Tuesday Open Thread

My Dad wrote his Harvard PhD thesis on the history of the Boston School System and how it was designed to turn the masses of immigrants into good, unquestioning workers. This article brings that point to mind.

The Republican Party of Texas has issued their 2012 political platform and has come out and blatantly opposed critical thinking in public schools throughout the state. If you wonder what took them so long to actually state that publicly, it is really a matter of timing. With irrationality now the norm and an election hovering over the 2012 horizon, the timing of the Republican GOP announcement against "critical thinking" instruction couldn't be better. It helps gin up their anti-intellectual base.

The Texas GOP's declarative position against critical thinking in public schools, or any schools, for that matter, is now an official part of their political platform. It is public record in the Republican Party of Texas 2012 platform. With regard to critical thinking, the Republican Party of Texas document states: "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." (page 20, Republican Party of Texas, 2012).

Truthout.org

Get me outta here!!!
Elaine

by ElaineinNM on Tue Jul 10th, 2012 at 11:58:07 AM EST

Re: The unthinking masses... (none / 0)

Hmmm, I'll have to sleep on it, perhaps some cogitation, before i foist an opinion.

Up next, mandatory lobotomies!

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Tue Jul 10th, 2012 at 12:05:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The unthinking masses... (none / 0)

Yup....go to school, get lobotomized.

The US, in general, does not value it's population as a resource, and this policy carries through education, healthcare, the environment and labor issues, etc.

by ElaineinNM on Tue Jul 10th, 2012 at 12:35:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The unthinking masses... (none / 0)

Sadly, the UK (and much of europe) is trending in a similar direction

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Jul 10th, 2012 at 12:59:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The unthinking masses... (4.00 / 5)

It is political double-speak designed to pull in evangelical votes. For example, on the one hand they oppose challenging fixed beliefs:

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.

but when it is a case where the "fixed beliefs" are not in line with the approved story, then they support such challenges:

We support objective teaching and equal treatment of all sides of scientific theories. We believe theories such as life origins and environmental change should be taught as challengeable scientific theories subject to change as new data is produced. Teachers and students should be able to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these theories openly and without fear of retribution or discrimination of any kind.

The reality is that the upper middle class parents will live in good school districts where evolution, environment, sex, etc. are taught reasonably well, and the religious crackpots will send their kids to Christian schools. And those kids won't care that they can't get into Rice or UT or Aggie, because they will be headed towards a Christian college anyway.

by asdf on Tue Jul 10th, 2012 at 12:52:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The unthinking masses... (none / 0)

Was education mentioned as a contributory factor to the downfall of the Roman Empire ?

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Jul 10th, 2012 at 01:00:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The unthinking masses... (none / 1)

Education was either performed as a court function, in temples, at home, where parents passed on such knowledge as they possessed by what means they had available, by hired tutors or, in some cases, by a master to whom a child was apprenticed.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Jul 10th, 2012 at 05:22:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 5)

You kinda knew this was gonna be confirmed sooner or later

Yahoo - Many Wall Street executives say wrongdoing is necessary: survey

(Reuters) - If the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes were to go out with his lantern in search of an honest man today, a survey of Wall Street executives on workplace conduct suggests he might have to look elsewhere.
A quarter of Wall Street executives see wrongdoing as a key to success, according to a survey by whistleblower law firm Labaton Sucharow released on Tuesday.
In a survey of 500 senior executives in the United States and the UK, 26 percent of respondents said they had observed or had firsthand knowledge of wrongdoing in the workplace, while 24 percent said they believed financial services professionals may need to engage in unethical or illegal conduct to be successful.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Jul 10th, 2012 at 03:42:52 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 5)

24% are willing to state that cheating was necessary for success. Likely over 90% believe it is necessary, regardless of how they feel about it. Some can succeed honestly, more have to choose between cheating and failing. Gresham's Law is driving out honesty.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Jul 10th, 2012 at 05:26:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

Indeed.

If they believe dishonesty is essential for success, it's not like they're going to lie about it to a whistleblower's survey, surely?

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Tue Jul 10th, 2012 at 05:55:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

They chose peddling used securities instead of used cars because the legal/ethical standards for selling used car was too high for them.

by Marie2 on Tue Jul 10th, 2012 at 09:41:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Tuesday Open Thread | 17 comments (17 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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