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32. The One About Raising Thinkers, Not Followers
29 Plays1 month ago
In this episode, I gently unpack the heaviness many of us are feeling in the world right now - the constant stream of negative news, overwhelming information, and the emotional toll it can take on us as adults, parents, and educators.
Rather than diving into fear or sensationalism, this conversation focuses on what is within our control: how we think, how we protect our energy, and how we support the children in our lives to grow into thoughtful, grounded humans.
We explore the importance of critical thinking - not blindly accepting everything we’re told, but learning to question, reflect, and consider multiple perspectives with curiosity rather than judgement. This is a skill many of us were never taught, and one that feels more important now than ever.
I also share practical, real-life ways we can:
- Teach critical thinking to children (at home, in classrooms, and through everyday conversations)
- Model analytical and open-minded thinking as adults
- Reduce the impact of doom-scrolling, negative media, and information overload
- Set firm but realistic boundaries around social media, news, and technology
- Protect our mental health and nervous systems during challenging times
- Reconnect with gratitude, mindfulness, kindness, and the small moments that ground us
This episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and come back to yourself - while also raising children who can think for themselves, question respectfully, and navigate the world with discernment and compassion.
✨ In this episode, we talk about:
- Why the current state of the world feels so overwhelming
- The role of critical thinking in today’s society
- How to teach children to question information without fear
- Why different perspectives aren’t wrong - just different
- Celebrity culture, idolisation, and media influence
- Simple ways to model critical thinking for kids
- Protecting your energy and mental health
- Setting boundaries with news, social media, and technology
- Gratitude, mindfulness, and being the positive ripple in your world
🌱 Mentioned in this episode:
I’m also hosting a free webinar on finding your spark again - for anyone feeling flat, burnt out, or disconnected from themselves. The link is here - https://victoria-r.com.au/webinar-why-youve-lost-your-spark/, and I’d love to see you there.
If this episode resonated with you, I’d truly love to hear your thoughts. What conversations are you already having at home or in your classroom? How are you supporting your own mental wellbeing right now?
Thanks for being here. And remember: protect your energy, honour your boundaries, and keep coming back to what matters most.
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Transcript
Introduction to Overwhelming Information and Critical Thinking
00:00:37
Victoria R
Hello everyone and welcome to the Mindful Educator podcast. Thank you so much for joining me this week. i have a bit of an interesting episode that I wanted to record today and it's touching on pretty much the state of the world right now, which is a very heavy topic.
00:00:57
Victoria R
You're like, whoa, Victoria, you're going big. ah But I kind of want to bring a different perspective to it. so in case you have... been living under a rock, which is totally okay because I do that too.
00:01:10
Victoria R
But a lot of ah information out there is currently around the Epstein files that have been released. And there is a lot of opinions about it, a lot of posts I've seen about it, a lot of just a lot of information in general.
00:01:27
Victoria R
um And it can actually, it can be a little bit overwhelming kind of taking this all in. And I just wanted to kind of explore two different perspectives about it today. So firstly, I kind of want to explore what we can do as adults, as parents, as those that work with children. And I also want to explore how we can kind of protect our own energy and her mental health during these times.
00:01:56
Victoria R
Now, it's not just these files that have been released. I'm not sure if you guys have noticed, but It's probably because information is so much more accessible now, but there is a lot of negativity out there. There is a lot of doom and gloom whenever you open up social media, whenever you turn on the news, whenever anything like you pick up a newspaper, anything that we kind of get our information from, a lot of it has a lot of negativity surrounding it.
00:02:26
Victoria R
And it can be a lot. It's a lot for us. to kind of wade through what's real, what's not, what's kind of made up, what isn't. um And then just the effect that ah it has on ourselves personally.
00:02:40
Victoria R
And one of the things that I really would like to emphasize here is how now more than ever, it's so important that all of us, whether we are great at doing it or not, but all of us need to get better at using our critical thinking skills.
00:02:58
Victoria R
We are being given information all the time, right? It's just the reality of the world that we live in at the moment. And unless we do live under a rock or we do ah choose to get rid of of like all you know, internet access, all
Teaching Critical Thinking to Children
00:03:15
Victoria R
the rest of it. it's It's just one of those things that we kind of need to learn how to navigate and navigate in a way that works best for us.
00:03:24
Victoria R
Now, I'm not going to dive too heavily into the files. I have thoughts about it. I am quite disgusted by the whole thing. And there are a lot of other people that um are sharing their opinions on it, which,
00:03:40
Victoria R
whether we agree or disagree. um Hopefully, i can just really hope that karma plays its role and justice is served. Whether that happens or not, who knows, this that would probably be another podcast episode.
00:03:55
Victoria R
But I'm choosing to focus on what we are in control of. Now, as a mother, as an educator, as someone who has worked with children for many, many years,
00:04:08
Victoria R
I really honestly believe now more than ever how important it is that we teach our children how to think critically, how to not just take everything at face value, perhaps the way that we have, the way that we were taught to And this is something that I am still learning to do more I was raised in the era where you just, if you go and see a doctor about something and they tell you something, you just accept it.
00:04:39
Victoria R
You know, you don't necessarily question it. And it's only kind of through my own work, my own kind of delving into things. And to be honest, I actually think COVID was a massive eye opener for so many of us. Um,
00:04:55
Victoria R
I think it backfired quite a lot for what their intention was, but I actually truly believe that that has pulled the wool off so many people's eyes and people are now going, oh, you know what? I'm not just going to accept what I'm told. I'm actually going to question. I'm going to get second opinions, third opinions, fourth opinions. I'm going to really think about the information that I've been given here and make my own opinions as to whether I believe it or not.
00:05:22
Victoria R
And if we can teach our children to do the same thing, I honestly believe we are setting them up um a lot better than perhaps what we were set up with, which is no one, like I'm not placing blame on anyone here at all. It's just one of those things. Once we know better, we can do better. And I'll keep coming back to that.
00:05:41
Victoria R
And so... I think we need to start with ourselves, with the children in our lives. We start from us, all right? And all we can hope is that that has that ripple effect. So if you are an educator, we start by bringing it in where we work with children, whether it be in the classroom, whether it be in a daycare setting, whether it be, you know, through the different programs and bits and pieces
Implementing Critical Thinking Practically
00:06:04
Victoria R
that we do. And we try and bring in these critical thinking skills within that context there. If we are focusing on it at home, again, as parents, we can bring these critical thinking skills in. And it's a great reminder. And it's also a great way for us to relearn as well, because not many of us may have grown up with knowing these skills.
00:06:27
Victoria R
So when we're talking about critical thinking, it's it's being analytical in the way that we see things. It's, you know, questioning things that we're told. It's looking for more evidence about things.
00:06:41
Victoria R
It's being open-minded as well, being open-minded to other people's perspectives, understanding that, you know, not everyone is going to think the same. That is one of the most beautiful things about being human is that we are all entitled to our own opinion. And just because someone has an opinion that's different to yours doesn't make them wrong. It just means that it's different, right? And we can kind of analyze it and go, oh okay, well, maybe if i actually listen to what they're saying,
00:07:07
Victoria R
I might learn something new or I might get another perspective that I can then, you know, think about myself and decide, does that fit with what I believe or not? And all these sorts of things are what the world needs more of at the moment. We need to raise children that are able to critically think about the information they are given. We do not want to be raising sheep. We do not want to be raising people that just go, yes, sir, no, sir. um You know, three bags full. So I didn't, you know, pay any attention to what it was he said. I'm just doing what I'm told. We don't,
00:07:37
Victoria R
want children like that. We don't want to be raising robots. so we need to give them these skills so that they can approach situations and actually use their brains.
00:07:50
Victoria R
God forbid. And we're kind of battling the technology and the YouTube and the this and the that that pretty much wants to brain rot our children. Our world as it is at the moment is kind of designed to turn our thinking brains off.
00:08:06
Victoria R
So this is where we need to enforce these boundaries for ourselves, for our children, for our own sanity, for our own homes.
Questioning Celebrity Idolization
00:08:15
Victoria R
And I'm not saying, you know, don't ever let your child play games or be on YouTube or whatever, but let's let's take a bit of responsibility and let's make sure that we're monitoring what they're doing, that we're aware of what they're watching, which can be incredibly hard because kids can be very sneaky. Just FYI, I've been caught out a few times. I'm definitely not perfect in that regard.
00:08:36
Victoria R
But just also getting them to really question things and us to question them about things as well. So give them these open-ended questions. Instead of just asking for a yes or no answer from them, get them to explain their reasoning as to why they've chosen to do something or why they're choosing to watch something or whatever it might be. Get them to actually think about it instead of just saying, oh, just because. um give us a reason. I actually genuinely want to know, like, you know, if if I'm going to have, you know, just say we're going to do a debate and, you know, you're saying, yes, I want to do this. And I'm saying, no, you can't. What reasons are you going to give me for wanting to do this? You know, get them to really think about what it is that their actions and their words and, you know, their lives are actually doing, you know, and it's also a case of,
00:09:30
Victoria R
allowing them to also, for teaching them, I guess, which can be very tricky at times, but how to be a bit more objective, how to kind of take a step back and taking other people's points of views. And like I said, a lot of adults can't do this themselves. So it's also teaching ourselves as adults how to do a lot of this stuff as well.
00:09:49
Victoria R
And kind of taking that step back, taking that moment and going, okay, why has this person, you know, perhaps said that or what's their perspective on this situation? I saw it like this. Perhaps they didn't see it that same way.
00:10:04
Victoria R
And again, using our brains, thinking about what has actually happened. You know, as I said at this start with the example of going to the doctors and, you know, taking at face value what a doctor says, why don't we instead do our own research, get second opinions about it, you know, ask questions. Like one of my family members is in the medical profession and she finds it absolutely astounding how many people do not ask questions of the doctors or the nurses and they just accept what is said to them. Instead of asking why things are happening or why they need to do things, they just do it.
00:10:48
Victoria R
And she finds this baffling. Yeah. And so this is coming from someone within that profession. It's like, ask the question. and there's always a way to do it where we don't have to be disrespectful about it. We can always do it from a respectful point of view in a respectful manner. But let's start asking these questions more. Why do we just accept what we're told all the time? And I think a big thing that kind of has really come to my attention in the last week or so since all this has come out
00:11:21
Victoria R
is another thing is just how much we idolize celebrities. Why are we idolizing these people that, you know, perhaps they um act in a film, so they pretend that they're someone else and they create this film? Like, okay, that's ah that's a great talent. I'm not diminishing their talent at all, but why are we idolizing them? Or why are we idolizing these singers that, yes, they've got great songs, but Okay, that doesn't mean they're perfect. doesn't It doesn't mean they need to be up on this pedestal. You know, so being really aware of all this information that we're subconsciously fed all the time as well from from the media, from our social media, from everything. You know, questioning that as well. Like, why is this person being thanked in everyone's Grammy speeches?
00:12:09
Victoria R
that's a bit odd, isn't that? You know, understanding like these sorts of perspectives that are coming through and going, okay, well, why are these people being pushed off so much? Or why is that person all of a sudden disappeared? You know, actually kind of going, hmm, this is a bit odd. You know, again, not like i said, and not putting people up on the pedestal. I think this is something that, yeah, it's really kind of prevalent in today's society is just how much we idolize celebrities and it's actually quite scary how much you know that's pushed on us as well as humans we are intricately flawed that's one of the beautiful things about being human is that we have so many different parts to us none of us are perfect none of us are going to you know never make a mistake all the rest of it yet we put these people up so high
00:13:02
Victoria R
and but kind of the world revolves around them. Why? Why does the world revolve around them? You know, what exactly are they contributing apart from some great movies or some great songs? What are they contributing to the world? You know, i think we just we need to kind of bring this perspective in with our children as well.
Protecting Mental Health and Promoting Positivity
00:13:22
Victoria R
If there's, you know, a sports um star or celebrity that they're really idolizing.
00:13:27
Victoria R
okay, well, what's, what's that person actually like as a person? Is this someone that deserves to be idolized? You know, i think we need to kind of have those conversations with people as well with the, you know, not only the children in our lives, but also the other adults as well and going, you know, perhaps we, we need to rethink that.
00:13:47
Victoria R
So there's a, yeah, like I said, that there's many elements to this and, you I guess ah another thing that I want us to maybe try and focus on is when we are trying to bring in these critical thinking selves, not just with our children, but with ourselves, how do how exactly do we do this?
00:14:05
Victoria R
It's like knowing, okay, that's great that you said that, but how do I actually do this? And I think one of the best ways we can is simply in the questioning that we use, the questions, the quality of the questions that we're putting out there, the quality of the questions that we're asking each other.
00:14:22
Victoria R
know And there is a quote that I can't remember. I'm terrible at remembering things like that. But there is a quote about pretty much saying the quality of the questions reflects reflects the quality of your life sort of thing. So, you know, asking those open-ended questions of our children, you know, if they've done something, then...
00:14:40
Victoria R
You know, asking them, like, what's happening here? Why do you think they did that? What, you know, who what, when, where, why questions. um Evaluating the information together, you know, sitting down, actually showing them as well our thought processes when we're trying to think something through. Modeling that out loud for them so they know what it looks like and what it sounds like.
00:15:01
Victoria R
I also think, again, we we need to encourage these different perspectives and we need to understand that everyone is raised in a very different way. Everyone's minds work in very different ways.
00:15:12
Victoria R
And respecting that and understanding that as well, understanding that just because they don't think this way, just because they don't agree with what you're saying doesn't make them wrong.
00:15:26
Victoria R
It doesn't make them wrong. It just means that their opinion is different. And how boring would it be if we all had the same opinions, if we all had the same beliefs, if we all had the same values, it would be such a boring world.
00:15:38
Victoria R
But doesn't mean we need penalise people because they have a different perspective. Doesn't mean that we need to bag them out because, you know, they think slightly differently to you.
00:15:49
Victoria R
And it's just, it's one of those things that, like I said, many adults need to take this as well. It's not just children. It is so many adults need to come back to this as well. And I still remember, um,
00:16:02
Victoria R
I've said it just before, but on our we did a Contiki tour like many years ago. And I still remember um our host that we had, obviously traveling different countries, seeing different things. And she's like, I just want to remind you all, it's not wrong. It's just different. And honestly, that has stuck with me. And I i say it you would have heard me saying it. It's stuck with me the whole time because it is is so true. And my husband and I, we still say it even now to our kids, but like, it's not wrong. It's just different.
00:16:32
Victoria R
ah They're probably sick of but i'm um saying it all the time. So that's kind of one element that I wanted to discuss. And I guess the other element that I wanted to bring in is also just how to protect our own mental health and our own energy.
00:16:49
Victoria R
When we are bombarded with so much and so much negativity, And there's a few simple things that we can do. So one of the biggest things is limiting what you're seeing on your screen. So the wonderful thing is there's, you know, there's a delete button.
00:17:06
Victoria R
We can use that. There's an unfollow button. Um, There's great things like, you know, your time limits that you can set on your phone if you're finding that you're kind of heading down that doom scrolling path. You know, there's um resources like I think it's called a brick. like ah If you look up brick for um things, it can actually um physically like lock your phone even more. um So things like that are really great. You know, you don't have to sit down and watch the news. You don't have to listen to the news. It's up to you whether you're going to consume that information or not. um
00:17:36
Victoria R
And if you do consume it, consume it in a critical thinking way. you know, analyze what they're saying, ask questions of it. Don't just take what's been told to you at face value. um And I think just bringing ourselves back to our own lives, our own happiness, focusing on grounding ourselves each day, doing something that brings us back into our body, brings us back into our own mind, something that you find absolute enjoyment and joy from. you know Mindfulness itself, just you know just taking a moment just to be you know not looking at anything, not speaking to anyone, just taking a few moments and just bringing yourself back to your own body.
00:18:18
Victoria R
And also one that I really love is just focusing on the gratitude that you have in your own life. What are the good things in your life? And asking the same of the children in your life as well and the other adults, asking them to say what they're grateful for each day.
00:18:34
Victoria R
know, focusing on that that positivity amongst all the negativity that we're thrown at, what that is thrown at us otherwise, you know, really ground down into what what you have to be grateful for, what you have to be happy for, what is positive in your life. And I really believe like the more positive vibes out there, that ripple effect is going to continue, you know, and just even just being positive.
00:19:03
Victoria R
like just that kindness that we can bring to our everyday, you know, smiling at those people that you see down at the shops or that you see at school pickups, saying hello, helping people out, you know, let's bring out the positive aspects of humanity. Let's stop focusing on these negative aspects, these things that just kind of draw us down and, you know, really make the world seem like a really heavy place. And let's focus on being that change ourselves, being that positive change.
00:19:31
Victoria R
all right, encouraging our children to do the same, encouraging them, you know, encouraging them to hold the door open for someone, just those little tiny things. It doesn't have to be anything massive, but by just bringing those things in, it honestly can make so much difference.
00:19:47
Victoria R
And one of the things that, um you know, I really am trying to focus on myself is just each night I just write down a few things that I'm grateful for during the day. I speak about it with the family as well, but, you know, with after school activities doesn't always happen every day. But that is one thing that I'm really trying to ground down into.
00:20:06
Victoria R
right. So be firm with your boundaries. Be firm with your social media boundaries, your media, what information you're consuming. It's up to you to decide whether you're going to actually take on that information or whether you're choosing not to.
00:20:21
Victoria R
right. And I know some people might say that's been complacent, all the rest of it. you need to do what is going to be best for your mental health. All sorry doing that, put those boundaries in place, focusing on the mindfulness, the really simple things that you can do each day that ground yourself into your body, into your mind.
Developing Strategic Thinking in Children
00:20:41
Victoria R
And like I said, just focusing on that gratefulness, that gratitude, that kindness. All right. And being that positive change that we want to see.
00:20:52
Victoria R
So this is a bit of a bit of a rollercoaster episode. So I would love to hear if you are already doing any critical thinking type skills in your own homes or classrooms or wherever you may be. um i know with my children, one of my kids absolutely loves chess and that's such a great way to get them thinking like strategizing all that sort of stuff. So it doesn't have to be overly complicated. It can be found in games and activities that we do. Monopoly is another one. FYI, just be mindful that it could cause a few arguments. All right, having those questions, having those open conversations with our children as well and the adults in our life.
Invitation to Webinar and Parting Thoughts
00:21:34
Victoria R
And like I said, just knowing that we are responsible for our own happiness and our own actions and our own words and really kind of honing in on that and just coming back to ourselves when everything else may feel a little bit overwhelming.
00:21:49
Victoria R
All So like I said, let me know if you have any comments, any questions, anything about this episode. i also just want to briefly touch on the fact that I am hosting a free webinar on Monday. This one is all about kind of finding your spark again for those of us that feel that maybe it's kind of gone a little bit dull or we've kind of lost it amongst the the craziness of, you know, being adults and or parenthood or whatever it might be. So yeah,
00:22:18
Victoria R
I'll add the link below. i did mention it briefly in last week's podcast, but all the details confirmed, all the links ready to go. so that's a free webinar. I hope to see you guys there.
00:22:29
Victoria R
Otherwise, I can't wait to hear from you and hear your own perspectives on today's episode. So i have an amazing day. Remember your boundaries, remember your gratitude, and I will speak to you guys very soon.