Introduction

This is the beginning of a reading journal assigned to me by my English teacher this semester. “A reading journal” why have I not heard of this before? I have three classes left till I have earned an AS in Biology and I am only now learning of this!  Oh the information that has been forever lost!  I have, without any real system, attempted to take notes while reading my textbooks only to find them unorganized or lost. This reading journal will revolutionize the way I read and study from here on. It is going to force me to think critically while reading.

I have found myself lacking in certain critical thinking skills.  I tend to take things at face value and not really look beyond a first impression, whether that impression is personal or educational. As you can imagine, not actively reading and analyzing the information that I become exposed to can be quite costly to my educational goal.

There are some areas that I tend to be a bit more critical in my thinking. When it comes to subjects that I am already thinking skeptical towards, I think much farther beyond just what has been put out on the table.  I will analyze intentions when engaged in anything politically driven.  Another obvious place for my few critical thinking skills is the media.  I often wonder how true a story is, where the information may have come from.  We cannot leave out commercials. Commercials are often a comical place to bestow any level of belief or even try to be critical.  Critical thinking comes naturally when it comes to commercials considering I recently saw a dog hanging from a post it. 

Something incredibly difficult for me to understand yet use any level of critical thinking skills is when the subject at hand involves anything abstract. Don’t imply or drop hints to me because I will never get it. If you want me to do or understand something you pretty much have to bluntly tell me.  As you can probably guess that poetry and I do not get along!  We are like oil and water.  As for reading things within the fictional categories…ugh!  I don’t generally read for fun. 

I have in recent days been assigned a reading and upon reading it, I felt very engaged in the short story. The story was discussed in great detail among my peers and was once again dumfounded by the insights they were able glean from the story.  I feel as though the obvious strikes me and I can create a great discussion, but I lack depth in analyzing/critical thinking skills.

Obviously, thinking critically is not a strong point for me and just the thought of it makes me feel exhausted! Unfortunately in the field of science it is a necessity that I must somehow learn and acquire. I have a long journey ahead and am excited to take it. I am expecting that as I read with the purpose of using critical thinking skill I will naturally become better and better. 

I am also quite excited that I am starting my very own blog!