Overcoming Personal Barriers to Critical Thinking: A Personal Reflection, Essays (university) of Humanities

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Barriers to Critical Thinking: Personal Barriers Brian C. Joell HUM/ 10 May 2017 Professor Richard Bibeau

Barriers to Critical Thinking Personal Barriers to Critical Thinking In 2004 I stood in the middle of my Brooklyn, New York apartment and a sudden realization occurred to me. It hit me that I had experienced physical, emotional, and mental abuse that my brother Sean and I received while in foster care. The feeling was strange but was clear. I do not know ‘til this day why I suddenly came to that conclusion after not feeling that way for more than thirty years. This story is very personal and sad to me however I want to share how my life today was shaped by those terrible events and how I continue to try and overcome my personal barriers. At the age of six, my father left my family. My mother could not afford to care for all nine of her children. I surmise that she felt to provide for everyone she needed to work. She decided to keep my three oldest siblings at home because they were old enough to either help her financially or fend for themselves. The youngest six kids were put into a group home in Hackensack, New Jersey. At the group home, I first experienced abuse. I, my three brothers and two sisters remained there until one day we all got split up. That alone was terrifying because Sean and I were never told that we were to be transferred to the foster care system. From the age of six through age twelve, my brother and I lived with three different foster families. Two of which abused I and my brother. We both returned home when I was twelve, and shortly after that my father returned. I never and could never hold any animosity towards my parents.

children. These behavior traits extend from abuse in foster care, and I can't seem to change them. What I do is think about how this will shape their attitudes toward spending money when they become parents. I continue this struggle. I know that with self-discipline, therapy and taking moments to stop and think critically, I can overcome these challenges and personal barriers to become a better thinker.

References Paul, R., Elder, L. (2012). Personal Barriers. (3rd^ ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Retrieved from https://phoenix.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781323010150/cfi/6/2!/4/2@0: