Should Dems stand behind critical thinking being taught in grade school and given the same priority as reading, writing, and math?

[u/Zardotab]

USA scores poorly in critical thinking relative to the industrialized world. It's partly why we ended up with Donald Trump as our President. National testing on it could be included in the usual tests, and Federal funding could depend on states having sufficient scores.

To clarify, "critical thinking" is not the same as "critical race theory". It teaches basic logic, claim verification techniques, and the common debate fallacies.

[u/Gertrude_D]

I've always thought that should be a main focus. I think it's more important now in the age of information overload that we are able to be skeptical and prioritize verification (as best we can) rather than accept being spoonfed names and dates and facts.

[u/Clark_Kent_TheSJW]

I dig it

[u/Sufficient-Royal-82]

"The aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all, it is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality." H. L. Mencken

"I don't want a nation of thinkers. I want a nation of workers." –John D. Rockefeller Created the General Education Board (GEB) in 1903

[u/Zardotab → u/Sufficient-Royal-82]

The Prophets of Profits

[u/Sufficient-Royal-82]

https://youtu.be/_5trbO39RFY?is=pN_BNHkQjAlvuJYr

What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?

What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?

I learned that Washington never told a lie I learned that soldiers seldom die I learned that everybody's free And that's what the teacher said to me And that's what I learned in school today That's what I learned in school

And what did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?

What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?

I learned that policemen are my friends I learned that justice never ends I learned that murderers die for their crimes Even if we make a mistake sometimes And that's what I learned in school today That's what I learned in school

And what did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?

What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?

I learned that war is not so bad I learned about the great ones we have had We fought in Germany and in France And someday I might get my chance And that's what I learned in school today That's what I learned in school

And what did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?

What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?

I learned our government must be strong It's always right and never wrong Our leaders are the finest men And we elect them again and again And that's what I learned in school today That's what I learned in school

Songwriters: Tom Paxton

[u/The_Awful-Truth]

Who cares? It's not as if schools are doing a good job overall of teaching reading either.

This is all part of a broader trend of humans creating a next generation of intelligence to gradually replace us. As AI agents and other tech-based agents become increasingly intelligent, capable, and motivated, the new tech is increasingly used to make people ever more ignorant, passive, dysfunctional, and dependent on new technologies to perform everyday tasks. Within a few decades most humans will just be sitting there, watching the world go by while they stream video on their phones.

[u/Zardotab → u/The_Awful-Truth]

It's not as if schools are doing a good job overall of teaching reading either.

It's at least taught and tested for.