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The reason to fight against university education was laid out plainly in the 2012 Texas GOP platform. While not directly related to TFA, it clearly shows the re

The reason to fight against university education was laid out plainly in the 2012 Texas GOP platform. While not directly related to TFA, it clearly shows the reasoning to limit aspects of education. > Yes, you read that right. The party opposes the teaching of “higher order thinking skills” because it believes the purpose is to challenge a student’s “fixed beliefs” and undermine “parental authority.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/texas-gop-rejects-critical-thinking-skills-really/2012/07/08/gJQAHNpFXW_blog.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/texas... https://www.forbes.com/sites/johntharvey/2012/07/01/texas-gop-platform/?sh=8496cd5666da https://www.forbes.com/sites/johntharvey/2012/07/01/texas-go...

WillPostForFood 1y ago
This is a gross distortion. 2012 Texas platform did not oppose the concept of higher order thinking skills, it opposed a specific pedagogy Higher Order Teaching Skills, which was displacing knowledge based learning. Reasonable people can disagree on which works better, teaching low order skills first, or high order skills first.
- consumer451 1y ago
  Here is the exact passage, so everyone can make up their own mind. > 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. https://s3.amazonaws.com/texasgop_pre/assets/original/2012Platform_Final.pdf https://s3.amazonaws.com/texasgop_pre/assets/original/2012Pl...
  - WillPostForFood 1y ago
    Yes, they are opposing a type of modern educational program, not the concept of thinking skills. If you are familiar with elementary school curriculums, they are opposing Everyday Math or Illustrative Mathematics and supporting memorizing multiplication tables. https://illustrativemathematics.org/math-curriculum/k-5-math/ https://illustrativemathematics.org/math-curriculum/k-5-math...
    - consumer451 1y ago
      > challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority. What about that passage? Can you explain to me what "fixed beliefs" means?
      - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
        > Can you explain to me what "fixed beliefs" means? Probably some blend of religious and moral values, political and civic beliefs and cultural views towards divisive issues.
        consumer451 1y ago
        Religion was my partial read for "fixed beliefs" as well. I have been alive for quite some time now, and the major battle for the young mind in the US was regarding evolution vs. literal biblical interpretation. This is the reason for charter schools, destroying the U.S. Department of Education, and much more. Those "fixed beliefs" are very fragile when exposed to new information.
        s1artibartfast 1y ago
        I think it is a side note on the charter schools issue. The main driver is terrible standards and discipline in public schools. There is a reason atheists are putting their kids in charter schools too, and even religious schools.
        consumer451 1y ago
        I hear you, solid point looking at the current state of public education. The next question is: why is our public education system so lacking? My recollection is that ever since science started to counter strict religious teachings, a significant portion of the country stopped trying to improve the public education system, and instead began to undermine it.

WillPostForFood 1y ago

This is a gross distortion. 2012 Texas platform did not oppose the concept of higher order thinking skills, it opposed a specific pedagogy Higher Order Teaching Skills, which was displacing knowledge based learning. Reasonable people can disagree on which works better, teaching low order skills first, or high order skills first.

consumer451 1y ago
Here is the exact passage, so everyone can make up their own mind. > 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. https://s3.amazonaws.com/texasgop_pre/assets/original/2012Platform_Final.pdf https://s3.amazonaws.com/texasgop_pre/assets/original/2012Pl...
- WillPostForFood 1y ago
  Yes, they are opposing a type of modern educational program, not the concept of thinking skills. If you are familiar with elementary school curriculums, they are opposing Everyday Math or Illustrative Mathematics and supporting memorizing multiplication tables. https://illustrativemathematics.org/math-curriculum/k-5-math/ https://illustrativemathematics.org/math-curriculum/k-5-math...
  - consumer451 1y ago
    > challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority. What about that passage? Can you explain to me what "fixed beliefs" means?
    - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
      > Can you explain to me what "fixed beliefs" means? Probably some blend of religious and moral values, political and civic beliefs and cultural views towards divisive issues.
      - consumer451 1y ago
        Religion was my partial read for "fixed beliefs" as well. I have been alive for quite some time now, and the major battle for the young mind in the US was regarding evolution vs. literal biblical interpretation. This is the reason for charter schools, destroying the U.S. Department of Education, and much more. Those "fixed beliefs" are very fragile when exposed to new information.
        s1artibartfast 1y ago
        I think it is a side note on the charter schools issue. The main driver is terrible standards and discipline in public schools. There is a reason atheists are putting their kids in charter schools too, and even religious schools.
        consumer451 1y ago
        I hear you, solid point looking at the current state of public education. The next question is: why is our public education system so lacking? My recollection is that ever since science started to counter strict religious teachings, a significant portion of the country stopped trying to improve the public education system, and instead began to undermine it.