Texas Decides Critical Think is bad?

[blankslate]

I came across this story....

http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/vo26x/texas_gop_we_oppose_the_teaching_of_higher_order/

then I found the .pdf file here

The .pdf file is 22 pages so don't click if connection is slow

it's on page 12 under Educating our children

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.

We don't want to teach our children how to analyze information they're given and then critically evaluate it. We'd rather they just absorb and then regurgitate what we tell them. HOLY WTF?!?

Seriously when there are serious questions about this country's continuing lead in R&D and Technology we have people advocating this?

Seriously...

*edit*
wow I just realized the thread title...
the above pic applies to that as well

 

[glenn1]

Believe this is a repost; however the title of the older thread isn't as clear as yours so I can see why you may have missed it:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2254946

 

[blankslate]

Believe this is a repost; however the title of the older thread isn't as clear as yours so I can see why you may have missed it:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2254946

Thanks for the info.

How to I get a moderator to delete this thread?

 

[Vdubchaos]

This is not a news flash. George Carlin has been around for many decades.....

 

[Texashiker]

Nothing new.

Anyone that went to school in Texas over the past 4 decades would already know this.

When I was in school, elementary - high school, I absolutely hated the sit down and shut up attitude of the teachers. There was very little to almost no interactivity with the students.

The teachers would write on the chalk board, or read from a book, and we were supposed to learn from that?

 

[Vdubchaos]

Note: this does not apply to Texas ONLY, entire US

 

[akahoovy]

It's not critical thinking Texas opposes, it's certain teaching programs.

I'm reading up on it, but it's confusing. Some parts of OBE are adopted at schools, not all US schools are using OBE. I think the reason they are against it is that the standards of traditional testing is thrown out, but some OBE methods are adopted and the testing methods may not have changed.

 

[blankslate]

It's not critical thinking Texas opposes, it's certain teaching programs.

I would not be surprised at all if those programs include things that reasonable people would consider exercises in critical thinking.