What Does it Mean that Critical Thinking can be Transformative?

Please respond to my peer's answer to these questions keeping in mind my response. Topic:
According to bell hooks, what does it mean that critical thinking can be transformative?
Give an example of how critical thinking could be transformative.
What is your perspective on the importance of cultural criticism?
Peer's Answers: 
1. The Critical Thinking Community (2013) defines critical thinking as, "that mode of thinking- about any subject, content, or problem-in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it" (The Critical Thinking Community, Our Concept and Definition of Critical Thinking). In the video, Bell Hooks argues that critical thinking can be transformative, meaning that if you think deeper and change your perspective of your thoughts, you can transform yourself, your situation, or your circumstance into something better or improved. The mind is a powerful tool, and often negative thoughts coincide with a negative attitude. In the same way, if your thoughts are simple and do not make any effort to solve a problem, then the problem will never transform into a solution. Whereas if you analyze, assess, and reconstruct your thoughts to fix the problem, the problem will be transformed because your mindset was one of positivity, saying "I can." Bell Hooks describes this phenomenon, saying, "thinking critically is at the heart of anybody transforming their life" (Hooks, Bell, bell hooks pt 1 cultural criticism and transformation). 
2. Bell Hook used an example from her professional teaching career. She mentioned that she has taught in both Private, primarily white schools, and also in Harlem. She said she found no difference in the level of knowledge of kids from both schools, however she did notice a different in their thought processes. The students from the Private school all had a sense of entitlement that they wanted to learn and would succeed and go to a great college to then be employed in a great job. However, the students from Harlem did not have this sense of entitlement, and did not think that knowledge would help them succeed; their thought process was directed in a way that made knowledge equal to survival. Hook said that all of the students were the same level of genius, however the thought process differences made one group succeed over another. 
I do agree that critical thinking can be transformative, and I have personally experienced this ideal. I have related to this class that I am an actor, however I chose a path in this career that is a-typical and one that I received a lot of backlash for. Last year, I had coaches for Musical Theatre and was part of a program where students from all over the country coached with audition coaches from New York, in the hopes of auditioning for competitive college Musical Theatre programs. I auditioned for 16 colleges in the Winter/Spring of 2015, however my heart started to change, the my vision of my career no longer included training for four years at as a Musical Theatre major at a prestigious school. I began to weigh my options and think critically, with the help and support of my parents, about what my college experience could look like. We weighed options such as moving to New York City to pursue musical theatre and train at a professional acting studio rather than collegiate level, or staying in Atlanta and commuting back and forth between the major cities. In the end, I decided to do online school, and for the first semester I would make Atlanta my home-base and commute to NYC and LA, auditioning professionally for film/TV and training in voice, dance, and acting in various cities. The second semester (now), I would move to LA and keep that city as my home-base and commute as need be. I train professionally out here as well, and honestly I could not be happier with the decision I made. The typical route after high school is to go to brick-and-mortar college, and for a musical theatre performer, to major in musical theatre. However, because I used critical thinking, I transformed this track into a path all my own, different than what anyone else is doing, and opening myself up to life experience and industry professionals sooner than the rest of my class. I am so thankful for the transformation that critical thinking had on my life! 
3. I think cultural criticism is important in our society, in the aspect of closely looking at pop culture and seeing how it relates to our everyday society. As Bell Hooks described in her interview, relating pop culture to theories and subjects of discussion can help students understand the given topic in a deeper level. I personally believe that pop culture reflects our everyday life in the United States, and examining its influences and trends can be beneficial in the study of sociology. However, there are the certain cases where people believe that the media represents some issues in a negative light and teaches people to treat others in that way represented (for example, a movie where a man is beating a woman repeatedly). I personally agree with what Bell Hook stated in her video, that there is a direct link between media representations to our culture and idea of society, however this can not be said as a blanket statement, covering all movies, articles, tv shows, etc. That is why cultural criticism is important: it helps us distinguish between what is represented accurately and what is truly fiction. 
My answers: According to bell hooks, critical thinking may prove to be transformative in the case that it ignites changes within a given population. A ground to present such a line of thinking develops from the fact that a rational line of thinking usually counteracts ignorance. Such a statement may be presented elaborately in the case that one believes in the power of autonomous learning. For instance, a person who is exhibits critical thinking usually portrays the features of independency.
A good example to elaborate such a point is in the case that a growing adult would be rebellious with their parents. However, the said adult would change their behavior upon the sight or mention of the extent of their parent’s struggles. Notably, there is a possibility that people who possess the critical thinking capability usually connect to the realities of the world. For instance, a child from a wealthy family may not understand the extent to which their parent would go to keep them alive. In the cited example, there is proof that higher achievement of personal understanding promotes maturity. Such an understanding develops in the case that critical thinking could enhance one’s viewpoint about incidences before their occurrence. An important point to note is that one may be able to weigh out available options before proceeding to certain decisions. Basically, such an approach is effective in the case that one would tend to evaluate available alternative in this case, pursue the higher achievement.
Subsequently, there is need to encourage cultural criticism in the case that it impacts positively on direct communication amongst people of a different origin and decency. As an opinion, a direct line of communication that accommodates for various cultural groups generally promotes intercommunication. As such, it builds an understanding between people of different origins. On the same note, there is need to point that the use of a common language builds the grounds for mutual understanding. Such a statement originates from the fact that people of common origin usually speak the same language. Consequently, such people tend to accommodate divergent views that revolve around controversial views. Given such a realization, it is important to concur that there is a possibility that people who speak the same language would easily evade conflict. Alternatively, such people would want to recognize other people that speak their language.