Let’s start with an obvious fact: You are bombarded by messages all the time.
This blog is a message. The text you just got was a message. Your neighbor’s crazed rant about car seats is a message. Every book, magazine article, video clip, song, television episode, political soundbite, sermon, telephone conversation, and email is a message. They are everywhere. They bombard you through the radio, the internet, the people you work with, the culture we live in. Your kids will be assaulted by them all day long.
And every message has a goal. They are designed to influence you. They attempt to convince you of something, ask a question (or pose an answer), start a debate, or silence an opponent. Most of the time, the specific goal is not obvious. But it is still there. And it is up to you to ensure that you and your family are equipped to respond to them.
So where should we start?
That’s the question I faced before my first Composition class. I had free reign to design the class however I wanted…and absolutely no idea where to go. So I asked a different question: where do I want to end up? And that question was much easier to answer:
- I wanted to create a class that wasn’t as boring and irrelevant as Comp was when I took it.
- I wanted to give the students tools to assess and respond to the messages they received every day.
- I wanted my students to understand WHY they should assess and respond to those messages.
Basically, I wanted to give them a crash-course in thinking, and I called it “turning your brains on.”
My stint on the college debate team and my Masters program in theatre at Ohio State had taught me that thinking was one of the most fundamental skills my students needed to be successful in the world they would enter after graduation. And for Christians, it was even more significant. No matter your stage of life: college, empty-nester, single adult, teenager, mom or dad of young kids…this world needs you to think well. The people out there will not be argued into faith in Jesus, but they will never listen to you about what really matters if they don’t respect how you interact with them, ideas, and the world at large in the “normal” things.
The world needs Christians who are not backward thinkers, who are not blind followers who spout cliches or twist information to preconceived conclusions. They need us to tell them the Truth, even though they won’t like it. They need us to stop assuming that every pastor is preaching God’s truth, just because he’s got a Bible open in front of him on Sunday morning. They need us to actively and intentionally develop a habit of using the brains God gave us!
We cannot avoid the messages, but we can choose not to mindlessly absorb them. We can refuse to be easily swayed by smooth speakers, cutting-edge technology or a flashy stage presence and start standing firm against the messages subtly trying to influence us and our kids. And we can teach our kids to do the same.
But…how do we do that? And how do we teach this concept to our kids? You’ll be surprised how simple it actually is.
The secret to training your mind, to developing critical thinking skills, to interacting with ideas and messages and stories and people instead of just absorbing everything that comes your way, can be summed up in two words:
ASK QUESTIONS
Really…it’s that simple.
Think about a child learning reading comprehension skills (my sister does this as her job…yeah, she’s awesome). Some students can read the words exactly right, but they have no idea what they read. So to help them comprehend, they (or their parents) have to ask questions about what they read or watch.
- What did (that character) do?
- Is (that character) happy or sad…how can you tell?
- Boy that character looks angry (or sad, happy, confused, etc)…why do they look that way?
- Have you ever done anything like (what happened in the story)?
They aren’t hard questions. They aren’t trick questions. They’re simple questions that encourage the child to recognize events, draw conclusions, make personal connections, and pay attention to what they are watching or reading. And it works for any arena where you want to practice thinking skills.
If you want to turn your brain on, start asking questions. Questions like…
1. WHY?
This question digs for what’s behind a claim. Someone wants you to buy a certain brand of shoe…ask them WHY. You’re told to read your Bible, give to a charity, stop do this, start doing that…ask WHY. Culture (songs, videos, podcasts, whatever) tells us that freedom should be our goal and no one has the “right” to restrict what we want to do…ask WHY. Demand answers. Demand to know what’s behind the flashy video presentation or the sexy advertisement. Is this thing really better for you or do they want you do believe them, buy something, do something because it’s good for them? ASK WHY.
2. HOW DO YOU KNOW?
People can give great reasons, but have supremely bad support for them, and this question helps uncover that problem. Someone recommends the best way to do something (clean your house, feed your kids, save for the future, interact with your husband, etc)…ask HOW THEY KNOW? Did they study it? Did they read studies about it? Did they try it out for themselves? Some poll says 45% of people do x or y…HOW DO THEY KNOW? Don’t take people at their word, no matter how well-intentioned they are. Pastors tell you to give or do or live a certain way…HOW DO THEY KNOW? Can they show you Biblical support? This question considers the foundations of a claim. Don’t accept conclusions…find out how the speaker got there.
Choose to ask questions. At first, it will feel awkward. This is a skill to practice like playing the piano or learning a new golf swing. And it isn’t normal. Most people don’t do it. Your kids will not think it’s cool when you start asking questions about the shows they love watching. In our culture, most people want you to consume, not think. They want you to let “them” do your thinking for you. Don’t fall into this trap.
We have to turn our brains on. Ask questions. Demand answers. Encourage your kids to do the same thing. It can make all the difference in the world.
