republicans oppose teaching of “critical thinking skills”

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Free Thinker

The mind is a terrible thing to waste... But it does make becoming a republican much easier once it's gone..



The Republican Party of Texas’ recently adopted 2012 platform contains a plank that opposes the teaching of “critical thinking skills” in schools. The party says it was a mistake, but is now stuck with the plank until the next state convention in 2014.

The plank in question, on “Knowledge-Based Education,” reads as follows:

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.Elsewhere in the document, the platform stipules that “[e]very Republican is responsible for implementing this platform.”


http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsme...l_thinking_skills.php?ref=fpnewsfeed&tw_p=twt
 
"Those who study the history of the revolution know that Fidel Castro's literacy campaign focused on recruiting Cuba's youth as the first target for indoctrination. The premise was that they would then become the tool for the spread of socialism throughout the island. Indeed, the education system has been one of Castro's most effective means in thwarting critical thinking and free expression among the people."


[Indeed, the education system has been one of Castro's most effective means in thwarting critical thinking and free expression among the people.]

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSD/is_3_56/ai_77204694/?tag=content;col1
 
You must have been excluded as well poorthinker


http://www.infidels.org/kiosk/article238.html


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One major argument that apologists for religion like to make against proponents of secularism, humanism and religion is to equate all opponents of religion with Communism and the numerous crimes against humanity perpetuated by such monsters as Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot and Fidel Castro. The best argument against these people of faith is a simple one, far from being a humanist or rationalist belief system, Communism was and is a religion.

Like all religions, Communism is irrational, dogmatic and based on faith rather than science. Just like Christianity and Islam, Communism had its Holy Books which were treated as Holy Scripture, namely the writings of Lenin, Mao, Marx and others--all of which were far from scientific. Karl Marx, who was treated by Communists as a genius, was actually a small-time journalist whose writings are a collection of prejudices, generalizations and editorializing. Marx held and promoted some beliefs which were later disproved by science, for example Marx taught that many human characteristics we now know to be inherited through genetics were caused by environmental factors. When scientists in 1930s Russia pointed this fact out, Stalin reacted by throwing the scientists into the gulag just like the Church imprisoned Galileo. Just like fundamentalist Christians who promote creation science, Stalin (himself the recipient of an "education" in a Christian seminary) backed a charlatan named Lysenko who came up with a completely false science of genetics that fit squarely with Communist dogma and then banned the teaching of genetics because it contradicted Communist dogma.

As with Christianity and Islam, Communism attracted followers by promising a pie-in-the-sky heaven to the faithful. The difference being that the Communist heaven would be sometime in the future when all people would be happy and equal under Communism rather than after death. This magical future was conveniently pushed farther and farther into the future so that Communist leaders could "explain" to the average people impoverished by their wonderful system why they hadn't yet achieved utopia. It might also be pointed out that the Communists never actually said exactly how this utopia would be created--just as Christians and Moslems can present no evidence of life after death.

Like most religions, Communism operated on irrational faith; people in Communist countries had to have absolute faith in the Communist system and its leaders. Thinking for oneself was strictly verboten in Stalin's Russia, Mao's China, and Ho's Vietnam. Those who questioned Communism and its leaders were treated as heretics by the Communist state.

Far from being an example of the evils that occur when religion is removed in society, Communism is a perfect example of the excesses and horrors that result when religion is allowed to take over a society. The Communist Party acted just like the church had in Medieval Europe....
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Quote from Mav88:

You must have been excluded as well poorthinker


http://www.infidels.org/kiosk/article238.html
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This is one of the things with freethinker and the rest of the fanatic liberals. They do not believe in God or any religion/higher being, which is totally fine. Many people don't.

However, they cannot divorce themselves from the tragedy of the fundamental human condition which is suffering. Therefore instead of believing in some happy ending in an afterlife, they attempt to create a paradise HERE on EARTH, to construct this ideal utopian society where everyone can live happily ever after. Their mode of thinking is no different from believing in a religious paradise and the 72 virgins promised by Allah.
 
"Critical thinking" or"values clarification" is liberal codespeak for indoctrination, ie using the schools to brainwash kids into the whole PC mindset. They have whole subsets like "critical legal theory", which are largely the kind of marxist class theory that one poster here spouts endlessly. They use the "critical thinking" terminology to fool parents, who they assume would object to sending their kids off for marxist indoctrination.

This has been going on for 30 years or so at least. You can see the result in the large numbers of ignorant, blankeyed young people who supported Obama for reasons they couldn't articulate, except to rejurgitate talking points about "change."

When you think about it, the idea that a bunch of union drones, teachers, could actually teach "critical thinking" is absurd. What you get is idiots like that teacher in NC screaming at a student that it was against the law to criticize Obama.

We rank near the bottom of industrialized countries in education. They can;t teach math, reading, writing ro science, but they are capable of teaching critical thinking? give me a break.
 
Quote from Grandluxe:

Therefore instead of believing in some happy ending in an afterlife, they attempt to create a paradise HERE on EARTH,
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isnt this what most intellectually honest rational thinking people should strive for?
this life is your one shot. you had better make the best of it.
 
Quote from Free Thinker:

isnt this what most intellectually honest rational thinking people should strive for?
this life is your one shot. you had better make the best of it.
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You don't understand, there is no idyllic paradise, you cannot do it, it runs counter to common sense, economics and reality.
 
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