Texas GOP opposes teaching critical thinking skills in education platform

[MisterCreosote]

Fitting, since we were just talking about a willingness to criticize one's own party:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/texas-gop-rejects-critical-thinking-skills-really/2012/07/08/gJQAHNpFXW_blog.html

This is the statement from the party platform:

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.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

In other words, if parents are teaching the kid that the world is flat, then who are teachers to tell the kid differently?

I also found this to be rather strange:

"Juvenile Daytime Curfew - We strongly oppose Juvenile Daytime Curfews. Additionally, we oppose any official entity from detaining, questioning and/or disciplining our children without the consent of a child’s parent."

So if a kid gets in trouble, cops aren't allowed to arrest the kid without the parent's permission?

 

[User 11148]

I am an educator (university level) in Texas and frankly wouldn't mind at all if the phrase "critical thinking" was outlawed. While the concept has merit, in practice it is nothing more than an opportunity for huge chunks of the student body to indulge their narcissism under the veil of "critical thinking."

Now the GOP's reasoning is silly, but in this case I wouldn't care if they told me it's because they want the daisies to grow polka dots.

 

[RickStain]

In other words, if parents are teaching the kid that the world is flat, then who are teachers to tell the kid differently?

I also found this to be rather strange:

"Juvenile Daytime Curfew - We strongly oppose Juvenile Daytime Curfews. Additionally, we oppose any official entity from detaining, questioning and/or disciplining our children without the consent of a child’s parent."

So if a kid gets in trouble, cops aren't allowed to arrest the kid without the parent's permission?

I agree with this one. I would assume that a kid actually breaking the law would be subject to the police's jurisdiction. By combined with the hysteria that no kid under the age of 16 can ever be on their own in public, I don't need police wondering why my kid is allowed to walk home from school on his own.