Higher Level Thinking Skills: A Contradiction in Terms

As a high school English teacher for over thirty years, I was conditioned- as were my peers- to do whatever it took, use whatever trick, concept, trend, or tap dance necessary, to get my students to think. Once that was accomplished- according to whatever rubric of the day was being promoted- we were then supposed to categorize the level of our students' thinking:
high? low?

On the side of fairness, it is important to note that the original purpose behind this regimen was student based: to encourage students to go beyond the literal (ie. the girl's dress was red) to the figurative, the personal, the metaphorical (ie. the dress symbolizes...).

In retirement, I have had the opportunity to engage in thinking about thinking- particularly my own. In the world of education, the business of metacognition has very specific purposes. In the world of my thinking it looks something like this:

Me: "Why did I walk into this room?"
Me: "What was I looking for?"
Me: "I have so many books I want to read."
Me: "Do I really have to put on makeup today?
Me: "If one sugar free popsicle is 0 points , why do multiple popsicles have points?"

High? Low?