Imagine providing training and being able to see the results immediately? Many times we are wondering if the information we have given has really made a difference. I have often had youth who have come up to me years later and told me that the program changed their life- but at the time they were in the program it was hard to measure the success. We often write and explain how training works. From a professional point of view we deliver what we judge will be the most beneficial to the students. Did we get it right? How do we know?

 

When we receive written evidence the results can seem much more apparent.

The most powerful statements of success can come from the students themselves. The following assignment was written by a 19yr old male. He had finished week 4 of a critical thinking program. This is what he wrote:

March 22, 2012

Self regulation

Don't judge a book by its cover. You have to make good decisions before you judge. You need all the facts before you can judge, someone or something. Sometimes you can judge a book, but not by its cover but by your instincts. Always trust your gut and when your gut tells you nothing. You still cannot judge until you know the facts. That is the same with finding a job. Just because the job looks and sounds good doesn't mean it is a good job. It could be the worst job but by its cover the person or job looked good but ended up being shit.

This program has got me thinking about the future. I used to live day by day but now I'm starting to think about the future. My health is one thing I never cared about but now I'm starting to care. I'm eating more and trying to eat healthy. I don't drink coffee anymore and I feel better. My next goal is to quit smoking and before this program I never realized how much will power I have, and if I have the will power to stop smoking I have the will power to anything; like controlling my emotions. My emotions controlled me. They would fight me day and night. They still fight me but now I'm fighting back. It feels good knowing and experiencing I have the power to fight myself. If I can continue to fight myself I can become a new and better person. I'm unstoppable in my thinking skills. If you can dream it you can do it.

Critical thinking and being open minded are the hardest skills to learn but are the most critical to learn. They help you make good arguments so you can win them. You need the facts to make a strong argument and not just let the other person win. In fact it is more fun if you start critically thinking to help out the argument. This assignment took longer because I was having an argument about sharks with my best friend and normally I would just agree with her but I was fighting back and it made her really think and find more evidence to continue the argument. We both had fun and that is what matters the most. Critical thinking is thinking outside the box and seeing what is not there, like finding the potential in someone. People might not see it but you might and that is what matters. Being consistent and reliable are connected. If you are not consistent you are not reliable. Being consistent and reliable go hand in hand. I said I would be in this program everyday all day and I did it, so I was consistent and people could realize I was reliable. I came to this program to learn something and that is what I have done. I constantly learned something every day.

Quotes, Interruption

Don't judge a book by its cover. It works for far more things than just a book. Like I found out it works for people. Even to this day I think back and I'm amazed how far things have come. It shows never judge a book by its cover until you have learned you can judge the book, but not by its cover, you can judge it for what it is and not what it appears to be.