GOPers Lack Critical Thinking Skills - here's why

[Star]

Republican's 2012 party platform: "We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills". Yikes! -- No wonder Republicans have difficulty figuring stuff out.



The Republican Party of Texas has issued their 2012 political platform and has come out and blatantly opposed critical thinking in public schools throughout the state. If you wonder what took them so long to actually state that publicly, it is really a matter of timing. With irrationality now the norm and an election hovering over the 2012 horizon, the timing of the Republican GOP announcement against "critical thinking" instruction couldn't be better. It helps gin up their anti-intellectual base.

✄snip>



Texas GOP rejects ‘critical thinking’ skills. Really. - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

By Valerie Strauss

In the you-can’t-make-up-this-stuff department, here’s what the Republican Party of Texas wrote into its 2012 platform as part of the section on education:


Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.


Yes, you read that right. The party opposes the teaching of “higher order thinking skills” because it believes the purpose is to challenge a student’s “fixed beliefs” and undermine “parental authority.”

It opposes, among other things, early childhood education, sex education, and multicultural education, but supports “school subjects with emphasis on the Judeo-Christian principles upon which America was founded.”

✄snip>

 

[Caroljo]

So?

Parents should be raising their kids the way they want them to be. I don't want teachers putting crap in my kids heads that i don't believe..
And "Behavior modification"??? That sounds like brainwashing to me.

Texas is sounding like about the smartest state around...everyone should move there!

 

[Leweman]

To practice critical thinking and higher order thinking skills you have to be given knowledge from multiple sides of an issue, problem or situation and analyze said information in order come to your own conclusions. Does that happen in an educational environment by itself?

 

[Star]

So?

Parents should be raising their kids the way they want them to be. I don't want teachers putting crap in my kids heads that i don't believe..
And "Behavior modification"??? That sounds like brainwashing to me.

Texas is sounding like about the smartest state around...everyone should move there!

IOWs...

Never mind. The Texas branch of one of our two major political parties opposes teaching critical-thinking skills or anything that might challenge a child's "fixed beliefs." So presumably, if a child is of the "fixed belief" that Jesus was the first president of the United States or that two plus two equals apple trees, educators ought not correct the little genius lest she change her "fixed belief," thereby undermining mom and dad. ~ Leonard Pitts Jr.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

Your thread title is wrong. Nice try at lumping everyone together though.

 

[California Girl]

I find it more than a tad ironic that anyone can claim 'critical thought' and then link to a an article without actually using said 'critical thought'. Funny shit.

If the OP would learn to think for him/herself, then (s)he might stand a chance of developing the skill of critical thought. Until then, it's just another epic fail.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

GOPers Lack Critical Thinking Skills

I can't comment on the thinking skills of every single Republican, but I do know that you haven't shown a whole lot of critical thinking on your part since you've been a member of this forum. This thread is a perfect example.

 

[California Girl]

Your thread title is wrong. Nice try at lumping everyone together though.

Hence, the OP has not used the skill of 'critical thought' that he appears to value so highly. More than a tad ironic.

 

[tinydancer]

Too bad so many politicians in Washington and other capital cities world wide have never learned basic math skills and how to balance a budget/checkbook.

 

[BlindBoo]

Too bad so many politicians in Washington and other capital cities world wide have never learned basic math skills and how to balance a budget/checkbook.

I bet they know how to balance their own check books. It's the rest of ours, and the country as a whole, that they don't give two poops about.

 

[g5000]

Here is the Texas GOP 2010 platform.

The Education part begins on page 18.

Here is the Knowledge-Based Education portion found on page 20:

Knowledge-Based Education – The primary purpose of public schools is to teach critical thinking skills, reading, writing, arithmetic, phonics, history, science, and character as well as knowledge-based education, not job training. We support knowledge-based curriculum standards and tests. We support successful career and technology programs, but oppose mandatory career training. We oppose Outcome-Based Education (OBE) and similar programs. Further, because of an aging U.S. population and global competition, and because much of today’s education teaches children to be employees or perhaps at best managers for employers, we encourage the teaching of entrepreneurial skills and investment skills.

The 2012 platform quoted in the OP is simply reworded, but the meaning is the same.

 

[Listening]

Republican's 2012 party platform: "We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills". Yikes! -- No wonder Republicans have difficulty figuring stuff out.



The Republican Party of Texas has issued their 2012 political platform and has come out and blatantly opposed critical thinking in public schools throughout the state. If you wonder what took them so long to actually state that publicly, it is really a matter of timing. With irrationality now the norm and an election hovering over the 2012 horizon, the timing of the Republican GOP announcement against "critical thinking" instruction couldn't be better. It helps gin up their anti-intellectual base.

✄snip>



Texas GOP rejects ‘critical thinking’ skills. Really. - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

By Valerie Strauss

In the you-can’t-make-up-this-stuff department, here’s what the Republican Party of Texas wrote into its 2012 platform as part of the section on education:


Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.


Yes, you read that right. The party opposes the teaching of “higher order thinking skills” because it believes the purpose is to challenge a student’s “fixed beliefs” and undermine “parental authority.”

It opposes, among other things, early childhood education, sex education, and multicultural education, but supports “school subjects with emphasis on the Judeo-Christian principles upon which America was founded.”

✄snip>

As a state that should be their right (to teach their kids what they want).

What is the issue ?

You don't like what they want to teach ?

Don't move to Texas.

I guess kids need schools to teach them this too. After all, under liberal policy rule, the kids really don't have much in the way of active parents anymore.

 

[Listening]

To practice critical thinking and higher order thinking skills you have to be given knowledge from multiple sides of an issue, problem or situation and analyze said information in order come to your own conclusions. Does that happen in an educational environment by itself?

And even more to the point...in a polarized society....who do you trust to give you "truth".

Here in Kansas, we can't make up our minds about 2+2 anymore. Or so it would seem.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Maybe the OP can tell us what Obama really meant about "not building that yourself"?

 

[oreo]

To practice critical thinking and higher order thinking skills you have to be given knowledge from multiple sides of an issue, problem or situation and analyze said information in order come to your own conclusions. Does that happen in an educational environment by itself?

Critical thinking--LOL. What happened to math--science etc. It appears to me that Texans would prefer that their kids learn these things FIRST--so that they can do some "critical thinking" with basis in fact later.

 

[Listening]

Maybe the OP can tell us what Obama really meant about "not building that yourself"?

That wasn't that hard to figure out.

 

[oreo]

Maybe the OP can tell us what Obama really meant about "not building that yourself"?

You're joking right. The only reason Obama stated that--was it gives him and liberals JUSTIFICATION from taking away what was earned from very hard working people.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

I love it when the Party of fRANCOwtf (have you checked his sig line?), Bobgnote, Rdean, Wry, TM and Jilly talk about "Critical Thinking Skills"

 

[hortysir]

So?

Parents should be raising their kids the way they want them to be. I don't want teachers putting crap in my kids heads that i don't believe..
And "Behavior modification"??? That sounds like brainwashing to me.

Texas is sounding like about the smartest state around...everyone should move there!

IOWs...

Never mind. The Texas branch of one of our two major political parties opposes teaching critical-thinking skills or anything that might challenge a child's "fixed beliefs." So presumably, if a child is of the "fixed belief" that Jesus was the first president of the United States or that two plus two equals apple trees, educators ought not correct the little genius lest she change her "fixed belief," thereby undermining mom and dad. ~ Leonard Pitts Jr.

There is already a curriculum in place to teach the Red herrings you just tossed into this debate.

And linking to Leonard Pitts explains everything else about you.

 

[California Girl]

To practice critical thinking and higher order thinking skills you have to be given knowledge from multiple sides of an issue, problem or situation and analyze said information in order come to your own conclusions. Does that happen in an educational environment by itself?

Critical thinking--LOL. What happened to math--science etc. It appears to me that Texans would prefer that their kids learn these things FIRST--so that they can do some "critical thinking" with basis in fact later.

Without the core skill of critical thinking, there is little point teaching anything else. Hence the PS system is a clusterfuck.