Because I Said So...That's Why, Revised

     Does anyone remember hearing those words?  Did you think to yourself, but why?  I think that most of my life I have been doing just that...Doing what others tell me to do without much thought as to how, when, where, or why, and what are the consequences of not doing what I was told.  Partly I believe I followed along because I was afraid to be wrong.  A person doing is not the same as a person being.  A person being in the moment and understanding is priceless.  So the question really is:  Should reasoning skills be taught in primary schools?  Let me belt out a cacophony of "Yes, yeah, affirmative, zippy-Skippy, and Yes, Yes, and more yeses!"

     Imagine children of six to eleven years of age that are allowed to ask questions.  Their questions enable them to understand the situation, to put their thoughts into prospective imagery.  It enables them to solve problems.  According to Peter Worley, "...conceptual thinking or reasoning...underlies how you read, how you write, how your speak.  Reasoning is the basis on which all those things stand."  http://www.teachers.tv/news/66551  Imagine growing a nation of children who are allowed to have the confidence to be wrong in order to learn and think for themselves.
     Teachers might argue that they don't have time.  There is already a burden to have their students prepare for standardized testing.  This testing is about federal funds.  A good education requires students to be able to ask questions.  One will not attempt to ask nor answer if they are afraid of being wrong.  Building confidence will inspire a student to not be afraid to ask questions.  A student will learn that being wrong gives the opportunity to learn what is right.
     Jean Piaget, studied the development of children's understanding.  His work was accepted as a force in educational theory.  Piaget proposed that until a child was eleven and older, that child could not "...think logically about the abstract propositions and test hypotheses systemically..."  (http://learningandteaching.info/learning/piaget.htm).  Though I believe each student matures at different rates, the introduction of reasoning can be implemented at an early age.  His views in my opinion are somewhat outdated.
     Being taught how to learn cannot begin too early.  Being given the opportunity to think for yourself is priceless.  Teaching 'reasoning' at an early age can foster confidence in students, and does no harm.