Texas GOP Adopts Platform to Oppose ‘Critical Thinking’ in Schools

Jun 29, 2012

First it was the [Ethnic Studies ban in Tucson](https://colorlines.com/tag/ethic%20studies), now the Republican Party of Texas has adopted a 2012 platform that flat out opposes the teaching of "critical thinking skills" in schools. The party now says it was all a mistake… a mistake they’ll have to live with until the next state convention in 2014. Below is an excerpt from the "2012 Republican Party of Texas Report of Platform Committee" that describes the danger of critical thinking. [Talking Points Memo](http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/texas_gops_2012_platform_accidentally_opposes_teaching_of_critical_thinking_skills.php?ref=fpb) points out the platform stipulates that "[e]very Republican is responsible for implementing this platform." "[The chairman of the Education Subcommittee] indicated that it was an oversight of the committee, that the plank should not have included ‘critical thinking skills’ after ‘values clarification,’" [Republican Party of Texas (RPT) Communications Director Chris Elam told TPM on Thursday.](http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/texas_gops_2012_platform_accidentally_opposes_teaching_of_critical_thinking_skills.php?ref=fpb) "And it was not the intent of the subcommittee to present a plank that would have indicated that the RPT in any way opposed the development of critical thinking skills." Elam said the members of the subcommittee "regret" the oversight, but because the mistake was part of the platform approved by the convention, "it cannot be corrected until the next state convention in 2014." In other news, the Texas GOP also appose Early Childhood Development programs, unfortunately, that isn’t a mistake. They are for real.