Critical Thinking about College Graduates

Introduction

Critical thinking entails analyzing facts to form judgments that are logical and well thought out. This type of thinking allows one to question and have attitudes towards arguments and conclusions on certain matters and not just accept them. College educated persons are expected to use critical thinking skills but it's has become rather inadequate especially when dealing with the administration of vaccines. Most parents find themselves refusing their children to be vaccinated due to personal or religious reasons.

Vaccination of children is vital in boosting their immunity. There are laws on vaccination of children including the Centers for Disease Control and prevention laws that they should be vaccinated for about 14 diseases which have a timeline of within the first six years of their lives. During this period, children are vaccinated against multiple diseases including chickenpox, measles, mumps, rubella, whooping cough, etc. however, there is a rise in vaccine refusal by college educated people since they are allowed to opt out from vaccination. Up to 33% of parents opt out.

Parents have reasons best known to them on why they opt out on vaccinations which may be personal or religious. For instance, Nina said that she does not want her child to be vaccinated on chicken pox since she got it and it was not a big deal since she survived. Some parent delay on the vaccinations as they do not like being told to vaccinate their children especially by the law and they object on some vaccinations not all of them. Also, for instance, Maureen Block opts out on vaccinations as she thinks vaccines have toxic components that affect immunity and she blames vaccines for her child's development of autism.

Arum and Roksa came up with a test, Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), which is used to assess critical thinking, complex reasoning, and written communication. This test uses direct measures and lacks multiple choices. It is based on holistic open-ended prompts that represent real-world scenarios. This test helps to elaborate on what happens to students after they graduate without developing these generic skills. Arum explained it in a quintile manner. Firstly, many students try to look for employment and those who don't succeed end up going back to school for their Masters and Doctorates. Secondly, these people incur a lot of college debts. They seek student loans to finance their education and end up with debts that they are unable to pay. Since they cannot run away from these debts, they continue increasing, and they are unable to file for bankruptcy as it was done in the earlier days.

Unemployment is also a big issue that they face, and it is at a higher rate. The CLA performance shows that there is a three times difference between those unemployed to those who are employed either on a full time or part-time jobs. Also, college graduates end up seeking a form of support by going back to living with their parents. The CLA clearly shows those found at the bottom of the study find themselves moving back in with their parents. Finally, they are not engaged in civic activities like reading the newspaper, listening to news broadcasts or even making decisions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear that critical thinking is important in our lives before and after completion of college. Critical thinking enables one to make rational decisions without regrets. Parents have reasons for opting out of vaccines which are personal or religious or they do not see the need for taking them. Through the CLA test, critical thinking among college students and graduates can be improved to avoid encountering problems of not reasoning. Unemployment and increased college debt or seeking family support are some of the issues being faced by college graduates.