Critical Thinking Skills From A Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Today’s students have it too easy.  And I’m not just talking about Google and laptops and cell phones, although they are a huge part of the equation.

I’m talking about living conditions.

The dorms of today are much more like a luxury hotel than student housing.  Gone are the bare-bones cinder block walls, linoleum floors and modular furniture we felt lucky to have “back in the day.”  I doubt today’s students would tolerate living in such spartan conditions, although we thought they were spectacular once decorated with rugs, comforters and posters.

Back in the day, we would save our money to rent a mini-fridge for the room.  Not a medium one; the very small, square unit that could barely hold a six pack.  Diet Coke, of course.

Today’s dorms are posh in comparison, with many including fancy items like flat screen TVs,  bigger refrigerators and microwaves in the rooms, as well as full-size kitchens on each floor.

In a DORM.

This is in addition to WI-FI, movie rooms, study lounges, pool tables, and cafeterias.  There’s the occasional swimming pool and even covered parking for some.  It’s crazy what is considered “normal” for dorm life anymore.

All of this luxury comes at a price. Not only for the parents wallet, but for the students’ long-term well-being.

The opportunity cost of living such a luxurious college life is students are missing out on building their critical thinking skills.  With everything at their fingertips to solve their problems, there’s no need to improvise or develop solutions to a college student’s most pressing problems.

Example: I’m hungry, the cafeteria is closed, and I’m out of money.

The solution is not: Go to the ATM, use a credit card, or call mom.

The only food options available in the room and/or mini-fridge include a loaf of bread, peanut butter, single cheese slices and an assortment of beverages.

What’s a hungry student to do?

This is where the critical thinking skills come in.

When faced with the same situation back in the day, we got creative.  We had nothing but the trusty mini-fridge, a coffee maker, popcorn popper, and a meal plan. Late night hunger pangs were satisfied by popcorn or pizza delivery, if we could pull together the cash and the pizza place was still open.

Most of the time we were stuck without pizza.

It was like being on Survivor: Dorm Edition. How can we make something different to eat given the limited resources in our room?

We had the same staples as today: bread, peanut butter, and cheese. We also had an iron!  It was a brilliant idea to use the iron to make hot sandwiches. And cheap, too.

Of course we were not the first students to make grilled cheese sandwiches using an iron but we were proud of our resourcefulness.

We had no choice.  What else were we to do?

Is the ability to make a grilled cheese sandwich really an important skill for today’s college graduate?

If you’re still focused on the sandwich, you’ve missed the point.

It’s about solving a problem in a new way. Critical thinking.

There will be many times on the job when a new hire will be asked to develop a solution to a problem.  Gut instinct always tells us to go with the most obvious solution: Find a pan, put sandwich in pan, heat pan on stove until sandwich is done. 

Many times we will not have the resources necessary to solve the problem in the most obvious manner. It could be we lack financial resources, or human resources, or technical resources –whatever – yet we are still expected to arrive at the optimal solution.

The earlier we develop our critical thinking skills – learn to improvise ways to the optimal/desired solution – the better.

Critical thinking in the form of a grilled cheese sandwich.  Brilliant!