Republicans in Texas What to Ban Critical Thinking in Classrooms

From the 2012 Republican Party of Texas Report of Platform Committee.


"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. " Page 12 of the report.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/texasgop_pre/assets/original/2012Platform_Final.pdf

Tell me this is a joke. Do the Texan Republicans want people to become sheep and never again think for themselves?

 

what if a kids fixed beliefs are racist as hell ?

 

Of course that's what they want. 'Fixed beliefs' indeed. This is why the rest of the world is surging ahead of us technically and economically. No original thinking permitted!

 

Good point. Doesn't science, mathematics and technology involve critical thinking? What about all those, doctors, lawyers, scientists and entrepreneurs ? Aren't they critical thinkers?

 

It is a joke. The joke was your interpretation of the statement. Read the entirety of the statement, not what you choose to get out of the statement.

What is more, is the fact that children, do not have the ability to higher understanding, and reasoning capabilities. Not nearly the same as an adult. What the current education system is trying to do, is give all the tools to a child, that an adult has learned over time. You cannot jump knowledge like that.

Proof and point. Psychiatrist , and doctors are finding that the cause of issues with children, such as ADD, or ADHD, is because, some children are skipping a step of natural development. i.e. learning, to walk before, learning to crawl. What happens, when they skip a step, (as in the example given,) the brain does not form the pathways required to send the proper signals, and thus leading to chemical imbalances, that in turn lead a to a neurological disorder, and therefore, unable to process proper functions. Despite what you may think, children, although pretty resilient, cannot be programmed to accept more than what their sum is. They are living beings. They are not machines. They are to be treated with respect, but not the same as what you are expected to treat adults with, simply, because they do not have that ability. It must be learned on their learning terms, not yours.

 

oh I see, so you want to keep them dumb for the good of children, sorry I misunderstood

 

Again another person who doesn't comprehend written language. You teach children what the can comprehend and understand how to apply those lessons. Not more then what they can understand how to use properly. You don't just hand a child a loaded gun, and say, go on, use it, learn what to do with it. Unless, you want the consequences of doing that dangerous action. Same principal applies here, and just as dangerous. If you don't get that, then I am sorry, I cannot fix, that malfunction.

 

Thinking boils down to one simple distinction: Either you: a) addopt a position and then fish for evidence to support it, or b) you look at the evidence and then draw a conclusion.

Are you saying that first one should teach kids a position that they should hold onto regardless of what facts they see, but then, at some point, tell them to stop doing that, and to start paying attention to facts in order to reach a conclusion?

 

If you create a cirriculum of instruction that is designed ONLY to undermine someone else's belief system then you are not educating - you are undermining. Its actually that theology of atheism that we always talk about - but the fact that you call it 'critical thinking' when in reality is just finger pointing, is called hyperbole.

We don't want to send our children to a school where some athtard can ask propogandistic questions about Jesus to undermine a child's faith.

Based on how atheists do on this forum, its small wonder they would rather beat up on grade schoolers, but as parents - we have no desire to send our kids into a environment designed specifically, and unconstitutionally, to undermine their faith.

 

lol nobody wants to undermine your faith just educate your kids properly, if that undermines their faith maybe its not a great faith to be having to begin with

 

Hmm... so... you spend time sending kids to Sunday-school to get them to believe in something they can't see, and you think if a public-school teacher shows kids how to draw a conclusion by looking at the evidence, then that undermines faith?

That's not a problem with the public-school system... they're just doing their job, which is get the kids focussed on learning how to think analytically, in order to be able to do things like math and science, which they must do in order to create new technologies in order to make the innovations to compete in a modern industrial economy.

Sounds to me like it's more a problem with your Sunday-school curriculum. You're not being clear enough explaining to the kids what "faith" is - that it is to believe in something without proof. Once they understand the concept of "faith", you then explain to them that you're going to tell them about your religion, and that they should understand that it is a "faith".

If you forbid kids to be taught how to draw conclusions from evidence, not only are you cutting them off from understanding sciences and math in order to become inventors, you're also cutting them off from able to understand how the American justice-system works and/or from being able to choose law as a career.

 

No they don't really. Being a doctor or lawyer relies more on memorization than critical thought - going strictly by the book and following procedures to the letter - being a scientist or entrepreneur probably involves more critical thought.

 

the books on law and especially medicine are far too big for anyone to know, so they have to do lots of critical thinking to find out which part to look at, that is such a stupid thing to say, some of the smartest people in any society are doctors

 

I thought it was the Democrats that try to Ban Critical Thinking in Classrooms, whether it comes to the history of slavery, the Holocaust, or "diversity"...

 

There is a huge difference between educating our children and education meant specifically to undermine a person's faith. If you read the rest of the document, you will see quite clearly that the platform is one that is based on involvement of parents. And values and faith choices are something that schools do IN CONJUNCTION with parents. Simply because some people call challenging ones faith 'critical thinking' - the reality is that critical thinking is best applied in logical format and then introduced in more ambiguous areas of faith. And when schools cross that line ... there is a problem.

Or do you really think the entire Republican Party in Texas is just against critical thinking? That is silly ... and points out the difference between calling something critical thinking and actually applying critical thinking skills.

 

"Smart" and using critical thought aren't necessarily the same thing.

 

A parent can send his child anywhere he or she wants to. And if a parent teaches their children the values and educational processes of a church, they do not need a bunch of uppity, assholish atheists challenging their children faith in school and calling it 'education'.

You raise you kids the way you want to, but don't pretend that atheism is education when we all know its not. I'll raise my children as I believe is best, and acknowledge that when they are adults, having been raised properly, and not indoctrinated in atheism mumbo jumbo, they can aply actual critical thinking skills to make their own decisions.

Indoctrinating my children in a public and inclusive education system in atheist propoganda is not at all what I would consider school ... or critical thinking - more an application of the absurd in which you can deny anything and everything by simply and continuously raising the bar upon which one can be convinced.

The moment you start using the school system as a tool to undermine religion, you have just crossed a constitutional rubicon (assuming the critical thinkers out there know what that is?) and there will be consequences.

 

at one time people were killed for trying to teach the world was round or not the center of the universe, this is nothing new, critical thinking is often thought to be a threat to some religions


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You are confusing motor skills with conceptualizing, reasoning, verifying, observing, etc... all integral components of critical thinking. Nobody's asking kids to figure out the intricacies fo aerodynamics; rather, they should be encouraged to evaluate and reach conclusions based on good evidence.

 

Medicine and law as well require critical thinking skills.

This is terrible... moving backwars.

 

Law and medicine require more memorization than critical thinking - that's not insulting the intelligence level of doctors or lawyers, but they're more akin to discipline versus creative or original thinking.

 

Scientific method is, by definition, critical thinking.

 

Not really.. Internists are a bit like detectives. Memorization is not enough.

 

Why not? Republicans aren't capable of critical thinking.

 

Well, I am gobsmacked. The Saudis have turned away from memorization and fixed thinking in their schools.. and are sending 266,000 abroad to study International law, Medicine, Engineering, Finance etc.. at the graduate level.

And Texas takes a giant step backwards.