It’s medieval thought for everyone in this country or else!
Many of the heinous parts of the Republican platform have been brought to light over the past week, but one that’s been virtually ignored—possibly due to the way it was worded—is the party’s stance on critical thinking.
One part of the Republican platform is actually opposing critical thought—or, as it was worded, Higher Order Thinking Skills. The republicans claim that this is in opposition to not only Outcome-Based Education (which is a good thing), but also that it challenges student beliefs and authority, which is SUCH a bad thing! Because heaven forbid that beliefs be challenged and students either A. change their opinions based on new knowledge, thus becoming adults and better citizens or B. strengthen their opinions with the challenges that debate and critical thinking employ.
I know much of what the republicans stand for is just plain wonky to a lot of us, but shouldn’t most people be outraged by this? Honestly, if you aren’t living in a cave, stockpiling weapons and training your children to be in your cult of the purple kool-aid, you should be demanding more critical thinking skills, not prohibiting them! How the hell else are we going to move forward and fix the problems we’ve created? 1984, anyone?
