is both important and crucial to critical thinking (Kirby and Goodpaster, 1999).Teachers must create trust in their classrooms in order to legitimize the experiences of students. Mutual respect appears to be the straightest route to trust. An educator may develop trust by demonstrating respect toward his students. In this way, he can proceed to developing critical thinking once trust has been established. Students who trust their teachers will be more open to the sharing of their experiences. Peer ridicule and fear become broken with trust. The students are able to recognize the fact that their ideas and their experiences have worth and are valid (Supon, 1998).Students are able to build knowledge bases though the visualization of important facts and concepts. This means creating mental pictures to aid in learning, thinking, and solving (Supon, 1998). Problem solving is an important concept in critical thinking. When a students concepts are visual and organized, he is able to sharpen the ability to communicate that information and those ideas. Not only is this important in learning critical thinking, it is also able to garner enthusiasm and interest from the student (Supon, 1998).Without critical thinking the purpose of the educational system would be amiss. Teachers would be doing a disservice to their students. Students would not be fulfilling their potentials. Businesses would soon flop. Neither a doctor nor a nurse would be ale to do his/her job. A companys CEO would be out of business. A student would not be able to write a research paper. The list goes on and on. Critical thinking is of crucial importance. It must be taught and it must be learned. Without paying attention to this manner of thought, great losses would occur. Critical thinking is an element that everyone in all walks of life needs in order to communicate successfully and to understand vital concepts, make decisions, and solve problems....
