Critical Thinking Videos

Captain Brad Bartholomew’s video series is a tool kit of flexible mental tools & techniques, such as situational awareness, to help us navigate stressful situations and make Safe Landings for everyone onboard. These basic human skills have been used successfully by all size groups for millenniums.

Flight Plan

  1. Focus Forward
  2. Play as a Team
  3. Turn away from Danger

Free Classroom Material for Teachers

The videos below, and posted on YouTube, were originally created for Political Science and Sociology professors.

Now they are available - free of charge - to any teacher, instructor or mentor trying to instill timeless critical thinking skills in their students. There are 6 main videos and 2 1/2 hours of material which could be used as a complete semester syllabus. The most likely use, however, is playing a short 2 to 3 minute snippets in the classroom and then leading a constructive, critical thinking discussion.

Here a few possible discussion starter questions.

  • What was the author’s trying to say & why?

  • Do you agree or disagree with the author’s sentiment & why?

  • Does the author illuminate valid concerns or just offer personal opinions?

  • Does the author illuminate doable tools & techniques for moving forward safely?

  • What does the author mean by Safe Landings?

  • Each video and its chapter titles and descriptions are posted below.  

  • If anyone is interested, I have a complete transcript and excel spreadsheet of the entire material - just email me.

Disclaimer

Please remember I am not running for political office or trying to sell you anything.  I am just a concerned citizen offering critical thinking skills which I believe can help mitigate the impact of our divided society.

Teddy & I are trying to be helpful.  Brad

GT3 #1 Situational Awareness - 10 tools

2 Brains - 1) fight or flight = combative brains 2) problem-solving brains - Skin in both games: feeling consequences of both upside& downside of your actions - 3 Steps situational awareness:1) seek reality 2) problem solve under stress 3) course corrections - Stress components:1) environment's changing 2) limited resources 3) not good options - godlike captains are dangerous - Mental radars - The value of respecting others - Aviation debrief: purpose: to improve future performance - Big risk doctrine - Regulation 91.9

GT3 #2 Fiascoes & Success

3 Case Studies: 1)labor law 2)predicting labor votes 3)working for great US company - US has 2 different labor laws: National Labor Relation Act & Railway Labor Act: systematically dysfunctional & institutionalized hatred - Brad predicts labor votes - Negotiations appeared choreographed - Negotiations on football field

Votes 48% to 52% : = Democracy Stop Sign the fighting just continues

Votes 66% to 33% = Democracy Magic the group starts working together, playing as a team & using problem solving brains

GT3 #3 Creating Demand & Team
Creating Demand & Team - Investor to me: Which side are you on? - Only 1or 2 people understand - We (citizens) have 3 votes - Federalist Papers - Hamilton & Madison form 2 different parties - Frank Lorenzo: airline investor - Critical pilot skill on takeoff - DC-9 crash at Stapleton - Brad is naive - Odd observation -

Sam Walton: Made in America - Watching 2016 elections - Night of 2018 elections - Captain & First Officer fighting - America’s math problem -My wife's tribe & my legacy tribe - Politicians raise $ to attack -

China's Great Wall - Situational Awareness step #1 Seek Reality - 3 Ladies scare Putin - Democracy Magic - The Good Guys team - Self-Policing is our most powerful tool

GT3 #4 Reliability of Airline Industry

Team building section - Oxymoron - December schedule - Year 1 - long days, no problems - Year 2 - snowstorm & passengers stranded - Years 3 & 4 - management cuts capacity - Year 5 - management puts capacity & snowstorm hits - Flights 100% full after pandemic - Load factors - 70% load factors -85% load factors - There is a cost - Airspace - Secondary airports - Hub & spoke airports - Congestion in the sky - ATC controllers are amazing - Linear flow of planes - Airspace no-one sees - Reliable or fragile?

Fixing airspace problems - But there is a cost - Do we have the will to make changes? - Remember the stress components

GT3 #5 Systemic Course Corrections

Systemic Course Corrections - Review of Team building - John Boehner & Ted Kennedy - Democracy Stop signs - US elections never end - Maximizing Shareholder Value - Buying back shares - Modern Monetary theory - Our kids do not trust democracy or capitalism - 10 Systemic Course Corrections - Term Limits - Get rid of Electoral College - US elections are too long - Will our debt load end US? - Get rid of tax code - After 08 meltdown banks paid 0 taxes for 10 years - Reinstate Glass-Steagall - Failed parenting technique - Give US military 2 new tasks - Make colleges run a business

GT3 # 6 Self Policing & Southlake, Texas

Self Policing & my home town - Southlake, Texas is placeholder for Christianity - City council & School board in lockdown - NIV Mt 5&6 Jesus: you hypocrites! - George Floyd's murder changed everything - I was stunned - Self policing is a powerful tool - NRA's past was positive (not now) - Senator John Cornyn disappoints me - More self policing - MAX plane crashes - Steven Miller & I are Duke U alumni

GT3 Final Plea

We must self police ourselves & our own tribes. To be effective this means:

Liberals must self police the extreme elements of Liberalisms

&

Conservatives must self police the extreme elements of Conservatism

&

Christians must self police the extreme elements of Christianity