking it through, Jacob decides school might matter because “maybe they might teach me something I don’t already know.” That’s the heart of critical thinking—staying open, staying curious, and being willing to revise what you believe based on new learning.
In today’s educational environment, that mindset is not just helpful. It’s essential.
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