Early this
month, Texas Republican delegates met in Fort Worth to approve their 2012
platform, notable parts of which take aim at the state's education
system.
In the section
titled "Education Our Children," the document states that "corporal punishment
is effective" and recommends teachers be given "more authority" to deal with
disciplinary problems.
Additionally,
the document states the party opposes mandatory pre-school and kindergarten,
saying parents are "best suited to train their children in their early
development."
The position
causing the most controversy, however, is the statement that they oppose the
teaching of "higher order thinking skills" -- a curriculum which strives to
encourage critical thinking -- arguing that it might challenge "student's fixed
beliefs" and undermine "parental authority."
The party also
notes its encouragement of legislation that prevents "non-citizens unlawfully
present in the United States" from enrolling in public schools, a stance that
federal officials have previously deemed against the law.
In March, U.S.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told Bloomberg he felt "very, very baldy" for
Texas students.
"Texas may have
the lowest high school graduation rate in the country," Duncan said, according
to Bloomberg.
The following
weekend, former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs gave his own criticism
of the state's education system.
"I think when it
comes to someone like Rick Perry, [voters are] going to wonder why a place like
Texas has one of the worst education systems," Gibbs said on "Meet the Press."
Huffington Post
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