Joel Abreu Beltre

English 8th
May 27th, 2019

Critical Thinker

My MESLO trait is being a critical thinker and a problem solver. A critical thinker is a

person that analyzes, interprets and evaluates an issue to find an appropriate solution for the

issue. Also, critical thinkers use what they have learned through experiences or reflection and

they apply in their life. I believe this is my trait because my personality tests show this and I’ve

been able to show this trait throughout my years in middle school.

The first reason why I think I am a critical thinker is that in Bible class we took a

strengths and weaknesses quiz to determine our strengths for the MESLO. My results showed

that my strengths are curiosity, strategic thinking, integrity, resourcefulness and teamwork. Also,

in the results I got that I give myself time to think through a situation and I seek solutions that

have worked before to learn from them and apply them to my life and work.

The second reason why I think I am critical thinker is that on a test called the 16

personalities test my results were that I have the personality of a commander. One of the

strengths of a commander is critical thinking because they examine every angle of a problem and

they manage and navigate challenges to step up their projects. Also, some other strengths of

commanders are that they are efficient, energetic, self-confident, strong-willed, and charismatic

and inspiring. But, some weaknesses of commanders are that they are impatient, stubborn,
dominant, and intolerant. I will improve these weaknesses by reflecting everyday on how to

improve my patience and how to be less stubborn and dominant with those around me.

An example of my critical thinking in school was when I created a bridge out toothpicks

and glue in science class. When I was planning how to make the bridge, I remembered that, in

structures, triangles are stronger than any other shape you could do with the toothpicks and the

glue. So, I decided to make the structure of the bridge out of triangles. Once I finished building

the bridge, I made some bars going from one side of the wall to the other so that the roof doesn’t

collapse on the bridge once weight is applied on it. Lastly, the outcome was that my bridge was

the strongest because the triangles keep the structure of the bridge intact, also once the weights

were removed the bridge went back to its normal state.

Another example of my critical thinking at home was when I was 10 years old and I had a

small remote-controlled helicopter and the propellers were not working. I looked up videos on

the internet on how to fix the helicopter but, all the videos were useless. So, I spent 30 minutes

looking at the helicopter and thinking of the possible problems that might cause the propellers to

fail. After 30 minutes I checked if the motors were working, and they were, so I noticed that 2

propellers spin in one direction while the others spin the opposite direction. This meant that the

helicopter had gears and that one of the gears might have gone out of place when I crashed the

helicopter. I removed the plastic cover of the helicopter and checked the gears and it turned out

that the main gear was out of place. So, I placed the gear in its original position and the

propellers worked like they did before the crash. Lastly, this example shows critical thinking

because I was able to find the issue of the helicopter and solve it.

In conclusion, a critical thinker is a person that analyzes every angle of a problem in

order to find and appropriate solution for the problem and learn from it and to apply it in their
life. I believe I am a critical thinker because all the personality tests I have taken say that one of

my strengths is critical thinking. Also, I have shown this trait through all my middle school

years, when I make projects or when I face a challenge at home and need to find a solution.

Critical thinking is a trait I’ve always used and I will keep using in my life.