(1) Filipe Oliveira 6/24/2008 5:04:00 PM
Personal Responsability
People must be responsible for their actions, good or bad. I smoke 20 cigarettes a day (Marlboro red, not the weak stuff). Am I going to die sooner? Maybe, But that's my own decision, and not anyone else's, and it's not anyone's business but mine. Let people make their own choices. If they screw up, it's their own fault.


(2) Chaim Lobel 10/17/2007 8:55:00 PM
Direct our Children
We should direct our children to the proper information. This will allow them to make their own sensible and proper decision.


(3) c 7/14/2007 1:41:00 PM
feel free to ask
"lo habayshan lamed"-pirkei avot
we have to get our kids to ask questions and not be afraid to ask them. a kid should feel that he knows something not because he was tought but because he asked and he "bought" the answer himself, and look up to those people who answerd his questions and didnt make him feel "dumb" for asking.

(4) Miss Manna 7/14/2007 12:09:00 PM
teach children to make good choices by showing them the way...
Interesting! very good film clip. Teaching children these days? You need to show them the "Proof". Or they do take the word of authority, even if there wrong, or teach something that is not totally acurate. its up to parents, the main teachers, to help our children think for themselves. To ask quesitons, why? To make sure that they are not being misled. THis clip shows the evil inclination that this Man was saying, he was sujesting that the child try smoking to really see if it is bad. Just like the serpent says to eve in Gad eden, hey eve, why not try it, you wont die. She did die, but he wasnt exactly telling the whole truth. THings may look and taste good at first, but they also may be harmfull to your health long term.aka cancer, leading to death. We need to teach by example, lead by example, and show our children why we say what we say. There is a reason for everything. and we need to teach our children that, not just the good in life will be put before us, but also the bad. and it is up to us to choose good or bad, but for everything we do and choose, there is either a blessing that follows after or a curse. teach children to think for themselves and choose for themselves, even if they get sick, make mistakes, eat the wrong food, eventually they will learn, even if it had nasty consequences. Thats life here on earth. thank you.


(5) Eve Goldberg 7/12/2007 6:53:00 PM
Do as I Do
As parents we are always encouraging our children to copy us, begining with the foods we feed them from the time they're in utero, moving on to "copy me" when we begin teaching them to talk; how to dress by the clothes we pick out for them as infants (because a 2 piece bathing suit is so cute on a baby girl!) then we want to contradict everything they want to do that is exactly what we taught them to do! So Do as I say not as I do becomes the status quo and our teens are out of control! Let's start with do as I do and stick with that...Consistancy is all our children need to learn what is and what is not a good choice, and there won't be too many things for them to question that are difficult for us, as parents, to counter-mend when peer pressure enters stage left.


(6) kenneth kirchhevel 7/12/2007 4:07:00 PM
give them real examples
as with cigerettes the facts of every action and its resulting reaction or consequence is the best way to teach children to think for themselves. I am sure that the best thing all children can learn to help them make good decisions is that there is a God who has provided us with a guideline for living that is greater than any human expert advice.


(7) yael 7/12/2007 1:35:00 PM
before free thinking-a strong sense of faith
B"H
we need to first give our kids a pure sense of what's wrong and what's right.when they grow abit,we can share evidence.but it is important to plant the seeds of morality and faith from a very young age.and this strong sense of right and wrong is developed through our personal example and emotional attatchment to the ideal at first.then the child can grow in to an independent adult who thinks in a staight manner.


(8) Anonymous 7/12/2007 11:17:00 AM
When there is evidence, it is wise to believe!
Some of you seem to be missing the point. This man was not advocating critical thinking! He was teaching the "important" lesson that when you are faced with evidence that what you desire is damaging or unhealthy, don't accept it, but rather hide behind the excuse that you are thinking for yourself (as though YOU are the expert and will do all the research that those who really know have already done). No need to examine evidence; after all, "you are thinking for yourself!" For example, if faced with real evidence that G-d created the world, has a plan and purpose for it as outlined in the Torah and will always be involved in the macro and micro of the universe (our lives included), then don't check it out, just claim you are thinking independently and stay within your comfort zone.


(9) Hayyim 7/11/2007 3:15:00 PM
Do we mean it?
Clever clip; it exposes a real problem. So often we teach the truths that are important to us as if they should be accepted on our authority, and - like the cigarette lobbyist - only say "think for yourselves" when we really mean "don't accept that other (wrong) person's authority."
Moral of the story: Teach our children to challenge our own most cherished ideas too, not just to accept them unexamined because we say so. As a side benefit, that also requires us to be more reflective about our own beliefs.



(10) Tom 7/11/2007 8:05:00 AM
needs more details
It's important that we talk/teach our kids on matters that concern them, but, don't leave them hanging; explain to them in a detailed manner, but leave the decision making to them. Isn't that how we learned?


(11) Suzan 7/10/2007 1:32:00 PM

One teaches children the love of learning, that inquisitiveness is good and to be skeptical enough of everything to do the research. Independent thought developed with examples set is good.


(12) Anonymous 7/10/2007 9:40:00 AM
research for yourself
I teach my grand-daughter that when something is stated a a fact, we should try to look it up, most times online. Not on everything we say as parents, but things that the child may want to know more about.
I personally get all kinds of e-mails that misstate facts to embellish them. In trying to make a point, lots of people blow up the truth, and we can't take what is said as fact by almost anyone, including newpapers, radio, TV, etc. Everyone has an agenda, you need to see if the facts are true.


(13) Ira 7/10/2007 9:14:00 AM
Absolutely stupid !
How many times do we have to repeat the same stupid errors to find out that they are wrong. A certain amount of prejudice as well as listening to others is necessary to keep things and us in order.
Do you have to put your finger into the outlet to find out that what people tell you is true ?
Independent thinking is fine, but it must come with a complementary dose of common sense.


(14) Yosef 7/10/2007 5:44:00 AM
Brain opener
Judaism is about thinking & questining. At the end of the day, even when I'm far away from grasping the concept, I still have to beleive. "Nowadays" we beleive whatever is on the screen even when proven false. So its about time, that we take our time to questiom & find out the truth. Thank You for this min opener


(15) Xavier Gijon 7/10/2007 1:02:00 AM
Crtitical thinking.
When i was young i took all comments as "real truth". Some years ago i began to think a little thanks to a woman who wrote books in Mexico. She was Ikram Antaki. She made good radio programms of several topics but all of them with a deep research.

I was surprised because i did not think, i just believed all that i heard. Then i became to read books about "critical thinking". It's hard to me but i need to think properly.

"Smoke is bad"
Sure, but i need to read, see, and undertand all the evidence that probes it.

Centuries ago, humankind believed that we lived on a flat world. Today, we believe other thing. What changed our thinking ? Technology, creative thinking and evidence that our planet is like an orange. :-). And brave people that defend their thoughts.

Best regards.



(16) zvi 7/9/2007 5:59:00 PM

schmendrik!!!


(17) PA-DE 7/9/2007 10:06:00 AM
He's right
The speaker was right to encourage children to think for themselves, to not take people's words at face value. However, the children must also be taught to seek reliable sources in their investigation, and to wonder about the motivation of the speaker. A child must also learn that the advice of parents is protective and nurturing, and children will have increasing opportunities for research and reflection as they grow more critical, aware, and experienced. So the motivation of parents to protect, grow and guide should be highly valued at every age, but becomes more balanced with the child's own ability toward insight as they mature. Building only on the past, and only on the more's and culture of one's own family and state is a mistake as seen throughout history where both good and bad advice has been forced upon scientists and inculcated into social thinkers forever.


(18) Anonymous 7/8/2007 5:29:00 AM
Independent or Creative
If the purpose of thinking is to reveal or come closer to revealing some truth, independent thinking would seem to be counterproductive. How can one reach "Truth" if he/she does not build on the thinkers of the past? That is hardly independent thinking. Creative thinking, on the other hand, needs to be developed. Not the answer you were looking for, but I was not just going to take your "word" for it.