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Raising Critical Thinkers: A Parent's Guide to Growing Wise Kids in the Digital Age

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A guide for parents to help children of all ages process the onslaught of unfiltered information in the digital age.

Education is not solely about acquiring information and skills across subject areas, but also about understanding how and why we believe what we do. At a time when online media has created a virtual firehose of information and opinions, parents and teachers worry how students will interpret what they read and see. Amid the noise, it has become increasingly important to examine different perspectives with both curiosity and discernment. But how do parents teach these skills to their children?

Drawing on more than twenty years’ experience homeschooling and developing curricula, Julie Bogart offers practical tools to help children at every stage of development to grow in their ability to explore the world around them, examine how their loyalties and biases affect their beliefs, and generate fresh insight rather than simply recycling what they’ve been taught. Full of accessible stories and activities for children of all ages, Raising Critical Thinkers helps parents to nurture passionate learners with thoughtful minds and empathetic hearts.

352 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2022

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About the author

Julie Bogart

21 books221 followers
Julie Bogart is the popular voice of common sense and compassion for home educators. Her online coaching community, The Homeschool Alliance, her podcast A Brave Writer's Life in Brief, and her YouTube channel are lifelines for tens of thousands of weary homeschoolers all over the world.

Julie’s the creator of the award-winning, innovative online writing program called Brave Writer and the fast-growing weekly habit called Poetry Teatime. She home educated her five children who are now globe-trotting adults.

Her newest book, The Brave Learner tackles the conundrum of parents who want their children to have academic success, and children who want to be happy.

Can’t we get these two desires together: learning that develops skill and creates joy? Creating a love of learning in your family is as easy as lighting a fire. You just need a book of matches. The Brave Learner is that book.

Today, Julie lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, and can be found sipping a cup of tea, planning her next visit to one of her lifelong-learning kids.

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5 stars
533 (34%)
4 stars
621 (39%)
3 stars
323 (20%)
2 stars
60 (3%)
1 star
25 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 243 reviews
Profile Image for Chris Boutté.
Author 7 books204 followers
February 6, 2022
I’m the father of a 13-year-old son, and sometimes I sit back and think about how if he became a conspiracy theorist or got sucked into a cult or MLM, I’d feel like I failed as a parent because I didn’t teach him how to think critically. If you think about this as well or just want to make sure your kid doesn’t fall for misinformation, get this book from Julie Bogart. I read a ton of books on critical thinking, biases, and thinking errors, and this book is perfect for coming up with ways to help kids think better. Bogart fills the book with practices and exercises, and best of all, it reminds the reader that even though you’re the adult, you have your own thinking to take care of as well. This is a fantastic book, and I hope every parent and teacher reading this review grabs a copy.
Profile Image for Elyse.
541 reviews19 followers
February 15, 2022
Book 20 of 2022

There are significant pros and cons to this book for me. I think that we are living in a time when critical thinking has gone out the window. I appreciated @JulieBogart tackling the ideas of facts, bias, opinions, worldview, etc. Over the past few years we have seen people unable to engage in conversation. It seems that the ability to come to one’s own conclusion through research and interpretation is not more. Instead people are sponges, just soaking up what is being told to them without any research, encounter, experience or understanding. So in general, I liked her take on the step by step evaluations we all do daily, and what we need to do moving forward, in order to gain self-awareness in thought.

But at the same time, it is clear that @JulieBogart and I have a vastly different worldview. My entire belief system, including my foundation of faith, changes my perspective from hers. I belief in a moral truth from Christ and the Bible that supersedes all else, and that guides my life. This is clearly not something that the author embraces and that means some of her conclusions are not the ones I would draw.

Rating — three stars
Format— hardcover
Profile Image for Deon.
1,079 reviews143 followers
February 10, 2023
I didn't enjoy the author's first book, I tried again.. But she lost me at "pregnant person".
2 reviews2 followers
January 29, 2022
Raising Critical Thinkers is a book that I will return to time and again. While the title suggests that the book will show us how we can teach our children to think critically (which it does so well!), I truly believe the information, ideas, and activities in the book will greatly benefit every single person, adult and child alike. How can we teach our children to think critically if we cannot do so ourselves??? I love how Julie is able to expertly blend the deep research she has done with personal experiences, and deliver it all in a way that is informative, while also making you feel like you are conversing with a friend.

This is NOT a book that will debate politics or hot topic issues, like masks/covid, religion, political issues, which media sources to consume, etc, so do not worry about that!
Profile Image for Elizabeth Santelmann.
Author 1 book101 followers
January 8, 2024
If you’re a parent who wants to teach their teen to step out of what they assume to be true, and look at all the points of view this will be excellent.
She has exercises that help guide kids to learn and understand rather than immediately argue based on what they think they already know.

She also helps teach kids how to fact check websites, know what is creditable, and put together solid research.

The book has quite a lot of mixed reviews because people assume since she’s a homeschool mom she’s going to write overwhelmingly to the Christian perspective.
She doesn’t write against faith, but rather encourages parents to challenge their kids assumptions about faith, so they have to define it. I think parents in here who are upset don’t understand that if they don’t ask their kids these questions, someone else will.
Listening, learning, and looking at different perspectives isn’t against the Christian faith. I think the illustrations she uses are specifically picked for the homeschool community because they are ones we don’t hear about often.
Profile Image for Kendra Andrus.
Author 5 books15 followers
February 1, 2022
I've been waiting for a book like this and Julie does not disappoint with her practical and conversational and upbeat, encouraging style. This book is a must-read for all parents and educators. The times we are living in present so many challenges in the realm of information and bias that critical thinking skills are of utmost importance for us all. This book is excellent and informative and inspiring. It would lend itself well to a book club in which you can practice the skills through conversation, exploring everything further!
Profile Image for Sara Martinez.
56 reviews
August 19, 2022
Raising Critical Thinkers wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. In some ways it surprised, inspired and grew me. In others it really let me down. Julie Bogart teaches us to help our children digest information they are given in a technology filled world. Which is great ! But as a Christian I was a bit turned off by the way she approached "keeping an open mind" to the point where it doesn't seem like objective truth exists. Right vs wrong. At the end of chapter 11 she mentions the Bible as an ancient text that has been translated so many times, and the way she presents her facts makes it seem like the Bible is unreliable (even though there is so much archeological and historical proof both of the text itself and the events mentioned). She makes a statement about human life having value; while simultaneously denying that any one fact can be true forever more, and it's susceptible to change based on the society of that time (which she confirms with her statement about Roe vs Wade on page 286.) She proposes a life of wonder and inquiry, without ever finding truth and certainty, and in the end she uses fear tactics (allow your children to explore different views, and welcome their beliefs even if they contradict yours OR ELSE they'll escape from your control and do it anyways") yikes.
February 1, 2022
Do you have kids? Do you long for them to use their minds and learn the skills of critical thinking instead of believing anything they read online or hear from a friend? Then this book is for you!

Julie is a delight to read! Her book feels like a conversation over coffee with a good friend. Almost every page had me thinking, “YES! That’s exactly how I feel and what I need!” Every chapter has age-specific activities for you to do with your kids ranging from video gaming to grammar and math to reading books and participating in social media. They sound so fun, I can’t wait to try them out.

It is NOT a book telling you what you and your child should think about politics, race, or religion. It’s not a book teaching you how to get your child to embrace your beliefs. It is a book that will help your child gain the skills to take in information, evaluate it, and form solid convictions of their own. And if you are like me, you will learn so much yourself, as well.

Profile Image for Chloe (Always Booked).
2,307 reviews134 followers
January 23, 2023
I think this author may just not be the author for me. This is the 2nd book I've read by her and, while I think there are some significant nuggets to be taken from both of them, the lack of focus and clear direction makes it hard to read. Her writing style seems to be a little stream of consciousness or something. This book is about raising critical thinkers and gives a ton of practical applications (mostly for older kids) for how to get them to think critically, but what does that mean? If you're going to base your whole book on critical thinking- I think it would be really helpful to define what that means to you because the lack of definition makes this feel unfocused. So many of the chapters were just how to get them to learn, which is helpful, but is it critical thinking? There were a lot of good ideas in here, bt also a lot of long winded arrogance that I didn't love.
Profile Image for Liesl Back.
112 reviews16 followers
February 26, 2023
I'm giving 4 stars because I personally didn't derive a lot of enjoyment out of the book (maybe because my husband and a close friend are super critical thinkers and this book was overkill to me-a follower), but at the same time I think Bogart's premise is very timely and could be very helpful.

Our school systems (and churches) traditionally teach children memorization of right answer / wrong answer, rather than investigating the WHY or HOW. Instead of raising robots that can successfully fill in a bubble on an SAT, how about raising intellectual adults that know how to discuss areas of contention with grace and knowledge? How to research without bias?

The author put a lot of research into this study.
Profile Image for Puty.
Author 7 books1,179 followers
Read
September 17, 2023
An interesting approach to critical thinking: teaching it to your kids / students. I got a lot of insights and ideas to try at home but at some point, I came to realization; "Wow, it's really hard; time consuming and energy draining." 😂

It criticized our current mainstream education system, which is valid at some points, but at the same time showed how being able to think critically (or be trained to do so) is a kind of privilege and a very western thing.

But again, some parts really got me thinking and I especially like the part where she mentioned that we don't encourage critical thinking by telling people to be 'open-minded' but instead to have this self-awarenss and be mindful of our full mind; our identity, values, bias and frame of seeing things.
Profile Image for Summer Crepelle.
18 reviews
November 29, 2023
Loved this book. I only wish I would have bought the hard copy instead of the audio book because there are many things I would have liked to highlight and reference later on.
Profile Image for Kellie Monibidor (Hermansen).
73 reviews2 followers
September 15, 2022
Audiobook.

I struggle with rating this book. It’s an excellent resource for teaching your children; it just has little to do with critical thinking.

The entire premise is “thinking critically about critical thinking”, meaning the way we used to do it (you know, putting aside bias and trying to get to the truth using as much factual information as possible) is now passé. We need to think more with our feelings, apparently.

One of her brilliant ideas is to ask someone who states an opinion, “what experience do you have with that?” As if you need to have direct experience in order to form an opinion. Since when? I agree that experience would give you a deeper dimension of understanding, but it doesn’t replace truth. There’s no such thing as subjective truth.

To put it bluntly, this author is “woke” and it shows. Intellectually lightweight material, although there are some nuggets in there. Lots of fun word activities that I will be doing with my children. They’re like “language appreciation and exploration” activities. I suppose they help with critical thinking because they expand the person’s understanding of how words can be used to define a wider array of meanings than their denotation.

Throughout the book I couldn’t help but be reminded of the scripture: “ever learning and never coming to a knowledge of the truth.” That’s why it helps to have a solid belief system, like a religion. Without that, it’s very easy to think your way into insanity. She does well including religion in the book, actually, without insulting it, I’ll give her that. But at the end of the day, if you don’t have that as your final judgement, you can be convinced of pretty much anything.
Profile Image for Yvonne Reynders.
408 reviews11 followers
November 21, 2022
I can't say it much better than Adam Grant...

"In a world where too many people think they know what isn't so, there are few skills more vital than critical thinking and rethinking. This is the guide parents need to teach their kids to become thoughtful consumers of information."
-Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again

I loved Grant's book Think Again and this book, Raising Critical Thinkers by the amazing Julie Bogart, reminded me of Grant's Think Again. His book was written for all people, encouraging us to always think critically and when we think we know something, he encourages us to think again. Bogart's book is geared towards parents and is full of fabulous ideas you can implement to encourage your children to become critical thinkers. Some of her suggestions are so simple! Yet so influential. I recommend this book. And a great companion book to read after or before is Think Again by Adam Grant.
Profile Image for Catherine Mumm.
22 reviews
June 22, 2022
DNF - I couldn’t get past the first chapter in which the author refers the well known marshmallow test as an Oreo cookie test (I do understand that cookies were also offered to some participants but that’s not how it’s known) AND she refers to the test via what is written in another book (so not from the original source) AND she seems convinced of the original results from a small sample size of homogeneous subjects. Did she miss the more current experiments of a much larger sample size and a more representative group of the general population that did not come up with duplicate results? Or was she trying to push a certain narrative?
Profile Image for Ietrio.
6,704 reviews25 followers
March 14, 2022
Apparently for Bogart, critical thinker is an euphemism meaning ”one who strictly conforms to the given narrative”. This is the guide of not straying away from the ”straight path”.
Profile Image for Joelle McNulty.
50 reviews
March 7, 2023
Like other things I’ve read by Julie Bogart, this is a bit of a mixed bag. While I appreciated some sections of this book, I disagreed with other sections. Stuff I appreciated: things about media literacy, interpreting studies, evaluating sources, some of the exercises like evaluating news articles, etc. However, a lot of this book reminded me of a certain college professor of mine who was known to say “Question EVERYTHING” and “it’s more important to ask questions than to have answers.” 🧐 Yes, the book would be having you question your “religious text” (plenty of room for higher criticism here) and reevaluate your community of faith. So while there’s some good exercises and decent ideas in here, the evaluation processes here could be dangerous if followed to certain conclusions. I would give this book 2.5 stars. ⭐️⭐️ And to quote David Asscherick several years ago, “Don’t be so open minded that your brain falls out.”
Profile Image for Allison.
22 reviews
December 31, 2022
The book presents an approachable way to think about raising open minded critical thinkers. My daughter is a bit too young for the activities at the back of each chapter but I like the actionable way she presents the concepts. Even though it’s directed at parents there are things I took away for my own critical thinking and learning, next time you see me I’ll be reading, experiencing, or encountering.
Profile Image for Lauren K..
4 reviews
February 1, 2022
Raising Critical Thinkers is a valuable book for every parent. Whether we realize it or not, we are always imparting our beliefs, perspectives, biases, worldviews, interpretations, opinions, and prejudices (and if you don’t think you have them, well, you’ll sure realize you do throughout this book!) to our children and it is important to recognize, evaluate, and possibly change or release ones that are no longer serving us or are harmful. In Raising Critical Thinkers, Julie Bogart helps us learn how to reflect on and evaluate them in ourselves and how to curiously seek to understand them in others (including our children, our spouses/partners, our communities, and yup, even those we deem our opposition!). Since reading the book, I've found myself seriously considering the source of the perspectives of people I interact with. I really like that!

If you’re worried that there will be commentary or obnoxious rants about hot political issues, religion, or any other divisive problem in our society today, there isn’t. I was specifically looking for it and it was not there. What you will learn about is how to stay connected to and in relationship with people even when you disagree, and in fact maybe you’ll learn to at least begin to value those disagreements as a way to learn more about others. Raising Critical Thinkers will help you learn skills to cultivate your relationship with your kids and invite their perspectives, thoughts, and feelings so that you’ll increase the trust in your relationship. You’ll learn how to focus on problem-solving rather than finding the “right” answer. There is plenty of practical help, even in the form of specific questions to consistently work into your conversations with your family to increase everyone’s capacity for critical thinking. If you’re looking for a book that will help you develop skills to learn more about yourself and others, defuse divisive discussions, and create connection through disagreements, you will value Raising Critical Thinkers and learn a lot from Julie’s wise perspective and winsome writing style.
Profile Image for Nhu Khue.
77 reviews43 followers
May 26, 2022
When I look at my students diving into their smartphones, I realize how daunting it would be to become a parent in this digital age. It's not about educating your kids, it's about educating yourself.

It's too soon to say anything but teaching kids makes me think that, I only feel like I'm confident enough to be a mother once I level up my mindset about these 3 things: Learner autonomy, Money, and Technology.
Profile Image for Jess Lipschultz Westhoff.
29 reviews2 followers
January 23, 2022
In Raising Critical Thinkers: A Parent’s Guide to Growing Wise Kids in the Digital Age, Julie Bogart explores how we can “lead our learners to think more deeply, thoughtfully, and imaginatively about everything in their world” (xix). This has been my central focus as both a parent and as an educator. Whether I’m discussing climate change with my eight year old son or leading a class of high school juniors to critically examine the American dream, I try to support young people to generously and insightfully read, experience, and encounter our world. In this book, Bogart shares specific practices I will add to my repertoire. But perhaps even more instructive to me is the way she draws on the work of contemporary thinkers (hooks, Elbow, Carr, Grant, and many others) to inquire into the complex relationships between self awareness and criticality, identity and community narratives, curiosity and conviction, perspective and rhetorical imagination. I am left with questions but also a renewed commitment to humility, flexibility, and wonder.
Profile Image for marshponds.
55 reviews
June 7, 2023
The first chapter or introduction was great and raised my expectations too high. That chapter was about the author and her siblings coming across a box of letters of her late mother and trying to interpret a statement that seemed not to fit with what they knew about her mom and dad. I really enjoyed the stuff about how the perspective of the speaker must be taken into account in interpreting the message. That's an extremely important skill for kids to have. While I appreciated that there are several practical, hands-on exercises, they seemed suited more for homeschool. While I will try to instill much of what I learned in the book into my kids, it's not likely I'll be asking my kids to write essays and do some of the other exercises more suitable for homeschooling. Some of the exercises were only tangentially related to critical thinking.
Profile Image for Hope.
763 reviews34 followers
February 7, 2022
This book is so well done. Written very conversationally and easy to follow and filled with great insight. Loved the practical application ideas and activities at the end of each chapter. They worked well to demonstrate the ideas in action. I had this pre-ordered, so obviously it was I was already looking forward to it, but it far surpassed my expectations. Loved it 👏👏
Profile Image for Becca.
632 reviews34 followers
March 11, 2022
So glad I have this in hard copy to refer back to. Lots of good nuggets. Not just for teaching kids, either! There is so much to learn here about self-awareness, realizing how many factors impact our opinions, interpretation, etc. It’s not so much a book to agree or disagree with as it is an invitation to sharpen our own critical thinking skills, and hopefully teach our children the same.
Profile Image for Carrie.
134 reviews
Read
June 18, 2022
Sped read through this to get the gist of what was said and suggested. I tend to read parenting books with a wary eye just because every kid and family situation is different and there’s no one-size-fits all approach that can work for everyone. So I take and leave what my gut says will work for our family. I did the same with this book.
Profile Image for Erica.
84 reviews
December 20, 2023
Listened to the audiobook. Really appreciated what she had to say. I will probably listen to it again and buy some version of the book so I can do the activities with my kids.
Profile Image for Jillian Armstrong .
311 reviews21 followers
February 3, 2024
A bit dry and overly detailed at points, but really great content. Once I switched my mindset to reading this as more of a “manual” it really helped and I gained a ton of practical insight into how to guide my kids to be critical thinkers. I really appreciated the specific practices and exercises at the end of each chapter. I value Julie’s wisdom and insight!

“The best way to help our children use their powerful minds for good is to teach them to think, think again, to rethink, and think some more. We need more people with a spirit of inquiry. We need communities of people brave enough to put cultivating insight ahead of being right. We can begin with our people.”
Profile Image for Adam Jarvis.
193 reviews6 followers
February 21, 2023
This was a good book that illuminated some pitfalls as to why we do not think critically and how to recognize them and overcome them. It also gave real life examples that parents can use to teach their children to be critical thinkers. I didn’t exactly land with the author on her worldview, or necessarily all of the ideas/examples she expresses in this book, but the basic principles she lays out for how to interpret a worldview are pretty solid. Definitely worth the read.
Profile Image for Emilee.
221 reviews1 follower
August 20, 2022
4.5 stars. Although this book is primarily geared towards educators (whether at home or in the classroom), I think any adult could benefit from reading it and applying these principles and practices to their own lives. For example, reading the opposition and taking in opposing viewpoints are practices that really stuck out to me. Because this book caused me to think more critically about what I read, I can say that there were parts of it I don’t necessarily agree with, and I think the author has a different worldview than I have. But now, I can still appreciate her perspective, and I think there is a lot of valuable insight to be gained from this book.
Profile Image for Angela.
505 reviews
July 5, 2022
Fantastic book! As always, Julie is engaging and makes the topic relevant and approachable. She include exercises throughout that you can try with your children. I want to go back through and do some of them. The last chapter is about having the courage to change your beliefs after you have examined them.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 243 reviews

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