Midshipmen usually don t have time for out of the box thinking. Midshipmen rarely get to take a course simply for the joy of learning something new. There are too many mandatory requirements and not enough time for electives which could foster critical thinking skills. The entire philosophy of the Naval Academy is centered on making priorities and doing what you must in order to graduate. This puts critical thinking fairly low on the list of priorities.
Midshipmen still view the world as black and white.
They are unfamiliar with the gray zone in which the rest of the world operates. They do not know how to analyze and question. Professors often have to spend a lot of their class time just keeping students awake. A good teacher can hold students interest and motivate them to reason and learn when they are alert, but cannot do much when they are in a dead sleep. We cannot expect continued high standards at the Academy if we do not allow midshipmen to recharge their batteries and reflect on what they are being taught.