THINK
Cognitive Evaluation and Communication
ASSUMPTIONS
An assumption misfires
Did you ever have the misfortune to take action based on an assumption, only to find the assumption lacked validity? Worse still, did someone observe your misstep and sanctimoniously advise you that one should not make assumptions?
If you had read no more of Cognitive Evaluation and Communication than this page you could have replied positively to that self appointed expert and explained that he/she had no idea of reality.
Daily Assumptions
We live by our assumptions. Let me repeat. WE LIVE BY OUR ASSUMPTIONS.
When you sat down at your computer, did you check the sturdiness of your chair? Or did you assume it would support you? Did you assume when you pushed the “On” button that your computer would light up? When driving and approaching an intersection, do you assume that since you have the green light the other traffic will remain stopped? All day long we make assumptions, mostly based on prior experience.
All assumptions have varying degrees of validity. Even the assumption that the sun will come up over the horizon tomorrow may need clarification. Suppose you lived in Point Barrow, Alaska in December.
To live and succeed in this world we must at one time or another evaluate our assumptions. This evaluation must occur cognitively not mindlessly. Hence the name of our program and curriculum, Cognitive Evaluation and Communication.
Built In Assumptions
Perhaps you had the opportunity to laugh at yourself when your electric power went off and you walked into a dark room and pushed a light switch. Or put bread in the toaster. Your assumptions reside in your unconscious mind.
At a younger age I had a sports coupe. To enter, I opened the door, and in one motion thrust in my right leg and followed it with the rest of me. I assumed it would work every time. Every time, except when my wife drove the coupe and forgot to return the seat back, thus impaling me on the steering wheel. From then on I checked upon the location of the seat as I entered. Just a tiny bit of evaluating an assumption.
Assumptions Rule?
Why do we buy a certain brand of automobile, or refrigerator, or ice cream? What assumptions are we making about these products? Do they hold up to scrutiny? What assumptions do we make about people? Have we cognitively evaluated these assumptions lately? Which brings us to a final point for this page. If you do take the time to cognitively evaluate your assumptions, are you willing to make changes in your beliefs and actions that these evaluations suggest?
What can I, as a teacher, do?
Throughout the Cognitive Evaluation and Communication curriculum we address assumptions, and the need to evaluate them cognitively. Some students seem to have the ability to perform this action inherently, and generally succeed in school and life. For the students who never were exposed to these formulations, an entire new door may open to them. You as a teacher can see students clinging to invalid assumptions about school, teachers, life, etc. You can use this FREE Curriculum Offer to direct them toward reality. You can assist them to make maps which fit the territory.
Did you ever have the misfortune to take action based on an assumption, only to find the assumption lacked validity? Worse still, did someone observe your misstep and sanctimoniously advise you that one should not make assumptions?
If you had read no more of Cognitive Evaluation and Communication than this page you could have replied positively to that self appointed expert and explained that he/she had no idea of reality.
Daily Assumptions
We live by our assumptions. Let me repeat. WE LIVE BY OUR ASSUMPTIONS.
When you sat down at your computer, did you check the sturdiness of your chair? Or did you assume it would support you? Did you assume when you pushed the “On” button that your computer would light up? When driving and approaching an intersection, do you assume that since you have the green light the other traffic will remain stopped? All day long we make assumptions, mostly based on prior experience.
All assumptions have varying degrees of validity. Even the assumption that the sun will come up over the horizon tomorrow may need clarification. Suppose you lived in Point Barrow, Alaska in December.
To live and succeed in this world we must at one time or another evaluate our assumptions. This evaluation must occur cognitively not mindlessly. Hence the name of our program and curriculum, Cognitive Evaluation and Communication.
Built In Assumptions
Perhaps you had the opportunity to laugh at yourself when your electric power went off and you walked into a dark room and pushed a light switch. Or put bread in the toaster. Your assumptions reside in your unconscious mind.
At a younger age I had a sports coupe. To enter, I opened the door, and in one motion thrust in my right leg and followed it with the rest of me. I assumed it would work every time. Every time, except when my wife drove the coupe and forgot to return the seat back, thus impaling me on the steering wheel. From then on I checked upon the location of the seat as I entered. Just a tiny bit of evaluating an assumption.
Assumptions Rule?
Why do we buy a certain brand of automobile, or refrigerator, or ice cream? What assumptions are we making about these products? Do they hold up to scrutiny? What assumptions do we make about people? Have we cognitively evaluated these assumptions lately? Which brings us to a final point for this page. If you do take the time to cognitively evaluate your assumptions, are you willing to make changes in your beliefs and actions that these evaluations suggest?
What can I, as a teacher, do?
Throughout the Cognitive Evaluation and Communication curriculum we address assumptions, and the need to evaluate them cognitively. Some students seem to have the ability to perform this action inherently, and generally succeed in school and life. For the students who never were exposed to these formulations, an entire new door may open to them. You as a teacher can see students clinging to invalid assumptions about school, teachers, life, etc. You can use this FREE Curriculum Offer to direct them toward reality. You can assist them to make maps which fit the territory.
