Now first off I agree with a lot of what the Republican Party does... however. Just going over their newest platform I saw this...

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.

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

Uhhhh schools are not suppose to teach critical thinking skills? So if my parents teach me to worship the pine tree out back... LOL

The so-called "Higher Order Thinking Skills" the liberal-indoctrinated teachers try to teach are not thinking skills at all, merely a regurgitation of leftist political dogma. Most kids who go through that kind of education cannot think their way out of a wet paper bag.

OBK: I wasn't talking about HOTS. Critical thinking skills are desperately needed in North American society. I was born a Christian, educated one, but I did learn about other religions and their beliefs and values. From that I made the conscious decision that I was going to marry a Christian, and raise my children as Christians. I have done both and I am proud of it. If we take away our children's right to learn about different lifestyles and letting them decide what is right, I hate, hate, hate, hate to say this but that is borderline Communism.

I do not know how it is down in Texas public schools now, but up here, what many teachers teach is re-named communism. It usually goes by the monikers of "social justice" and "community activitism". Critical thinking skills are entirely absent from the curriculum, despite the various mission statements, as application of those skills would call into question the dogma the kids are being fed daily and that it not to be tolerated as it cannot be logically justified.

The kids are ignorant of history and how a republican form of government is supposed to operate. Even the Catholic schools up here have fallen into the trap in some cases, as they use mostly the same textbooks as the public schools. The education schools turned out an entire generation of teachers who believed that teaching facts and information was "drill and kill" and was not necessary, so the teaching of historical fact was suppressed (along with basic mental arithmetic skills, cursive writing, and geography). As my wife is fond of telling those "educators", "How can you even pretend to teach "higher order thinking skills" if the kids do not have a strong base of information and basic skills?"

Are y'all talkin communism or socialism? Just wonderin.......

Both

critical thinking skills are utterly worthless if the student doesn't know how to read, write and count. When the very basics of education are mastered, then they should move to higher order thinking.

Kids are graduating high school more ignorant than the year before, and equally ill-prepared for the realities of life.

There are winners and losers. There are no participation trophies. Nor are there orange slices and gatorade at halftime.

just like I do!

good one Pete...