The 2012 Texas Republican Platform: An Insult to Education

The 2012 Texas GOP has released their plan for the education of their children, and let me tell you, their ideas are unbelievable. Normally, one would think unbelievability is a good thing, but that could not be more untrue in this circumstance. The Texan Republican Party has suggested removing the teaching of critical thinking skills. Why?  They think that the purpose of critical thinking skills is to undermine parent authority and change students’ fixed beliefs. I have never heard such an outlandish claim. As we all know, critical thinking skills are the foundation of a successful college career and thus, a successful life.

The very idea of eliminating critical thinking is an insult to the intelligence of adolescents. Are they suggesting that critical thinking provokes too much independent thought? I did not know such a thing was possible. As an adolescent, my parents always did their best to encourage creative and innovative thought. They did not try to stifle it as the Texas GOP intends to do. Also, the critical thinking skills I learned never led me to undermine my parents’ authority, as the Republican platform suggests.  Critical thinking is not the cause of rebellion against one’s parents. Adolescents rebel for smaller reasons, like not being allowed to go to a party, or being grounded. It is a natural thing to challenge your parents at some point or another, and critical thinking skills taught in school are not to blame for this.

In addition to undermining parental authority, the Texan Republican Party believes that teaching critical thinking skills causes students to change their fixed beliefs. I am assuming they are referring to religious beliefs that most children have been taught since childhood. This could not be more outrageous. It suggests that if children are allowed to think deeply, they will deny their religion. Religion is not a purely logical thing for most people. It involves an immense amount of faith, thus it cannot be reasoned through. Also, people’s beliefs change throughout adolescent hood due to curiosity. When children start asking about the whos and the whats of religion, they will make decisions based upon the satisfaction they get from the answers. Critical thinking is a natural and essential part of human life and it cannot be avoided.

I hope this platform outrages you as much as it does me. Politicians cannot continue to try to dumb down our future generations. Thus, we have to take action. Please show your disapproval for this platform through any way you can, including social media. Texas’s Republicans must be confronted about the atrocities that they are proposing and they must be stopped.

Don’t believe me? Look at the platform yourself at:

http://www.texasgop.org/about-the-party