On 7/12/2012 11:38 AM, George Plimpton wrote:

``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 students fixed beliefs and undermining parental
authority.''

Then, they say

`We believe that because the Permanent School Fund is not paid by
taxpayers that the principle balance should be safeguarded''

I think that they meant "principal balance".

I'm not sure what they were teaching about (HOTS) but some of the
teachings,
in a nutshell, are "don't believe what your parents taught you,
believe us
instead", then they get students to stop believing established facts
and
push revisionist history and other lies. They simply brainwash the
sense
out of students and fill (indoctrinate, not educate) them with
nonsense.

RogerN


They do brainwash students.

Which is why the public schools should be dismantled.

They should have dismantled them

They never should have been put in place.


Ask around and see how many people agree with that.

As usual, you mistake majority sentiment with sound thinking, when in
fact they usually mean exactly the opposite. A majority of tens of
millions think McDonald's is good food, but it isn't.

There is no valid reason at all for government to be in the business of
operating schools. You idiot leftards don't even advocate that
government directly supply medical care, i.e., that government ought to
own and operate the hospitals and clinics and directly employ the
medical staff. Instead, leftards say that those things ought to be
privately provided, but paid for by government. So, why not the
schools? Why can't you ****ing morons ever be consistent? Get the
government *OUT* of the business of owning and operating schools and
employing the incompetent teachers, and instead let them give vouchers
to people to send their children to the private school of their choice.


If you weren't so ideologically wrapped up you would know why schools
are treated differently from health care. In the first place public
schools have been one of the first and most important services the
government provided. Aside from the post office schools were one of the
first things the government did in this country. By the way, that was
because that is what the public wanted. The government did not force
public education on the people. The people wanted it. We had your kind
of system when Jefferson and Adams got their education. It was
completely private and only the few got any. We wanted everyone to be
educated and the free market was not going to provide it for us.

It was determined long ago that a public that was literate would be a
big improvement over the mass illiteracy we had in the early 1800s. The
market was not providing a literate public so the government got
involved and started public schools. At the time just about everyone
thought this was a proper role of the government and was a great benefit
to the nation and the public. The majority of Americans still think that
and unlike McDonald's, this is a democratic country where what the
majority wants means something. So if the majority of Americans want
public education then that is what they get.

Health care is nothing like education. It's apples and oranges. So it's
natural to expect they won't be treated the same. Public education has
provided one of the most literate and well educated in the history of
the world. It worked. Our private health care system was failing as far
back as the 1960s. It wasn't working then and it is still failing. Every
year more people are priced out of the system. Without a national plan
to distribute health care to everyone we will continue to trail the rest
of the world.

Contrary to what ideologues believe, government does some things well
and some better than the free market. Health care delivery is one of
them. We already have the best doctors, nurses, hospitals, and medical
education system in the world. It is only logical that they continue
providing the medical care. The only logical thing is for the government
to deal with the payments part of the system. The rest of the world
knows this and so do most educated people. Only the ignorant don't know
that. That means you.

Hawke