The Enlightened Classroom addresses the need to improve formal instruction in critical thinking at all levels of instruction. The discussion provides insights to the historical and contemporary obstacles to this practice and discusses the political and personal agendas that help and hinder the advancement of critical thinking in the classroom and in the general operations of program development. The text conceptualizes critical thinking in the context of a democratic society and places the principles of the Enlightenment and global considerations at the center of problem-solving.