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DesideriScuri -> RE: Texas GOP: Oppose "Critical Thinking Skills" (6/30/2012 10:21:01 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: dcnovice
Talking Points Memo offers some interesting tidbits from the platform recently adopted by the Texas GOP. Among them is a plank on education:
quote:
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.
The party's communications director said the inclusion of "critical thinking skills" was a mistake.
Freudian slip, anyone? [:)]
I think the RP committee that penned this wasn't manned by eloquent speakers trained in "critical thinking skills." Critical thinking skills are, well, critical. I don't think most people are trained in that anymore. I'm currently in a general education composition class. It's been the greatest "English" class I've ever taken. The focus is on persuasive writing and is heavy in class participation and discussion. The instructor is quite closed to discussions of politics and religion, but he does challenge anyone with a strong stance to support it. He's demonstrated that he's open-minded and accepting of any opinion as long as you can support it with credible substantiation. He'll call out anyone, regardless of his own beliefs, if they can't support their statements. This is much like a couple composition classes I had during my undergrad. education that I didn't participate as much as I could have (I found the books mostly dry and not interesting enough to maintain my focus; major flaw I have). Outside of these 3 courses, I have not had any of this type of critical thinking education.
I believe we have done students, including my generation's crop, a disservice by not forcing them to use critical thinking skills, instead focusing on memorization of data. The problem with NCLB is that it focuses on test outcomes, making an incentive to "teach to the test," and a potential for lowering standards to comply. I have yet to talk to any school administrator that liked NCLB (and, my non-scientific study group included administrators that self-label their politics as right and left, and also includes teachers, though I can't state that any of the teachers would self-describe their politics as the right-side of the aisle; they may, but I have no idea if they would or not).
The key in their plank, to me, is in not supporting programs or policies that undermine parental authority. What concerns me is that the Communications Director stated that since the platform has been voted on and accepted, it can't be changed until 2014. That seems to me to smack of either short-sightedness in not allowing for flexibility in the party platform, or a Communications Director that is well-trained in political speak and actually supports the plank as written.
Now, I know there are some that will use what I've written as a way to bludgeon me. I don't understand what kind of perverse pleasure that gives you, but it certainly doesn't move the dialog forward. I would much rather you try to knock down my statements directly, rather than knock my statements by ridiculing me.
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