Elk County Forum

It's All About Federal Government Control !

Common Core Education is not about education, it is about Federal Government Control !

Just as ObamaCare or ACA is not about Affordable Health Care, it is about Federal Government Control !

Gun Control is not about citizens protection but simple disarmament and it is about Federal Government Control !
   
The idea of giving  everyone a guaranteed basic income is not about helping the poor, it is about Federal Government Control !

Flooding the country with illegals that can be made dependent on Federal and State aid is about Federal Government Control !

Homeland Security isn't about our country safety, it is about Federal Government Control !

NSA isn't about our safety, it is about Federal Government Control !

When do the people wake up ?

After all their constitutional rights are gone and they are totally dependent on the Federal Government?

Is that when?

Sorry that will be to late!

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The States were bought by the Federal Government with your tax dollars and they accepted out of greed.

Common Core was publicized as a state-led, voluntary initiative, but it was actually an offer states couldn't refuse if they wanted their share of billions of federal education dollars. Now that most states have signed on, they're getting more – and less – than they bargained for.

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PUBLISHED: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2013 AT 5:00 AMommon Core is not about education. It is about competition. It is about our students in the United States competing with students from the Far East and Canada.
Common Core seeks to create an educational system that meets the needs of the marketplace. So Common Core is about business and economics also.

What about education?

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20131218/OPINION02/712189970

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By Mark Schenck Contributing columnist

A monopoly is when one person or company has overwhelming control of a certain sector of business. Monopolies have a negative effect on the economy. They destroy competition, which benefits consumers by providing a choice of products — that in turn stimulates creativeness and helps to control product cost.

Many laws have been written to control monopolies. Fortunately the federal government forbids monopolies in the commercial sector, however it has a different set of rules to govern it's own "Single Option Programs" — such as the one soon to be adopted in a school near you, the "Common Core' Curriculum."

This method of teaching is just as it's name suggests: Common Core Curriculum will in fact become the common standard for all schools. This in itself denotes 'Common Core' as a monopoly — and what has the g overnment stated about the effects of monopolies on creativeness, choice, and cost?

http://www.laurinburgexchange.com/news/opinion-opinion_columns/3179600/Common-Core-a-monopoly-on-education

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By Reid Wilson
December 17 at 6:00 am

Even as international studies show American students falling farther behind Asian and European students in math, science and reading scores, a group of Republican governors, mostly in Southern states, are distancing themselves from a set of education standards that most of their colleagues are embracing.

The governors find themselves under pressure from opponents of Common Core standards. Those opponents, largely made up of conservative activists, say the standards are a federal power grab aimed at dictating state education policy, which should be the domain of the states.

"There is serious public concern about the reach of the federal government into state public education policy," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) said in a statement Monday, when he announced an executive order that reaffirms his state's "right and responsibility to define and implement its own public school standards and curricula."

"Our classrooms will not become delivery vehicles for bureaucratic federal mandates. We have made tremendous progress in enacting improvements in our public education system, and we will continue pursuing what works for Mississippi children," Bryant said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/12/17/republicans-back-away-from-common-core-as-legislative-roadblocks-advance/?tid=hpModule_ba0d4c2a-86a2-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394

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Rotten to the Core
Instead of ill-conceived standards, improve schools with vouchers and competition
By Vicki E. Alger

December 17, 2013

Americans expect more individualization, from flexible workplace schedules and telecommuting, to TV programs that can be watched at viewers' convenience.

Yet American education is moving in the opposite direction toward one-size-fits-all schooling thanks in no small part to the Common Core national standards. Savvy education consumers should reject this growing centralization and start demanding from education what they demand from every other industry sector: more innovation and personalization.

Common Core was publicized as a state-led, voluntary initiative, but it was actually an offer states couldn't refuse if they wanted their share of billions of federal education dollars. Now that most states have signed on, they're getting more – and less – than they bargained for.

Common Core is supposed to provide a consistent understanding of what students should know to be college- and career-ready. But it turns out Common Core's standards are no more rigorous than the average state standards were. Worse, new Common Core-aligned tests cost state taxpayers about twice as much their previous standard tests.

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/12/17/common-core-more-and-less-than-states-bargained-for

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Posted: 12/19/2013 2:14 PM

Fast forward eight years and the introduction of Common Core Standards. In a country where learning disabled students and non-English speaking students are grouped into regular classrooms, it becomes problematic for so-called standardized education to be administered to all. Like clothing, one size (or test) does not fit all.

Addressing today's Common Core Standards, Margaret Dayton writes, "NCLB is evolving into a more dangerous national curriculum than was proposed in its original, overwhelming proposal, and plans to address re-authorization don't seem to exist anywhere."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristen-houghton/common-core-aka-nclb_b_4450463.html

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Danny Vinik   Dec. 19, 2013, 12:16 PM

In recent months, the idea of giving everyone a guaranteed basic income has garnered increased interest from economists and journalists alike.

The idea is pretty simply: you send all adults a check every month, no conditions attached. It would eliminate the numerous bureaucratic government agencies that currently help low-income Americans.

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-another-reason-conservatives-should-favor-giving-everyone-a-basic-income-2013-12?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=emailshare

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By Stephen Dinan  The Washington Times

The Obama administration deported just 1 percent of illegal immigrants living within the interior of the U.S. Last year, according to statistics released Thursday, which signals that most illegal immigrants face little chance of being kicked out of the country.

In fiscal year 2013, which ended Sept. 30, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed 133,551 immigrants, down more than 25 percent from the previous year, even as the estimated number of illegal immigrants grew to 11.7 million.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/19/us-deportations-plummet-2013-report/

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This just a small list of Federal Government Controls possible controls of the of the people !

I am sure there is a lot more.

You are invited to add to the list if you have the cahonies.

Posted on December 27, 2013



Common Core Standards come to California.



It is late on a Tuesday afternoon and I am sitting in the school library, which was recently converted into a computer center. This means it can no longer be used as a library, but libraries are considered obsolete in the coming Common Core Standards (CCS) era. It appears that at least one third of the books have already been given away or boxed up and sent to the downtown book depository.

You see, Common Core Standards set new "literacy expectations," reflecting a "shared school responsibility," using new "metacognitive strategies" to "direct thinking and learning," in order to prepare students for "life in a technological society."

Got all that? Neither have I.

The CCS is just one more in a long line of schemes cooked up to "close the gaps" and try to improve black and Hispanic school performance. Among other things, the CCS will shift "literacy" away from the Western Canon to what will be 70 percent non-fiction. This will include how-to books, technical manuals, court opinions, "global informative/explanatory texts," and—believe it or not—government documents such as the Environmental Protection Agency's Recommended Levels of Insulation, and California's Invasive Plant Inventory. Dead white authors are not part of the CCS agenda.

Common Core promises national standards that are "robust," "real world," "aligned with college and work expectations," and "evidence based." It will use "best practices," be "internationally benchmarked," and promises to close the pesky racial achievement gap that 50 years of "best practices" have failed to close.

Do not be fooled. CCS is a particularly insidious program of socialism, white guilt, global citizenship, self-esteem, and culturally sensitive language.

Words such as "fireman," "policeman," and "chairman," are strictly forbidden in CCS. Instead, we must talk about fire fighters, police officers and chairpersons. Naturally, no one is ever "disabled." He is "differently abled," "has disabilities," or is "physically or mentally challenged." Students who commit outrageous crimes on campus are, believe it or not, "behaviorally challenged." Students who fail repeatedly are "at potential," as opposed to those who are likely to fail, who are "at risk."

The other day, all the teachers at our school were called in for a lecture on the new standards. "We are honored today," the principal began, "to have the area superintendent, recently voted educator of the year, to conduct our professional development and help us get ready for Common Core Standards implementation."

"Let's get started right away," the area superintendent announced, writing a series of education acronyms on the board. "This school is a designated Intensive Support and Innovation Center, an ISIC school, and it is the teaching methods, the pedagogy that needs to change. Teachers here are focusing on product and not on content and delivery methods, which is causing our students to fail repeatedly."

So it's our fault. We teachers call students who fail the same classes repeatedly "The F Troop."

So what does it mean to be an "Intensive Support and Innovation Center, an ISIC school"? It means ours is one of the worst-performing schools. Since bad test scores are our fault, it means the bureaucrats in their plush offices have decided to lather us up with a whole new layer of bureaucracy and browbeating. Among other things, this means "professional development"–teacher training every week. I can't tell you how much teachers hate this. The ISIC motto is the usual drivel: "We Innovate and Transform Learning to Inspire Excellence."

I glanced around the room at the weary faces, and knew everyone was tired of being blamed for student failure. I looked at the math department and realized that not a single teacher among them had fewer than 25 years of experience. What is it we haven't tried? How dare this overpaid functionary lecture us about teaching methods? And what on earth does he mean by "product," as opposed to "content"?

Although I knew better than to challenge district officials on education dogma, I was fed up with being browbeaten by out-of-classroom, clueless bureaucrats who work in cushy offices far from school campuses. "How do we help students who enter our 11th grade classrooms with third grade reading skills?" I asked stupidly, knowing district administrators are well trained to handle any sign of opposition to what they are so well paid to promote. The area superintendent was ready with a canned answer: "You must scaffold, break down the lesson to make it more understandable for those students who need extra help in catching up. I suggest you break the students into small groups and have them teach each other the lesson."

"Also," I continued, "how are students who read far below grade level expected to do homework assignments from the 11th grade text which I am mandated to assign to them?"

"Homework shouldn't be assigned," the area superintendent responded sternly. "The district superintendent himself said that homework should count for no more than 10 percent of a student's grade. You are focusing on productivity and not content and delivery. What do you think this is, a factory? A student who does not do homework falls behind the rest of the class and will be unable to catch up."

I didn't dare ask the question I really wanted to pose: "How are students supposed to take the new, essay-only CCS tests on iPads, which we haven't yet received, in a school like ours that does not have WiFi?"

I knew that not one other teacher in the room would demand answers to my questions about CCS; they wanted me to shut up and let the superintendent finish so they could go home.

Friday was career day for 11th graders. The first speaker was an official from the Department of Power and Water. He started by asking the students: "Where does most of our water come from?" One student raised his hand: "the ocean." "Good answer, the official said, but most of our water comes from the Eastern Sierras." The official asked another question: "Does anyone know where most of our power comes from?" Another student raised his hand: "From the sun." "You're on the right track," the presenter said, "but we haven't developed solar power to a great extent yet, most of our power comes from far-away generators." For raising their hands and answering the questions, each kid received a prize. That's the only way to get them to participate in a session like this one. Maybe these students need Common Core literature after all, I thought.

Later, that same afternoon, after a long week and as I was packing up to go home, the assistant principal knocked on my classroom door: "We are getting a new student on Monday," he tells me casually, "who has Sudden Death Syndrome. If any of your students see him passed out on the floor in the bathroom or out on the PE field, tell them to report it to the office."

I wrote to a cyberpal in St. Louis about CCS: "I see that your state, Missouri, is trying to opt out of the Common Core Standards that are being forced down our throats in California."

"Yes," he replied, "the Democrat governor is the only politician in the state who wants it. Republicans, who dominate the state legislature, don't want it because it's another Obama boondoggle. Black Democrats reject it because they're bought and paid for by the teachers' union, which doesn't want it because teachers' careers, especially for teachers in urban black districts, will be at the mercy of their black students' test scores."

We should be so lucky in California. The state has embraced Common Core and plans to implement it in full this spring. Teachers like me are set up to take the fall when CCS, like all the grandiose programs before it, inevitably fails.

http://www.amren.com/features/2013/12/the-latest-educational-gimmick/

Common Core is an integral part of UN Agenda 21/Sustainable Development: globalization is the standardization of systems. Whether the system is law enforcement or land use or government, the standardization, harmonization, and integration of all international methods of management is essential for total control. 

Education is the flash point for embedding system acceptance in all sectors of the population.  Standardized propaganda is developed for pre-kindergarten to post graduate school; this is what is meant by 'Life Long Learning.' 

Breaking down traditional methods of learning in order to re-socialize the populace is the goal.  Obedient, dependent people who are constantly being propagandized will provide the 'human capital' to fully implement UN Agenda 21/Sustainable Development.

Regardless of the content of this nationalized and internationalized system of behavioral modification, the goal and outcome will be to fundamentally destroy the individual's rights.




For more, please click on the following links that will take you to posts about Common Core on this website

Globalization is the Standardization of Systems

Common Core is Institutionalized Terrorism

Common Core is Agenda 21

Common Core: The Tip of the Iceberg

Common Core Backlash

The World Happiness Index and Mass Murder

The Mainstream Press Lies About UN Agenda 21--Why?

2013: The Year We Reach Critical Awareness of UN Agenda 21

Guest Post: Charlotte Iserbyt on Common Core

Turning 6 year olds into Propaganda Machines: Common Core

INDOCTRINATION IN FORMER USSR USES TECHNIQUES DEVELOPED IN USA

Guest Post: Charlotte Iserbyt on School Choice/Common Core

COMMON CORE RESISTANCE IS SPREADING

http://www.democratsagainstunagenda21.com/common-core-is-agenda-21.html

You won't see it called Agenda 21.  It won't come with flashing lights announcing that it's part of a global standardization program to inventory, monitor, and control every aspect of your life.  Example?Common Core is the 'new' inventory and control system adopted by nearly every state in the US to fully implement Skinnerian training.  This system creates people who will go along to get along, who will be 'good obedient citizens'.    RESIST.  TELL YOUR SCHOOL BOARD THAT YOU WANT OUT OF COMMON CORE.  This is a top down federal/global system for pseudo-education and is a tremendous threat to our independence as individuals and as a nation.

Read the following article and then get more info by delving into this excellent.website http://whatiscommoncore.wordpress.com/category/public-private-partnerships-ppp/

and by reading Orlean Koehle's book, Common Core: A Trojan Horse for Education Reform.

A terrific website for analysis of Common Core http://www.invisibleserfscollar.com/

How's Your Common Core Knowledge?
via Truth in American Education by Shane Vander Hart on 1/28/13

An interesting quiz was published at The Progressive... they challenge readers to test their public ed savvy.  These are the last four questions and answers:

7. Common Core Standards were developed because
a) parents worry that US children score far below other countries on international tests.
b) teachers lack the skills to craft adequate curriculum and wanted help.
c) state departments of education asked for them.
d) of grass-roots concern that children need special tools to compete in the Global Economy.
e) the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation paid for them

8. Common Core Standards in literacy were written by
a) classroom teachers.
b) child psychologists.
c) university researchers.
d) business leaders.
e) a lawyer who specializes in "standards-driven reform" and someone whose background is in Management Consulting, who once tutored children while studying at Yale.

9. The new Common Core tests
a) let the teachers know exactly what each student needs to learn next.
b) give parents evidence teachers are doing their job.
c) ensure that standards are being met.
d) give principals a fair way to evaluate teachers.
e) make fiscal demands many districts cannot meet.

10. The new online feature of Common Core testing
a) will reduce administration costs.
b) will streamline student evaluation.
c) offers new opportunities for creativity.
d) will lead to more individualized learning.
e) means students will be tested many more times each year.

Here are the answers as given by The Progressive...

7. E
"Is the Gates Foundation Involved in bribery," July 23, 2010
http://prorevnews.blogspot.com/2010/07/is-gates-foundation-involved-in-bribery.html
"JoLLE Forum–Rotten to the (Common) Core," Nov. 1, 2012
http://www.susanohanian.org/core.php?id=364
8. E
David Coleman bio; Susan Pimentel bio
http://about.collegeboard.org/leadership/president
http://www.nagb.org/who-we-are/members/bios/b_pimentel.html
9. E
"Federal Mandates on Local Education: Costs and Consequences–Yes, it's a Race, but is it in the Right Direction?"
http://www.newpaltz.edu/crreo/brief_8_education.pdf
10. E
"Common Core Assessments"
http://truthinamericaneducation.com/common-core-assessments/
http://dianeravitch.net/2012/07/25/stephen-krashen-how-much-testing/

http://www.democratsagainstunagenda21.com/1/post/2013/01/common-core-is-agenda-21.html

But we don't want to be Social Idiots do we?
We want to follow orders. don't we?


04/15/2013


The joke is that you can mess with my kids but don't touch my dog.  Well, luckily it's not true that people--parents and educators---will stand quietly and allow their children to be abused by standardized testing and 'educational' programs.  I almost typed 'pogroms'.  Look it up.

So the Associated Press finally broke down and did a story on Common Core, but didn't name it.  They focused in on just standardized testing and not on standardized curriculum.  According to a former Bush operative who helped write No Child Left Behind, Sandy Kress, the problem is in 'overtesting.'   After the Associated Press adds a couple of columns to muddy the issue and not address standardized 'education' and data collection, Kress wraps up the article in phony concern for the children.  Here's the quote: "This is about way more than testing," Kress said.  "The question is whether we're (she means 'Society' here) willing to hold ourselves accountable.  The question is whether there are consequences for adults and whether we're serous about all children meeting standards.  This is a test of our culture and whether we're prepared to see these aspirations to reality.  I worry that we're not going to pass this test."

She's worried that society won't be able to pull off the most massive, comprehensive social manipulation since Nazi Germany, Maoist China, and Soviet Russia.  Worried.

Now I want to read you something from a book called The Gulag Archipelago.  This book was written by a man who was a prisoner in Soviet Russia during the years of Lenin and Stalin.  The book covers the years 1918-1956, and it's painful reading. The passage I'm going to share with you will answer your question:  How can people do these things?  Do they actually believe that they're doing the right thing?  Why can't they listen to us? 

"Ideology--that is what gives evildoing its long-sought justification and gives the evildoer the necessary steadfastness and determination.  That is the social theory which helps to make his acts seem good instead of bad in his own and others' eyes, so that he won't hear reproaches and curses but will receive praise and honors. ..  Thanks to ideology, the twentieth century was fated to experience evildoing on a scale calculated in the millions.  This cannot be denied, nor passed over, nor suppressed.  How, then, do we dare insist that evildoers do not exist?...Yes, a human being hesitates and bobs back and forth between good and evil all his life.  He slips, falls back, clambers up, repents, things begin to darken again.  But just so long as the threshold of evildoing is not crossed, the possibility of returning remains, and he himself is still within reach of our hope.  But when, through the density of evil actions, the result either of their own extreme degree or of the absoluteness of his power, he suddenly crosses that threshold, he has left humanity behind, and without, perhaps, the possibility of return."   From Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago.

According to the Associated Press article, students all over the United States are refusing to take standardized tests.  Opt-outs, boycotts, protests, and moratoriums are spreading. 

REFUSE TO COLLABORATE.  FIGHT COMMON CORE.  DIRECT INSTRUCTION.  VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS. OUTCOME BASED EDUCATION. LIFELONG LEARNING. WHOLE CHILD TRAINING. INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE.   WORKFORCE TRAINING.
IT'S ABOUT TRAINING YOU TO BE AN OBEDIENT GLOBAL CITIZEN.
ARE YOU?

           COMMON CORE IS AGENDA 21.

http://www.democratsagainstunagenda21.com/1/post/2013/04/common-core-backlash.html

I must state from the outset that I am innately suspicious of the underlying motives or claimed educational benefits of any initiative--Common Core included--supported by the Governor of Georgia who, having instituted austerity cuts in 2003, led Georgia to be one of the only states to use teacher furloughs to balance the state budget, and who consistently under-funded public education in order to  promote quality fishing.

Common Core is a standardized national curriculum. Why is this problematic? From an historical context, a centralized school curriculum serves the goals of totalitarian states. It's also illegal. The General Education Provisions Act, the Department of Education Organization Act, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act all forbid or protect against the USDOE sticking its nose into the curriculum choices of state and local districts. In spite of these measures, the USDOE has been funding, since 2010, the efforts of two separate testing companies to create a national curriculum for English and mathematics. In reference to the creation of the USDOE in 1979, President Carter said in his State of the Union Address that "states, localities and private institutions will continue to bear the primary responsibility for education." Carter's Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, Joseph Califano, said, "Any set of test questions that the federal government prescribed should surely be suspect as a first step toward a national curriculum [and] a national control of curriculum is a form of national control of ideas."

In spite of the inherent legal issues, Common Core was created through a secretive process, with no thoughts for opportunities for public input, no attempt at the solicitation of public dialogue, no evidence of discussion or critique from experienced educators, no foundational research or pilot programs, and created on the assumption that any standardized national curriculum was better than no standardized national curriculum at all. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, evidently immune to mundane legalities and to legal advice, immediately made acceptance of the Common Core a requirement for approval of state applications for exemptions to the No Child Left Behind Act.

"From where did the Common Core originate?" you might ask. You might, but evidently most states either did not ask, or did not care. The National Governors' Association Center for Best Practice, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Achieve, Inc., ACT, the College Board, the State Higher Education Executive Officers, and the National Association of State Boards of Education all claim credit for developing these standards on behalf of the states. States quickly jumped on the Common Core train before they were aware of exactly what the standards would be or, perhaps more importantly, what they would cost to implement. State DOEs in states that have rushed to adoption are apparently unbothered by the fact they have relegated themselves to the role of administrative agents for a nationalized curriculum, with little or no thought to the cost of implementation.

There are additional issues:

1. There are few interdisciplinary connections among subjects. Research for many years has shown the positive effects of interdisciplinary connections on student learning and achievement. Innovation is at best ignored and at worst proscribed for teachers and for students. Standards, by their very nature, insist that if anything at all must be excluded because of the constraints of time in class, whether it be the length of the school term or year, or the amount of "material to be covered," it must not, at any cost, be the standards themselves. Creativity will no doubt be the first casualty.

2. Citizenship, personal development and the promotion of democratic values are ignored. Again I quote Califano: "[A] national curriculum is a form of the national control of ideas." I do not believe for one second that the omission of democratic values was inadvertent or unintentional. I do believe these standards will be, by design and intention, difficult to amend in any way, shape or form.

Georgia was quick to hop on the Common Core bandwagon. The rationale given by the Georgia Department of Education behind this mandated implementation of Common Core was three-fold. The Common Core, they contend, provides:

1. an answer to the problem of student mobility;
2. an opportunity to create an economy of scale, and;
3. an opportunity to compare "apples to apples" when ranking schools, systems, or students between and among states.

Student achievement seems to be missing from that particular continuum. The Common Core, along with the denigration of public school teachers, the constant assertions that public schools are failing miserably, and an insistence on the "market based" (translated to mean "privately owned for-profit educational agencies") approach to education are promulgated by Republicans[1]. "For Republicans and for the benefit of Republicans" fits nicely into the anti-public education agenda of the last decade. None of the reasons presented for the adoption of the Common Core had anything to do with improving achievement but had everything to do with flushing public education down the tubes until the public gives up, throws its collective hands into the air, and consents to pay for the private education of the privileged few. The abandonment of public education to its own financial devices will serve to maintain the traditional lifeline of the uneducated for those who depend upon them for labor, for as long as possible. Public education can only do more with less for so long. Just for the record, I find it personally difficult to believe that the minority parents who make up the majority of the 93% or so of students in public education have not seen that attack directed toward the education of their own children. Go figure.

Adopting a curriculum to solve societal mobility issues is like measuring flour with a yardstick; it defies credibility, and even the rather relaxed laws of common sense. There are easier solutions. "Economies of scale" mean little when our legislature continues to underfund public education. When you can't afford textbooks, the opportunity to not buy new ones at a cheaper price is hardly an advantage. It is rather troubling to note the number of educational "reforms" that ignore educational research, as if invoking the magic word "reform" is enough to allow any imposition, however implausible.

With adoption of the Common Core standards, you can rest assured that Common Core standardized testing is not far behind. How can we expect a single, nationwide standardized "pick-a-bubble" machine-scored test to measure what is taught in practically every school system in the U.S. effectively? The documented testing issues we already see with state assessments will increase exponentially. The June, 2012 Georgia State Board of Education minutes listed over $25,000,000 in state contracts for testing and test development for 2013. Whether these investments are educationally justifiable or wise never seems to be the question. The point of ranking states, schools, systems, and students eludes me, unless it is an attempt to shame low performers into magically doing better. I feel that neither anger nor shame can serve as a prime motivational tool. Cooperation and collaboration, however, have worked wonderfully, but are consistently in absentia from those whose declared purpose is educational reform.

Standardized tests were designed, once upon a time, to serve as prescriptive tools to help teachers help students. Presently they serve as autopsy reports that include first-time test-taker results with the primary purpose, not to assist teachers in improving student achievement, but to rank schools and systems. Teachers cannot effectively use data provided at the end of the school year to assist students who leave their classes two weeks later. If we were serious about using these tests to measure achievement—and there's a mighty big "if" about whether they do--we would give them at the beginning of the year to provide substantive data for teachers.

In a time when parents--and, as an extension, the public--are demanding more and more personalization for their children's educations, Federal and state educational agencies continue to insist upon more and more standardization--falling once again into the fallacy of "what's good for one child is good for all children."

The Common Core standards will ultimately serve not to improve student achievement but to increase the profits of standardized testing companies. The effects of poverty, family and socio-economic factors on education will continue to be largely ignored in our infatuation with the misguided belief that student achievement will improve through intensified measurement. The "teach to the test," "test prep," and "testing pep rallies" environments will grow stronger through the implementation of annual growth measurements (annual growth = 100%--the 2011 proficiency rate of first-time test-takers divided by 6) for schools, and flawed teacher evaluation models that tie teacher ratings and salary to student scores will serve as almost insurmountable incentives for teachers to teach to the test, by the test, and for the test.

The U.S. has, since the 1950s, been rated in the bottom 25% of every educational rating system imaginable. The fact that our country has set the economic standard for the rest of the world, that our creativity, achievements, and scientific progress far overshadow the nearest competitors would seem to lead us toward the beginnings of a discussion about the efficacy and reliability of the ranking systems we seem to trust as infallible measurements. Those that point to our nation's rank among international educational rankings also conveniently forget to mention that in our country every child is entitled, not just to attend school, but to expect to achieve, or at least to be tested. Every score from every student counts. There is no selective testing or tracking, and no other country makes the effort to educate every child. When our best students' scores are compared to those of other countries—surprise, surprise!-our rankings compare favorably with anyone's.

Sooner or later even legislators must see that it's not about race, it's about poverty; it's not about a test score, it's about student achievement; it's not about a standardized curriculum, it's about good teaching; it's not about the business model, it's about personalization; it's not about competition, it's about cooperation. Until that time, we will continue to get the kind of legislature and public education system that we vote for.

Relevant content and applications of knowledge through critical thinking, problem solving, modeling, and higher order thinking skills should be the focus and goal of our educational processes. Education is not supposed to be about determining or defining a specific amount or trove of material that must be learned in order to advance to the next level, but about cultivating and growing students' inquisitiveness and curiosity, which eventually grow into life skills. None of these skills or processes can be measured with any degree of reliability, accuracy, or validity by a multiple choice machine-scored test.

My suggestion is that we trust teachers enough to give them the freedom to do what they do best: teach children on personal and individualized levels. Micromanagement is an egregious sin and an almost irresistible temptation for State and Federal officials.

I predict a period of extensive frustration on the part of teachers before they get to the point that they must eventually reach in order to decide that, if anything is to be done to effectively implement the Common Core Curriculum, they must do it themselves at the local school level. Teachers, in this case as in so many others, are not the problem; they are our unrecognized salvation. Just as with the Georgia Performance Standards, the efforts of teachers will eventually--in spite of everything politicians can do to make them look like scapegoats for what are truly societal issues--be the salvation of Common Core implementation. Teachers will prevail in spite of state and Federal mandates and implementation schemes, and not because of them; until, of course, the next big reform comes around the corner, and the rules and expectations change once again.

http://www.susanohanian.org/core.php?id=364

Emphasis is mine.


By Lyndsey Layton,   Published: January 30 

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) used an executive order to strip the name "Common Core" from the state's new math and reading standards for public schools. In the Hawkeye State, the same standards are now called "The Iowa Core." And in Florida, lawmakers want to delete "Common Core" from official documents and replace it with the cheerier-sounding "Next Generation Sunshine State Standards."

In the face of growing opposition to the Common Core State Standards — a set of K-12 educational guidelines adopted by most of the country — officials in a handful of states are worried that the brand is already tainted. They're keeping the standards but slapping on fresh names they hope will have greater public appeal.

Read more here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/some-states-rebrand-controversial-common-core-education-standards/2014/01/30/a235843e-7ef7-11e3-9556-4a4bf7bcbd84_story.html?wprss=rss_homepage

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Miami Herald >  News >  Legislature

Posted on Saturday, 01.18.14
Education

By Kathleen McGrory

Herald/Times Tallahassee bureau


TALLAHASSEE --  The state education department tried to distance itself from the controversial Common Core State Standards last week by recommending changes to the benchmarks and giving them a new name.

"The proposed standards are truly our own," Deputy Chancellor Mary Jane Tappen said during a Tuesday workshop on the freshly named "Florida Standards."

But is Florida really moving away from the national benchmarks, which have drawn Tea Party ire in recent months? Or are the suggested revisions a matter of semantics?

"At their heart, the standards in Florida are still Common Core standards," said Anne Hyslop, a policy analyst with New America Foundation's Education Policy Program, noting that many of the proposed changes are minor.

Hyslop added: "The Rebranding and Messaging is Largely Political."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/18/3879688/renaming-common-core-standards.html#storylink=cpy

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Thursday, January 30, 2014

HARTFORD — State Rep. Rosa Rebimbas (R-70) joined her Republican colleagues this week on calling for Gov. Dannel Malloy and the state Department of Education to delay implementation of the Common Core teaching program and teacher evaluation process.

The legislators want it delayed until further study on the effectiveness and feasibility of the program can be performed and the discussion can be brought out into the public.

During a press conference in the Legislative Office Building the House Republican Caucus Education Committee questioned the timing and implementation of the Common Core curriculum across the state and called upon the legislature's Education Committee to hold a public hearing on the Common Core. 

According to a press release issued by Rebimbas' office, the committee highlighted problems regarding technology concerns with administering assessments under the Common Core and questioned the reliability and feasibility of linking student achievement scores on the Smarter Balanced standardized test system to teacher evaluations.

"Rushing to implement legislation that makes major changes to how our children learn, how our educator's teach and how both students and educators are evaluated without first properly examining the pros and cons of the system is a recipe for disaster, and that's what we're seeing now," Rebimbas said in the release.  "Connecticut's Common Core program must be reevaluated with clearly vetted and well established guidelines.

Feedback from educators across the state has already pointed out several potential problems with the program, including implementation problems in terms of internet technology requirements for computers in order to take the tests, students struggling with keyboarding skills at young ages, and the sheer amount of new projects and initiatives being rolled out at the same time, the release stated.

Rebimbas added in the release, "To meet the Common Core requirements, teachers and administrators are asked to do many more hours of administrative work which takes them away from teaching and the work they now must do."

Legislators also called for public hearings so the program and process can be fully vetted

On Tuesday, Malloy and legislative leaders sent a letter to the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council asking them to delay coupling the new evaluation system and the Common Core, according to ctnewsjunkie.com.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/18/3879688/renaming-common-core-standards.html

A little more reading about "Common Core"

February 4, 2014

http://21stcenturywire.com/2014/02/04/rotten-to-the-core-government-schools-common-core-indoctrination/

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This guy has been trying to educate us apparently since  9/2/01.
Have we listened?


http://batr.org/view_/090201.html

By Watchdog Staff  /   February 4, 2014  /

By Eric Owens | The Daily Caller

At an event on Friday sponsored by a leftist think tank, former Massachusetts education secretary Paul Reville called Common Core critics a "tiny minority" and asserted that "the children belong to all of us."

Reville also claimed that opponents of Common Core are against any academic standards, reports CNSNews.com.

"To be sure, there's always a small voice — and I think these voices get amplified in the midst of these arguments — of people who were never in favor of standards in the first place and never wanted to have any kind of testing or accountability, and those voices get amplified," Reville declared.

"But those are a tiny minority," he added.

Reville, a Harvard professor who served as secretary of education under current Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, then bashed federalism and suggested that

http://watchdog.org/127027/pro-common-core-panelist-children-belong-us/

February 3, 2014

BILOXI, Miss. – Mrs. Nikki Woodward is a mother who is passionate about her children's education.

Common Core just say noHer oldest is a high performing high school student in the high school. Her 5th grade daughter is equally talented and has historically earned top test schools in the district. She noticed a big change this year in the curriculum, and began to question school district and state education officials on the matter. The more she learned, the less she liked the Common Core materials being presented, particularly the curriculum being presented to her 5th grade daughter.

Woodward decided to opt her daughter out of the tests, but the school district contended that she could not opt her out. The District told her the tests were required and a parent could not "opt-out." When time came for the test, she kept her 5th grade daughter home. She writes,

"I was not allowed to "opt-out" of my daughter taking the CC Benchmark testing. My only option was to keep my daughter out of school for the FOUR days of CC Benchmark testing in January, which I did. Those days were considered unexcused absences."

Today she received a call from the school attendance officer, Ms. Crystal McKay who is a "state attendance officer" for Biloxi Public School District. The school district has now become quite aggressive about the matter and has threatened her with legal action. She writes,

"I just received a call from the attendance compliance officer for Biloxi School District. The school is mandated to report 5 absences to her. I explained to her the reason my daughter missed those 4 days of school. She informed me that after 12 absences in a school year, CHARGES WILL BE BROUGHT AGAINST THE PARENT. I looked at the school calendar and there just happens to be 12 days of standardized testing in a school year."
   
For those unaware, the common core tests are not simply end of the year tests. There are "formative" assessments and "sumnative" or final assessments. According to both Consortia, the formative tests are to see how well a child is progressing, and are not supposed to be used for ranking purposes. The Partnership for Assessing College and Career Readiness (PARCC) states,


"The diagnostic assessments will provide teachers with the means to preemptively identify potential content-related weaknesses that help explain why students are (or might later)struggle in reading, writing and/or mathematics so that they may be addressed earlier."

The formative assessments are supposed to tell the teacher if the children are learning the material. Only the final end of the year assessment is supposed to be used for that purpose.

The state of Mississippi, or at least the Biloxi School District, views formative tests differently than the consortia. The district plans to bully all the parents into bringing their children to all  the test. This needs to stop; the parents they are going after are the parents who care about their children and their education, and this appears to be retaliation against her. The consortia says these tests are merely indicators of progress, and do not have any value beyond that.

When Common Core arrived in her state, Woodward started to question the administration on the United Nations curriculum being taught in her child's school. She confronted the "powers that be" on what was being taught and told them that the curriculum was covering material that was contrary to what the laws in Mississippi stated.

http://eagnews.org/what-happens-when-your-child-doesnt-take-the-common-core-test-in-biloxi-ms/

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Blogged By trisha haas
 
As you may know if you follow me on Facebook, I pretty much hate, with a capital H-A-T-E, this "new common core" math being taught. Every day it's a massive struggle for Chris and me, him with a Masters Degree and myself with a Bachelors, to teach 3rd grade homework to our daughter.

Putting aside that we work for hours past an already 8 hour school day, ignoring that we are provided no text books to learn about the material, and sweeping under the rug that they send home homework on things they have yet to even teach yet, we are doing our best.

But we are lost.

LOST.

And I am a bit angry to tell you the truth.

Today was just another example of "fuzzy" math.

This is on Charlotte's homework:

(See picture below)

All her problems have to be done this way.

Under what math EVER would 291 be "estimated" or "rounded off" to 200?  Am I missing something? And this is the example for her to base all her other math homework on.

I can tell you that if I estimated or rounded off my bills from $291 to $200, I would get a notice of an unpaid bill. I am not sure my mortgage or car payment would agree with that.

And let's jump to the answer. The estimated sum '500′ is considered reasonable with '645′?

Is 5 million the same as 6.5 million? Ask an accountant that. Ask a corporation that.

I can't help but wanting to refuse to teach Charlotte something that I find completely and utterly wrong.

http://www.momdot.com/common-core-is-making-me-stupider/

I had to take a second look at the above post.

It just seemed ridiculously simple to screw it up?

First I reread the problem without bias and looking for a possible error I may have made.

To my surprise it is a very simple mistake I made.

I did not read the problem thoroughly the first time.

Using Front-End Estimation, something I had never of before today, so I Googled it.

It amounts to a short cut but lacks accuracy, so in this case the problem the answer is correct and the rounding is correct.

You can read about Front End Estimation at:

http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/68366.html

February 15, 2014

Great news! Thanks to the hard work of so many activists, especially our friends at Kansans Against Common Core, we finally have a solid bill in the House Education Committee (HB 2621) that will be heard next week!

Right now, your voice is critical in this discussion. We must ensure that these Kansas legislators follow through in pushing back against federal overreach and restoring authority over education to the Kansas people.

A quick recap of Kansas' Common Core history:
•The Kansas Board of Education adopted the national K-12 Common Core standards in English and math in 2010 in order to score points on a federal grant competition – a competition that we did not win.
•As a result we now have the Common Core standards (Kansas College and Career Ready Standards), and they are of poor quality:
◦They fail to prepare students for studies in science, technology, engineering and math.  They put our students two years behind their peers in high-performing countries by eighth grade, and they are even worse for high school.
◦In English language arts, the Common Core severely de-emphasizes the study of classic literature in favor of drab and simplistic "informational" texts.  It does this despite the fact that the overwhelming evidence is that children should be reading more, not less, classic literature.
◦Prominent child psychiatrists and psychologists have heavily criticized the standards as being age-inappropriate for young children.
•The Kansas State Board of Education also adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in June 2013.  The NGSS standards fail to prepare children for college science courses.

Kansas needs to reclaim its sovereignty by exiting the Common Core and developing top-notch standards that will be under Kansas' control! The state legislature can do this with the passage of a simple law – HB 2621.

TAKE ACTION!

First, forward this to as many Kansas friends and family as possible who will take action too! Please call AND e-mail (with the form below) the five most important members of the House Education Committee, and respectfully tell them to support HB 2621. After this, please select the rest of the email addresses below and ask the rest of the committee members to support HB 2621. There is not time to wait – they must lead Kansas out of the Common Core THIS session.

If you can only make a few phone calls, here are the most important representatives to contact:
•Rep. Ward Cassidy, Vice-Chair (785-296-7616) ward.cassidy@house.ks.gov
•Rep. Sue Boldra (785-296-4683)  sue.boldra@house.ks.gov
•Rep. John Ewy (785- 296-7105) john.ewy@house.ks.gov
•Rep. Amanda Grosserode (785- 296-7659)  amanda.grosserode@house.ks.gov
•Rep. Kelly Meigs (785-296-7656)  kelly.meigs@house.ks.gov

If you can contact more, here are the rest of the members.

House Education Committee

Rep. Kasha Kelley, Chair (785-296-7671) kasha.kelley@house.ks.gov

Rep. Ed Trimmer, Ranking Minority Member (785-296-7122) ed.trimmer@house.ks.gov

Rep. John Bradford (785-296-7653)  john.bradford@house.ks.gov

Rep. Carolyn Bridges (785-296-7646) carolyn.bridges@house.ks.gov

Rep. Diana Dierks (785-296-7642) diana.dierks@house.ks.gov

Rep. Willie Dove (785-296-7670) willie.dove@house.ks.gov

Rep. Shanti Gandhi (785-296-7672) shanti.gandhi@house.ks.gov

Rep. Dennis Hedke (785-296-7699) dennis.hedke@house.ks.gov

Rep. Ron Highland (785-296-7310)  ron.highland@house.ks.gov

Rep. Roderick Houston (785-296-7652) roderick.houston@house.ks.gov

Rep. Jerry Lunn (785-296-7675) jerry.lunn@house.ks.gov

Rep. Nancy Lusk (785-296-7651)  nancy.lusk@house.ks.gov

Rep. Melissa Rooker (785-296-7686)  melissa.rooker@house.ks.gov

Rep. Valdenia Winn (785-296-7657) valdenia.winn@house.ks.gov

COMMITTEE EMAILS:

kasha.kelley@house.ks.gov, ward.cassidy@house.ks.gov, ed.trimmer@house.ks.gov, sue.boldra@house.ks.gov, john.bradford@house.ks.gov, carolyn.bridges@house.ks.gov, diana.dierks@house.ks.gov, willie.dove@house.ks.gov, john.ewy@house.ks.gov, shanti.gandhi@house.ks.gov, amanda.grosserode@house.ks.gov, dennis.hedke@house.ks.gov, ron.highland@house.ks.gov, roderick.houston@house.ks.gov, jerry.lunn@house.ks.gov, nancy.lusk@house.ks.gov, kelly.meigs@house.ks.gov, melissa.rooker@house.ks.gov, valdenia.winn@house.ks.gov

The whole story and The form to fill out that helps you write your letter is at:
http://capwiz.com/eagleforum/issues/alert/?alertid=63100036&queueid=10176686696

From: John Bradford
Date: 2/15/2014 4:32:45 PM
To: Ross
Subject: Re: Common Core

I am a solid yes. I carried the bill last year as HB2289.

Enthusiasm is Contagious

Washington Post
By  Adrienne Lu,   Published: February 20

Beginning in March, more than 4 million students will serve as guinea pigs for the English and math tests for the Common Core, a set of standards adopted by almost every state that map out what students should know and be able to do in each grade.

Ultimately, Common Core tests will be used to assess both students and teachers, and they are critical to the larger mission of the standards: to increase academic rigor for all students and to allow states to better evaluate their students and compare them with those in other states.

The testing that will take place starting in March will serve as a dry run for the two groups of states that have banded together to develop Common Core tests, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC. In most states, the real Common Core tests will begin in 2015.

But as controversy over the Common Core has challenged some states' commitment to the standards, a number of states have decided to withdraw from PARCC or Smarter Balanced or to use alternative tests, raising questions about the cost of the tests and the long-term viability of the multi-state testing groups, which received $360 million in federal grants to develop the tests. The federal grants will end this fall, and it is unclear whether the testing groups will continue past that point.

"What gets tested is what gets taught," said Joan Herman, co-director emeritus of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing at UCLA. "To the extent that the assessments well represent the spirit and meaning of the standards, the spirit and meaning of the standards will get taught. Where the assessments fall short, curriculum, instruction and teaching will likely fall short as well."

Dropping the tests

Controversy over the Common Core heated up last year across the country. Critics from both ends of the political spectrum cited a variety of complaints, including the fear of federal control over education, questions about whether Common Core is superior to previous state standards and worries about the implementation of the standards, including the cost to states and school districts.

So far, none of the 45 states that adopted the English and math standards has dropped them (Minnesota adopted only the English standards). But several states have backed off from using the tests created by the two multi-state testing groups or ended their participation in the collaborations.

In December, Kansas withdrew from the Smarter Balanced coalition, opting instead to commission tests from the University of Kansas. Last month, Alaska also announced it would withdraw from Smarter Balanced and instead use tests from the University of Kansas. In September, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) ordered the state's education department to withdraw from PARCC and consider other test options. Utah withdrew from Smarter Balanced in 2012. Georgia and Oklahoma withdrew from PARCC last summer. Alabama, which had been a member of both Smarter Balanced and PARCC, withdrew from both groups; Pennsylvania has said it will use its own tests.

Some of the states have expressed concerns about the cost of the tests. PARCC has estimated its test will cost $29.50 per student — about the median its member states now pay for standardized tests; Smarter Balanced has estimated its test will cost $22.50 per student for the end-of-year exam and $27.30 per student including mid-year exams, less than current standardized test costs in two-thirds of the member states.

"Cost is an issue because it takes money to innovate," Herman said. "You can't just do that with no resources, you have to be able to invest in research and development and in the development and testing of new forms of assessment."

Herman said both PARCC and Smarter Balanced are breaking new ground in developing student tests.

"They are moving us forward in addressing deeper learning to solve problems and to think critically," Herman said. "No doubt some folks don't think they're far enough, but in my mind, they're definitely an important step forward and will provide much better targets for instructions than do most existing state tests."

Historically, most state standardized tests have focused on the knowledge and skills that are relatively simple to test and don't reflect a great depth of learning, said James Pellegrino, co-director of Learning Sciences Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a leading expert on student assessment.

Pellegrino said that because every child is now tested every year from third through eighth grades and once in high school, and because the tests must be secure, new test items must be generated constantly.

"You get into a mode of mass production, and mass production doesn't always get tuned to the highest levels of quality," Pellegrino said. "It's not like you couldn't do it, but it's very costly to produce high-quality assessments on an ongoing basis with the sort of scope and scale" used in the United States.

States that try to cut the cost of tests too much could pay the price, Pellegrino warned. "If we have shallow tests because we're trying to economize, teachers will respond to the test because they're held accountable for performance on the test," Pellegrino said. "As a consequence, they won't teach to the standards — they'll teach to the test."

Assessing complex skills

From the beginning, Smarter Balanced and PARCC have promised smarter tests that will evaluate how well students apply knowledge. Instead of multiple-choice questions, for example, students might be given "performance tasks," or groups of test questions designed around a common theme and built to assess more complex skills.

Jacqueline E. King, a spokeswoman for Smarter Balanced, said that in addition to end-of-the-year exams, Smarter Balanced will offer a package of materials including ways to assess student learning throughout the school year, along with extensive resources for teachers, such as model lesson plans.

On the end-of-year exams, King said high school students might be asked to imagine being a staff member in a congressman's office. The congressman has asked the staffer to write a short memo explaining the pros and cons of nuclear power and provide a recommendation on what position the congressman should take, including the justification for the recommendation. The student would be given background materials to read and would need to evaluate the credibility of the background materials before constructing a cogent, concise argument.

David Connerty-Marin, a spokesman for PARCC, said the group's tests will have several advantages over most current state standardized tests. They will, for example, make it easier to evaluate students who are significantly above or below grade level. They also will evaluate reading and writing scores at every grade (currently, few states test writing at every grade level) and gauge whether students are on track to be "college ready" when they graduate from high school.

'Depth of knowledge'

In Michigan, which has seen its share of controversy over the Common Core, Joseph Martineau, the deputy superintendent for accountability services, said the Smarter Balanced exams offer multiple advantages over the current state standardized test, the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, or MEAP. Smarter Balanced will allow schools to get results in two weeks, compared to about six weeks for the state's current standardized test, for example. And because the Smarter Balanced exams are different for each student, with computers adjusting the difficulty level of questions based on students' responses, they can also be administered over a longer period, whereas the previous state tests had to be administered on a single day to prevent cheating.

On the MEAP, students might be asked to choose a correct answer from four possible options, whereas on the Common Core test, they would be asked to explain how they arrived at their answer.

"One of the major differences between the two is the depth of knowledge that we're asking students to demonstrate," Martineau said.

Martineau said that by working with the other states in Smarter Balanced, Michigan was able to develop a higher-quality test than it could have created independently.

"We would not have been able to afford to develop the kind of quality that was developed through the consortium," he said.

http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php?action=post;topic=15765.10;last_msg=217402

communism, history
You Should Ask 'Whose Property Is It?'
by Lonely Conservative • February 28, 2014

The following is a guest post by Dr. Robert Owens.

***


Even for someone who learned at their grandmother's knee that what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable the knowledge that some things are mine and some things aren't came early.  The whole idea of freedom rests upon the idea that within the wider world which is society there is a smaller circle that outlines what is personal and what is communal.  Even in monasteries where monks have taken vows of poverty they refer to my cell, my candle and my prayers.

Private property is an essential ingredient of a free society.

Two of the greatest rewards derived from the study of History are the ability to build upon the achievements of others and the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others.  One of the greatest calamities caused by the failure to study History is a lack of context.

Most people live their lives as if History began the day they were born and they forever live in a constantly flowing and ever changing now.  George Orwell said in his epic dystopian novel 1984 that, "He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past."

The Progressives captured the majority of American education long ago and have taught generations of Americans that capitalism is bad and socialism is good. 

They have also taught children since at least the 1950s that America has been a grasping imperialistic power that has prospered by taking from others.  We are seeing the fruits of this propaganda today.

Instead of memorizing the Declaration of Independence, our children have memorized the outlandish theories of Al Gore.  Instead of learning the truth, they have been indoctrinated with an inconvenient truth that is inconvenient because it isn't true. They have been taught from History books that have more about Nelson Mandela than they do about George Washington.  And this is not a new thing.  I am in my 60s and I was thrown out of public schools for standing up for capitalism by people who were pushing socialism.

If we want to recapture the future we have to recapture the present so we can recapture the past.  Today those of us who believe in limited government, individual freedom and economic opportunity live as subjects in a land dominated and occupied by people who act as if America should pay a penalty or do penance for being the greatest country to have ever existed.  We must regain and preserve our heritage of knowledge by regaining knowledge of our History or it will be erased from the consciousness of our children and replaced with the inconvenient lies of a shabby Progressive future.  A future where the sun is setting for the West, rising in the East, and a paternal government seeks to take the place of God.

If we want to save America we must begin at the beginning.  Most people think the Constitution is the beginning.  Even though our Progressive masters seek to reinterpret it to bring about our end it wasn't our beginning.  Before the Constitution came The Declaration of Independence.  This is the seminal document proclaiming to the world a new nation not ruled by kings had appeared upon the stage.  This Declaration did not spring freshly from the imagination of Thomas Jefferson.  It was not born in a vacuum.   Jefferson was a student of Philosophy and History.

When Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence he built many of the ideas on the works of John Locke, one of the greatest influences on the Framers.  Locke had written in The Second Treatise of Civil Government, "The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions..."

This in turn inspired George Mason to write in The Virginia Declaration of Rights which was published just before the Declaration of Independence in 1776, "That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety."

Today the concept of private property is out of fashion as our collectivist rulers try to build a classless society on such misunderstood and elastic phrases as the Pursuit of Happiness and the Necessary and Proper Clause.

Looking at the works and words of our founders and of those who framed the Constitution it is plain to see that the phrase "Pursuit of Happiness" was everywhere used as meaning the right to own, control and use private property, which brings us to economics.

In a capitalistic system people own, control and use their own private property for their own devices.   The opposite of that is Communism, which advocates the state ownership of all property.  Portraying itself as half way in between is Socialism, which seeks to extract a portion of the rewards of private property for the benefit of those who do not own it.  A malignant form of socialism with a capitalist veneer, Fascism advocates private ownership and total state control of its use.

Looking at capitalism we see the miracle that was the United States.  In just a little over 150 years we rose from being 13 impoverished, war ravaged states loosely bound together into a colossus that strode upon the world stage saving freedom first from fascism and then from communism.

One of the founders of the Soviet nightmare Leon Trotsky said of the communistic system he helped create, "In a country where the sole employer is the state. Opposition means death by slow starvation.  The old principle, he who does not work shall not eat, has been replaced by a new one: who does not obey shall not eat."

And although Socialists try to play the part of sentimental reformers who are only out to help the children, their ultimate agenda shows that they are in reality merely a stalking horse for their communist big brother.  One socialist site puts it this way, "In Socialism, the laborer is the direct manager of their means of production, and receives the whole of their production. In Capitalism, the laborer is dominated by a Capitalist, who directs production and sets wages."

As for the Fascists their program may sound familiar, "We ask that government undertake the obligation above all of providing citizens with adequate opportunity for employment and earning a living. The activities of the individual must not be allowed to clash with the interests of the community, but must take place within the confines and be for the good of all. Therefore, we demand: ... an end to the power of financial interest. We demand profit sharing in big business. We demand a broad extension of care for the aged. We demand ... the greatest possible consideration of small business in the purchases of the national, state, and municipal governments. In order to make possible to every capable and industrious [citizen] the attainment of higher education and thus the achievement of a post of leadership, the government must provide an all-around enlargement of our system of public education.... We demand the education at government expense of gifted children of poor parents.... The government must undertake the improvement of public health — by protecting mother and child, by prohibiting child labor — by the greatest possible support for all groups concerned with the physical education of youth. [W]e combat the ... materialistic spirit within and without us, and are convinced that a permanent recovery of our people can only proceed from within on the foundation of The Common Good Before the Individual Good."

Ask yourself where are we today?  The government issues regulations at the mind numbing rate of 68 per day.  According to a study by the American Action Forum, regulations that went into effect in 2013 cost Americans $112 billion – or $447 million for each of the 251 days the federal government was open.  This study also predicts that the regulatory burden will increase to $143 billion in 2014.  Who controls the property you own?  Who reaps the benefit of your labor?  Tax Freedom Day, the day after which you have worked enough to pay your taxes and can now start working for yourself gets later each year.  In 2013 it was April 18th, five days later than it was in 2012.

F. A. Hayek tells us in The Constitution of Liberty, "True coercion occurs when armed bands of conquerors make the subject people toil for them, when organized gangsters extort a levy for 'protection,' when the knower of an evil secret blackmails his victim, and, of course, when the state threatens to inflict punishment and to employ physical force to make us obey its commands."

John Locke told us, "Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has a right to, but himself."  He also said, "All wealth is the product of labor," and "Government has no other end, but the preservation of property."  These are the bedrocks upon which our system was originally built.  The next time you receive your pay look at the deductions.  Ask yourself for whose benefit do you toil? Then look around you and think of the taxes you pay, the regulations you must follow, and the rules you must obey; then ask yourself, whose property is it?

Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion.  He is the Historian of the Future

http://lonelyconservative.com/2014/02/you-should-ask-whose-property-is-it/

I just received this in an e-mail from eagle@eagleforum.org
 
KANSAS: Support HB 2621 in the House Education Committee

KANSAS: Support HB 2621 in the House Education Committee Take Action!
March 3, 2014


There is still hope that we can get rid of Common Core State Standards Initiative with HB 2621, currently before the House Education Committee. This bill will remove the state from the Common Core and establish an advisory committee led by Kansas legislators, parents, and educators to create new standards.

This bill presents a real opportunity to restore local control to education. However, we must act quickly because the legislature must act before it goes out of session! We cannot have our students locked into the Common Core for another year.

Please call or email these members of the House Education Committee. Tell them that you support HB 2621, and their YES vote would mean a rejection of federal and big business overreach and a return to an education system governed by the citizens of Kansas.

Rep. Ward Cassidy, 785-296-7616
Rep. Amanda Grosserode, 785-296-7659
Rep. Sue Boldra, 785-296-4683
Rep. John Ewy, 785-296-7105
Rep. Kelly Meigs, 785-296-7656
For more information on Common Core, click here. A quick recap of Kansas' Common Core history:

The Kansas Board of Education adopted the national K-12 Common Core standards in English and math in 2010 in order to score points on a federal grant competition – a competition that we did not win.
As a result we now have the Common Core standards (Kansas College and Career Ready Standards), and they are of poor quality:
They fail to prepare students for studies in science, technology, engineering and math.  They put our students two years behind their peers in high-performing countries by eighth grade, and they are even worse for high school.
In English language arts, the Common Core severely de-emphasizes the study of classic literature in favor of drab and simplistic "informational" texts.  It does this despite the fact that the overwhelming evidence is that children should be reading more, not less, classic literature.
Prominent child psychiatrists and psychologists have heavily criticized the standards as being age-inappropriate for young children.
The Kansas State Board of Education also adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in June 2013.  The NGSS standards fail to prepare children for college science courses.
Kansas needs to reclaim its sovereignty by exiting the Common Core and developing top-notch standards that will be under Kansas control! The state legislature can do this with the passage of a simple law – HB 2621.

Take Action at:
http://capwiz.com/eagleforum/issues/alert/?alertid=63123676#action

Leon Botstein

The president of Bard College says recent changes to the SAT are motivated by the competition that College Board has experienced with its arch rival, the ACT, rather than any serious soul searching.

The changes recently announced by the College Board to its SAT college entrance exam bring to mind the familiar phrase "too little, too late." The alleged improvements are motivated not by any serious soul searching about the SAT but by the competition the College Board has experienced from its arch rival, the ACT, the other major purveyor of standardized college entrance exams. But the problems that plague the SAT also plague the ACT. The SAT needs to be abandoned and replaced. The SAT has a status as a reliable measure of college readiness it does not deserve. The College Board has successfully marketed its exams to parents, students, colleges and universities as arbiters of educational standards. The nation actually needs fewer such exam schemes; they damage the high school curriculum and terrify both students and parents.

The blunt fact is that the SAT has never been a good predictor of academic achievement in college. High school grades adjusted to account for the curriculum and academic programs in the high school from which a student graduates are. The essential mechanism of the SAT, the multiple choice test question, is a bizarre relic of long outdated twentieth century social scientific assumptions and strategies. As every adult recognizes, knowing something or how to do something in real life is never defined by being able to choose a "right" answer from a set of possible answers (some of them intentionally misleading) put forward by faceless test designers who are rarely eminent experts. No scientist, engineer, writer, psychologist, artist, or physician—and certainly no scholar, and therefore no serious university faculty member—pursues his or her vocation by getting right answers from a set of prescribed alternatives that trivialize complexity and ambiguity.

And why do we remain addicted to the College Board's near monopoly on tests? Why do they have an undue influence on college placement? These tests actually violate the basic justification for tests. First, despite the changes, these tests remain divorced from what is taught in high school and what ought to be taught in high school. Second, the test taker never really finds out whether he or she got any answer right or wrong and why. No baseball coach would train a team by accumulating an aggregate comparative numerical score of errors and well executed plays by each player, rating them, and then send them the results weeks later. When an error is committed it is immediately noted; the reasons are explained and the coach, at a moment in time close to the event, seeks to train the player how not to do it again.

What purpose is served by putting young people What purpose is served by putting young people through an ordeal from which they learn nothing? Is the SAT a reasonable representation of the ideals and benefits of learning? No, it makes a mockery of them. Given the possibilities explicit in modern technology, a college entrance examination could be developed in which the test takers in real time could be told immediately if they got the right or wrong answer and guided to a program that might help them understand why they got a question right or wrong. Such a test would be like a chess match, where the clock stops after a move is made. And although the pressure of time—the need to excel under pressure—applies legitimately to pilots, generals and surgeons, is it really so important? Why not give students the time to think, research, and learn as they answer serious questions whose answers demand careful thought and knowledge? Those are the skills that are rewarded in college, and in life.

What is needed is not minor so called improvements to the SAT, but an entirely new generation of testing instruments that utilize modern technology not only to measure the performance of our students but also teach them.

That being said, the new changes to the SAT are harmless. No one will be asked arcane ugly words that have no use. No one will be penalized for guessing, which is a relief since intelligent guessing is a vital life skill that needs encouragement. (It is also nice to see that the College Board has chosen to emulate Bard's new alternative essay entrance exam that has students read important historic texts and write on them.) The changes to the math section are welcome since they turn that part of the SAT more to fundamental areas of quantitative reasoning.

These modest reforms will do little to stem the rising tide against the College Board and its SAT. There is more and more resistance to pressuring students and parents into paying money to take a senseless exam that claims to be objective when in fact the only persistent statistical result from the SAT is the correlation between high income and high test scores. The richer one is, the better one does on the SAT. Nothing that is now proposed by the College Board breaks the fundamental role the SAT plays in perpetuating economic and therefore educational inequality.

The justification behind the SAT has been that it is an objective instrument of ability to succeed in college, when it is not. But the truth is less principled. The SAT is used by selective institutions to help them sort applicants and justify dismissing many from consideration. SAT scores also have become an integral part of another money-making racket—college rankings. The victim in this unholy alliance between the College Board (a profit-making business masquerading as a not-for-profit educational institution serving the public good) and our elite institutions of higher education are students and our nation's educational standards.

The commonsensical truth is that the only legitimate test is one where a question is put forward and an answer required with no options or hints. The one major reform in the new SAT seems to be the dropping of a required essay. This is ironic because the one thing colleges need to know in their admissions process is how well a student can think, construct an argument, and persuade. Asking  Asking a student to sit down and write essays in an examination setting might be an excellent way to discover an applicant's command of language and thought. This one potentially useful piece of evidence has been made optional.

The SAT will continue in its revised form to face challenges. It is part hoax and part fraud, albeit a profitable one. The College Board, however, is not entirely to blame. David Coleman is to be admired for trying to rescue an outdated, sinking ship. The real responsibility for our sorry state of affairs regarding college entrance examinations rests with our colleges and universities themselves. The elite institutions have willingly supported an alliance with the College Board to make their own lives easier, and we Americans seem to have accepted this owing to our misplaced love affair with standardized testing and rankings as the proper means to ensure educational excellence.

The time has come for colleges and universities to join together with the most innovative software designers to fundamentally reinvent a college entrance examination system. We need to come up with one that puts applicants through a rigorous but enlightening process showing what they can and cannot do, and what they know and do not know, all in an effort to reverse the unacceptable low standard of learning among high school graduates we now tolerate and to inspire perspective college students about the joy of serious learning.

Leon Botstein is the president of Bard College and the music director of the American Symphony Orchestra.

http://time.com/15199/college-president-sat-is-part-hoax-and-part-fraud/

Ross..... Bard, of all places? Considering what they charge...they can say what they want about anything they want. Their graduates don't end up any better off than anyone else for the money they spend and the huge debts they can be saddled with. It's a good school academically, but is very loosey- goosey in what the kids learn and how they learn.  Sort of Montessori in approach. If that's what you want, (They are very fussy about who they accept, so they are guaranteed a good product.) for huge money, go for it. No way I'd be footing  60+ thousand $ a year for a good, but not exceptional, college experience.  Would you?
By the way, not all good schools require SATs any more. It's been known for some time how outdated they are. Some will accept SATs, some taken multiple times to boost the scores, or essays and portfolios of student work. We had one shot at the PSATs as juniors and one shot at SATs as seniors. Period.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on March 07, 2014, 02:14:17 PM
Ross..... Bard, of all places? Considering what they charge...they can say what they want about anything they want. Their graduates don't end up any better off than anyone else for the money they spend and the huge debts they can be saddled with. It's a good school academically, but is very loosey- goosey in what the kids learn and how they learn.  Sort of Montessori in approach. If that's what you want, (They are very fussy about who they accept, so they are guaranteed a good product.) for huge money, go for it. No way I'd be footing  60+ thousand $ a year for a good, but not exceptional, college experience.  Would you?
By the way, not all good schools require SATs any more. It's been known for some time how outdated they are. Some will accept SATs, some taken multiple times to boost the scores, or essays and portfolios of student work. We had one shot at the PSATs as juniors and one shot at SATs as seniors. Period.

And I suppose your education provides you with all the intelligence to put down a man that holds the position of president of Bard College and the music director of the American Symphony Orchestra. And also makes you an expert on Bard College. How many colleges have you been President of?

Well, I may be uneducated, but I understand, a man or a woman can not run a college and graduate people because they are stupid. Your opinion about any college is not what this thread is about.

But the point --- really --- is "The Dumbing Down of America".
The subject is not Bard College or the President of the College, please focus on the subject matter.

"The nation actually needs fewer such exam schemes; they damage the high school curriculum and terrify both students and parents."  The SAT's are basically a money maker for the industry and not much else can you understand that? Or is the guy just plain stupid?

All the governments federal and states recognize that that teaching standards are way down and now states are fighting the Common Core that they were lured into, with the promise of money in a contest (which was stinkin thinkin) and now the SAT's standards are being lowered by industry to match the failing system. I could care less if you think the guy that wrote this article is a complete imbecile, it is very good information and is on point.

Thank you!

Somehow what you read isn't what I wrote. Bard is one of the smaller liberal arts schools that kids from here consider when they are picking a college to go to. They offer mostly soft subjects, not so much  the meat and potatoes courses ,like chemistry or engineering. I'm in no way being critical, just stating fact.  It has nothing to do with me.  I've always been pro post high school education ,no matter what kind.
     Do you understand the process of applying to a college, or choosing one that is a good fit? Some colleges will probably always want some form of standard test, for a number of reasons. Others, as I already said, are depending less on tests and more on portfolios, interviews and such. BUT there has to be a solid reason for both accepting or denying an application. A parent who demands an explanation for why their child was denied acceptance is owed a solid explanation.
Local community colleges are another thing entirely, and a very good education for many for the price.
Being able to stand academic pressure, time management, reading ability, knowing how to take various kinds of tests, etc. are examples of what colleges who still depend on SATs are looking for. If that doesn't suit, the student can apply elsewhere.  In many cases, with two similar applicants, the one with the better score is the one accepted.That is not always true.Each college is different in how they manage the application process...and the prospective students know that when they apply. Many Admissions offices base their final decision on a personal interview, regardless of the test score.( One of my girlfriends just retired form the UD admissions office...talk about hearing stories over the course of her career there. No names of course.)
U D bases a lot of their decision on the attitude of the parents. Did they come tour the school? Ask questions? Offer information? Seem interested? Most schools want kids who have something to offer the whole college experience, not just what the kids get from taking the classes. The colleges hold all the cards. As far as college presidents...do you know what they are for?   PR! School promotion, glad handing and fund raising. That really is their primary job and they are paid huge bucks to do it well. That is not a criticism, just the truth.
Yes, I expanded this past the original topic, just as you so often do. My privilege.

March 11, 2014


ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Poor students don't learn as well as rich students, and Rochester teachers shouldn't be evaluated on how their poverty-stricken students perform on state tests.

That's the sad argument the Rochester Teachers Association is making in a recent lawsuit it filed against New York Regents and the state's education department in the wake of 2012-13 state test results.

"The suit, filed in state Supreme Court in Albany by New York State United Teachers on behalf of the RTA and more than 100 Rochester teachers, argues the State Education Department did not adequately account for student poverty in setting student growth scores on state tests in grades 4-8 math and English language arts," according to a press release on the NYSUT website.

"In addition, (the state education department) imposed rules for Student Learning Objectives and implemented evaluations in a way that made it more difficult for teachers of economically disadvantaged students to achieve a score of 'effective' or better.

"As a result, the lawsuit alleges the Regents and (state education department) violated teachers' rights to fair evaluations and equal protection under the law."

In other words, kids from low income families can't learn, and teachers should not be expected to help them learn. What a pathetic, cowardly excuse for poor performance. (emphasis is mine)

The union contends that observation-based evaluations done by principals show 98 percent of Rochester teachers rated "effective" or "highly effective," while student growth scores (student improvement on standardized tests over a year) resulted in about one-third of Rochester teachers receiving an overall rating of "developing" or "ineffective" in 2013.

The union believes the state isn't properly compensating for the fact that 90 percent of Rochester students live in poverty. The discrepancy between the principal evaluations and overall ratings serve as the evidence, according to NYSUT.
 

But many education reform advocates likely would have a much different take on the data. For years, teacher evaluations in most school districts consisted of principal evaluations only, and the vast majority of educators received stellar reviews.

Teachers unions want the public to believe that means all teachers are great at their job, but the reality is teachers typically performed well because the evaluations were scheduled well in advance, so they knew when to put their best foot forward. The reviews represented a one-day snapshot of the best each teacher had to offer, but provided little insight into teachers' overall effectiveness.

In recent years, states across the country shifted focus to a more performance-driven system, urged in large part by federal incentives through President Obama's Race to the Top education reforms, to get a better gauge of how teachers actually impact student learning. Many states, like New York, tie teacher evaluations in part to student test scores.

Now the public is starting to see the truth: not all teachers are created equal. The discrepancy between the teachers who received effective principal reviews and those whose students tested poorly represent the teachers who skated by under the old system.

Of course, instead of accepting reality and helping those educators improve their craft, the teachers unions would rather blame the poor performance on student poverty and sue the state to prevent Rochester schools from holding its less effective teachers accountable.

The case also highlights a fundamental difference in the mindset of union officials and real educators: union officials don't believe poor children have the same capacity for learning as their wealthier peers, while true educators know all students are capable learners with the right combination of high expectations, focused instruction, and encouragement.

http://eagnews.org/rochester-union-says-poor-kids-cant-learn-so-teachers-shouldnt-be-held-accountable/

Poppy cock. Of course poor kids can learn. They are less likely to have the additional resourses at home that middle class kids have, such as extra resource books ,educational trips and they  aren't usually as strong at already knowing HOW to learn, but a good teacher can overcome that. Some of my best students were very poor.  The difference was the parents' attitude. They knew how important their kids' education was and supported it in any way they could. They made themselves available to me, didn't skip parent conferences and made sure their kids did their home work. It makes a huge difference.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on March 18, 2014, 07:40:54 AM
Poppy cock. Of course poor kids can learn. They are less likely to have the additional resourses at home that middle class kids have, such as extra resource books ,educational trips and they  aren't usually as strong at already knowing HOW to learn, but a good teacher can overcome that. Some of my best students were very poor.  The difference was the parents' attitude. They knew how important their kids' education was and supported it in any way they could. They made themselves available to me, didn't skip parent conferences and made sure their kids did their home work. It makes a huge difference.

You sound just like the union lawyers, of course you say they can learn and then continue with the same old schtick.  Of course they are poor and have so many problems at home. No extra books, no this, no that and maybe parents will be at parent conferences, maybe not.

Everything you said was dumb Kids come from  poor homes, just differently and that parents are responsible to teacher.

Teachers are not the parents boss ---- what an attitude.

Would you also say that a teacher should not be held responsible for what is produced in his or her classroom

How would you measure a teachers job performance in the class room?
Give her extra points for each poor kid in his or her class room, because they can not be taught.

What a cop out.

There are plenty of bad teachers in the class rooms. Of course, I believe they are general related to someone important.

I'll tell you who can not be taught, the highly educated that think they know everything. I just read an interesting remark by a man about Obamacare, this took place in Washington State, " Big news flash: Yakima County has exceeded its target for Washington State's goal for FREE Obamacare Medicaid sign-ups. The article is saying it like it was a huge accomplishment, and I suppose it is if one considers the rest of the country's botched programs. However, it only means to me that we have a HUGE problem - we also admit with that "accomplishment" the largest number of dirt-poor population and therefore qualified people, (citizens or not) that need Medicaid welfare. This is NOT an accomplishment, but a statement of failure - we should be ASHAMED that we have so many who qualify for this taxpayer-financed giveaway.

It is a sad time when we are bragging about setting records for how many people we have signed up on welfare benefits, but we also have the dubious distinction of having the record for the LOWEST election turnout in the state as well at a miserable 36%!"

It is a sad state of affairs to protect poor teaching on the back of poor children, don't you think?
Or is it a poor teacher is  better than no teacher.

WICHITA, Kan. – Common Core. Two words that make the "Who is the best Kansas college basketball team" debate seem downright tame.

Common Core finds its way into just about any education policy discussion and pugilists on both sides start to jab.

As with most questions of public policy, Common Core (CC) certainly started out with the best of intentions but has become just another roadblock between Kansas children and their future success. At one point the saving grace of CC was the promise of high, transparent standards by which Kansas schools would be graded. However, the baggage that now accompanies those standards, with no promise of them remaining high, is too much and Kansas should return to the state performance standards we had prior to passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

Also interesting, CC recently underwent a name change but remain CC is spirit and fact – They're now called the Kansas College and Career Readiness Standards.

The last federal intervention, NCLB, is where any notion of CC being a state initiative went off the rails. Assume for a moment that CC supporters are correct in saying it was initially a state-led effort and that the Feds jumped onto an already-moving train. The reality is that most states only got on board to CC when they were offered a federal waiver from the impossible mandates of NCLB – 100% student proficiency by 2014 at the hazard of federal education dollars. Not to mention federal enticements of more money in the 2009 "stimulus" bill. Kansas applied for the stimulus' "Race to The Top" money but didn't receive it while our state has received a waiver from NCLB. Minutes from Kansas Board of Education meetings show that Kansas was signing onto the standards during the same period as the "enticements" were being offered.

That is the kind of "voluntary" decision that only Michael Corleone could love. To think that the federal government will not use further enticements and the power they already have to wield influence on CC disregards both common sense and recent history. We need look no further than NCLB to hear Washington say they will not affect the classroom. But, you would be hard pressed to find a teacher who does not bemoan NCLB as interfering in their ability to teach.


If NCLB was an unwarranted, unprecedented federal intrusion into the classroom why welcome more of the same with Common Core?

To believe that CC will remain state-led with Kansas able to control our own destiny is to ignore the simple experience of getting a few friends to agree on where to eat dinner. Magnify this phenomenon to 40-some states trying to agree on education standards and we begin to see where Kansas control may be eroded. It is also hard to imagine that what is in the standards will not ultimately dictate curriculum and teaching. How is CC any different than the NCLB refrain of "teaching to the test"? Because, we know that what is tested is what is taught?

Even college-bound private school students or homeschoolers will feel the weight of CC as the ACT and SAT are both being aligned to Common Core standards.
Recent CC test results in New York and Kentucky also show the "high standards" are under attack. New York's 2013 High School Principal of the Year said that "The New York Common Core test results are the fruit of a poisonous tree." While the leading teachers union in New York recently called for a CC moratorium in the face of high-stakes testing. If CC can survive these early attacks, we will likely be left with CC following the course of NCLB, which, as Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says, "led to a dumbing down of standards."

Good thing, then, that Kansas already has our pre-NCLB standards on the shelf. Surely, any cost to update those would be no more than the cost of implementing CC standards and would ensure Kansas-led decision making. Suffice it to say, Kansas' pre-NCLB standards required "Proficiency with difficult, rigorous and formidable material..." and would be a step in the right direction from where Kansas standards are currently.

The evidence is overwhelming; Kansas should pass on CC and return to our pre-NCLB standards. Those standards are on the shelf while Common Core will corrode public, private, and home schools. We'd also be sticking our head in sand to believe that Kansas will stay in control of K-12 education with a 40-some state consortium and the Feds already interfering with this "state-led initiative."

Isn't that convenient Warph!

Re-Brand or Re-Name it in order to confuse !

A lot like the West Elk Grade School we voted "NO" on.

And what appears to be an attempt at building Professional Sports Arena under the disguise of a FEMA approved Storm Shelter to protect the children. And now the new gymnasium (if built) will be a grade school gymnasium with no bleachers and a grade school gymnasium with no score board just little kids basket ball hoops. Storm Shelter ---- Huh-uh. The smoke screen burnt down. LOL

What has been called grade school class rooms since the last School Board Meeting are now only to be referred to as class rooms.

The half a million dollars worth Howard eye sore often referred to portable class rooms have been inquired about by the teachers. They must not be that big an eyesore or all the unsafe in these Kansas winds! HUH!

The School Board Continues undeterred by the knowledge that their phony survey failed them by not producing the results they desired. They have spent over $28,000 plus on Architect's with little to show for the money. Now they are going to spend real close to $3,000 to prove what they already know. They have said it at many School Board Meetings at a few Special School Board Meetings! What it that?  A "NO" vote.

So, when do these supposedly people with Higher Educations wise up?
When do these supposed leaders of the community, lead with some common sense?
Op's my bad education in common sense is not a college subject is it?

These supposed leaders of the community lack either the

Minding the Campus
Minding the Campus is dedicated to the revival of intellectual pluralism and the best traditions of liberal education at America's universities.


WASHINGTON, D.C. – Changes in the SAT, announced on March 5 by the College Board, adjust the test to the ongoing decline in the nation's public schools.


The new test lightens vocabulary and math and eliminates the penalty for bad guessing. The new SAT grows out of and accommodates the Common Core State Standards, the controversial set of K-12 standards adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia.

The Common Core's standards amount to an assault on the college curriculum. That's because colleges will have to adapt to what the Common Core teaches–and what it fails to teach. It teaches a mechanical way of reading that is poorly suited to literature, philosophy, history, and the rest of the liberal arts.  It also fails to teach the math students need to begin a college-level curriculum in the sciences.



The Common Core has aroused a broad-based and sometimes furious reaction among Americans across the political spectrum. The furor, however, isn't yet focused on what the Common Core does to a college education. Rather, the complaints focus on the immediate harm to students and to schools. The arguments against Common Core have proliferated almost beyond counting, but the short version is something like this:

The Race to the Middle. The Common Core promises higher academic standards in the nation's schools.  In some cases it will deliver on that promise, but in other cases, the Common Core actually lowers standards.  The whole thing is an experiment in social leveling.

Goodbye Local Control.  The Common Core transfers a lot of power over the nation's schools from local districts and state governments to the federal government.  The transfer is deceptive and probably illegal. The deception comes from the Common Core being sold as "voluntarily" adopted by the states. The illegality comes from statutory law that prohibits the federal government's involvement in creating school curricula.

Big Brother. The Common Core is designed to collect and aggregate an immense amount of data on individual students' academic performance. Critics worry that this will eventuate in detailed federal files on everyone who attends school.

Other objections focus on the Common Core's utilitarian goals.  Common Core emphasizes "informational texts" at the expense of literature, promotes out-of-context reading, and significantly lowers expectations for students in math. The Common Core is designed to expedite the way students work, and it minimizes just about everything else schools might be expected to do, such as develop creativity, foster a fullness of mind, and strengthen character.

Common Core was sold to the states as a way to make students "college ready."  The sales pitch was that our nation's schools do a mediocre to poor job prepping students for the next leg of the journey to adulthood–the leg that will take them through Chem 101, English Lit, or whatever college "first years" now take.

Like all good sales pitches, this one was grounded in truth. Our schools don't do an especially good job at preparing students for college.  As anyone (including me) who has taught freshmen at a "selective" college or university can attest, a great many students arrive at college with no capacity to write a short essay.  Many cannot reliably compose even a grammatical sentence.  Their knowledge of history and literature is generally many steps below what students twenty years ago brought with them, and twenty years ago was a big step down from twenty years before that. Preparation in mathematics and basic science has plummeted even further.

That said, each semester a handful of students would turn out to be capable and disciplined writers who were pretty well-informed on the things we college teachers used to be able to take for granted.  Some are from elite academies or exceptional public schools.  But a growing number are homeschooled.

So when Common Core's proponents announced that they were serious about remaking our public schools into places where students would graduate "college ready," the American public was primed to say, "It's about time."

Ready or Not

But a good sales pitch isn't the same as a good product.  As we have gotten to see the Common Core up close, it looks less and less likely to yield "college ready students" in the way we hoped.

The Common Core will in all likelihood improve education for some students.  How many, what percentage, where, at what cost, and with what drawbacks?  The whole thing has been rushed into place so quickly that no one really knows. But a few things have become clear:

Locking In Mediocrity.  The Obama administration's way of fast-tracking the Common Core through state approval was the $4.35 billion "Race to the Top." To qualify to get into the competition for these funds, states had to agree in advance that students who complete a Common Core curriculum would be admitted to public colleges and universities as full-fledged students. Such students will be exempt from having to take remedial courses because, after all, the state has pre-certified them as "college ready."  What part of "college ready" do those professors not understand?  If the students aren't "ready" to write college essays, so much the worse for college essays.

I doubt that the bureaucrats and state legislators who approved this stipulation gave a moment's thought to what this arrangement really means. Thanks to various "preference" programs in college admissions–for racial minorities principally but also for athletes and other "special interests"–colleges admit many students who are mismatched to the prevailing level of academic rigor. The usual recourse for these students has been an effort to repair the gaps in their learning through remedial courses, which are usually non-credit courses, i.e. they don't count towards graduation. They are on-ramps for students who are not yet ready for freshman courses.

The Common Core, in a stroke, abolishes this option. If a college admits students who are mismatched, it will have no choice but to mainstream those students into regular courses.

Colleges could decide not to admit such students at all or admit them and watch them fail. But given higher education's steely commitment to using college admissions to advance its ideas of "social justice," most colleges will simply lower academic standards across the board.  Note that this cannot stop with freshman year.  Once a college injects "underprepared" (i.e. incompetent) students into mainstream introductory courses and adjusts those courses to avoid embarrassingly high failure rates, the consequences will propagate through all the subsequent courses.

Subterfuges will necessarily evolve.  Colleges will create or expand "honors" programs for students who meet what were formerly the basic standards.  Remedial courses will be relabeled as regular courses, even though everyone will know they are remedial. Untalented students will be shunted even more than they are now to soft majors in fields such as African-American studies, sociology, and women's studies.

But such subterfuges will be targets for severe criticism by the academic left on the grounds that they discriminate. The emergence too conspicuously of a two-tier system would be denounced as racist, classist, anti-immigrant, and so on. The only viable choice for most colleges and universities will be to dilute the curriculum.  The Common Core is thus set to become a bulldozer aimed at leveling what remains of intellectual excellence in American higher education.

Remedial courses, I might add, have themselves become a blight in American higher education, but that's a topic for another day.

Locking Out Liberal Learning.  The Common Core emphasizes how to glean information from the written word–and other media as well. The catchphrase that the Common Core uses for the written words that students will mine for information is "informational texts."  Think of the recipe on the back of the soup can for turning soup into a tasty casserole. But not all "informational texts" present themselves as instructions. "Information" can be gleaned from all sorts of texts, including picture books, novels, poems, YouTube videos, works of history, and speeches by notables such as Abraham Lincoln.

The trouble is that if you see the written word as mainly a device for conveying information, you miss many other things that writing can do. It stirs emotions; it points to truths beyond itself; alternatively, it conveys lies; it may possess beauty or it may be ugly; it can cause us to ask questions that the text itself does not ask; it possesses implications; it belongs to and participates in a larger context; it taps into secret memories; it rallies us to public causes.

The Common Core slights all of these purposes.  That is not to say it ignores them entirely. It gives some small space to mythology and literature–a space that retracts year by year as students progress through the Common Core.

Why should this matter? We should surely want students to be able to read recipes on soup cans and to extract important information from "texts."  That's a useful skill.  But it is a skill that, cultivated at the expense of a more well-rounded form of literacy, cuts students off from the foundation of a liberal education. Students who know how to read "informational texts," and to read every piece of writing as though it is an "informational text," are ill-prepared for Plato's Republic or Shakespeare's King Lear. Indeed, they are ill-prepared for Goodnight Moon.

This gap between how the Common Core teaches students to read and the kind of reading required in a liberal education is especially worrisome at a time when colleges have to a great extent abandoned their old core curricula.  Students these days are lulled with the illusion that they can become "critical thinkers" by studying whatever catches their interest, rather than what their colleges have deemed the most important works. That whole do-it-yourself approach puts a premium on the capacity of college students to read with their eyes wide open and to get to places well beyond the "information" that a "text" lays out.

With the Common Core, we will have the worst of both worlds: students who come equipped to read mainly for information and college curricula designed for students equipped mainly for independent intellectual synthesis.

Watering Down Math.  Common Core defers the teaching of algebra to the 9th grade.  As a consequence, it will be difficult for schools to offer pre-calculus to students before they finish high school. There simply isn't enough time left in the curriculum to reach that level, and the Common Core poses other obstacles as well. Trigonometry is barely broached. Geometry follows an eccentric path. The result is that students who go to college hoping to study the physical sciences, computing, engineering, economics, and other math-heavy fields will be handicapped.  Or they will have to scramble before they get to college to supplement what their high schools offer.

Some students will find their ways around these obstacles, but many won't, and that will leave colleges and universities with few good choices.  The likeliest path will be to reduce the rigor of their science programs to accommodate students who have to spend their first year catching up on mathematics that used to be taught in high school.

Everybody acknowledges how important the STEM fields are for America's future–and few are more vocal about this than Bill Gates. One of the ironies of the Common Core is that its most lavish-spending advocate is contributing to the further erosion of our nation's strength in this area.  Perhaps it is no wonder that Mr. Gates is also a major supporter of increasing the number of H-1B visas for foreign nationals who have expertise in science and engineering.

What Else?

The Common Core will not make an appreciable number of students more "college ready." It may smooth the way, however, for more students to be admitted to college. President Obama and Michelle Obama have recently ratcheted up the campaign that Obama announced back in his first address to Congress in February 2009–to make America the nation with the highest percentage of college graduates. The pitch that "everyone should go to college" has been a favorite of American politicians for a long time. It is, on its face, silly. To achieve anything like it would require obliterating academic standards and wasting untold trillions of dollars. But the phrase somehow strokes the national ego.

The Common Core feeds this fantasy and the illusions buried within, namely, that a college degree is a ticket to personal prosperity and that having lots of people who have college degrees necessarily makes the nation more competitive in the global economy. For reference: the nation that currently has the greatest percentage of college degrees in its population is that economic powerhouse, Russia. Moreover, the nation with the strongest economy in Europe–Germany–has about half the percentage of college-degreed people as the United States does.

So the effort to grease the skids from public school to college is founded on a mistake.  But it is a mistake that Americans somehow cherish and won't easily relinquish.  We would go a lot further towards both a greater degree of personal prosperity and national competitiveness if we really did improve K-12 education–not with the idea of making our schools operate better as conveyor belts to our languishing higher education institutions, but with the idea of fostering a true spirit of educational achievement among students, parents, and teachers. I know.  Easier said than done.

The task at hand, however, is to stop the Common Core before it can inflict more harm.  The battle will probably be waged over the issues I listed earlier–the race to the middle, goodbye local control, big brother–during the races for public office in which the Common Core becomes an issue.  But the Common Core is also an assault on higher education and as that becomes clear perhaps the strange coalition of opponents will grow stranger still.  I await the rallies where Tea Party activists unite in uncommon cause with English and History profs.

http://eagnews.org/what-the-common-core-will-do-to-colleges/

Ok Ross, according to you, if there is local control, all the money will be spent on sports. Is that what you want? 

Quote from: Diane Amberg on March 20, 2014, 09:50:37 AM
Ok Ross, according to you, if there is local control, all the money will be spent on sports. Is that what you want?

That is such an ignorant question which shows your lack of attention or lack of comprehension of the subject matter. Sorry teacher you fail! I will allow ample opportunity to re-read for comprehension and award make up points but only for you as my only favorite pupil.
 

Good Luck

I just received this in an e-mail and I think it shows how far overboard we have gone beyond common sense.
Like the recent story I read about suspending a grade schooler for pointing his finger.

Anyway here is the e-mail:

By  today's standards, none of us  were supposed to ever make it past High School. 

HIGH SCHOOL -- 1957 vs. 2013



Scenario                 1:   

Jack goes quail hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck's gun rack.

1957 -  Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.

2013 -  School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again.  Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.     

 

Scenario                 2:     

Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.   

1957 -  Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.   

2013 -  Police called and SWAT team arrives -- they arrest both Johnny and Mark.  They are both charged with assault and both expelled even though Johnny started it .   



Scenario                 3:     

Jeffrey will not be still in class, he disrupts other students.   

1957 -  Jeffrey sent to the Principal's office and given a good paddling by the Principal.  He then returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.                 

2013 -  Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin.  He becomes a zombie.  He is then tested for ADD The family gets extra money (SSI) from the government because Jeffrey has a disability.   



Scenario                 4:     

Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.                 

1957 -  Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college and becomes a successful businessman.   

2013 -  Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse, Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang.  The state psychologist is told by Billy's sister that she remembers being abused (spanked) herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.   



Scenario                 5:     

Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.   

1957 -  Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal out on the smoking dock .   

2013 -  The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations.  His car is then searched for drugs and weapons.                   





Scenario                 7:     

Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed.     

1957 - Ants die. 


2013 ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called.  Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism.  The FBI investigates his parents - and all siblings are removed from their home and all computers are confiscated.  Johnny's dad is placed on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.                   



Scenario                 8:     

Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee.   He is found crying by his teacher, Mary.  Mary hugs him to comfort him.     

1957  -   In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.                 

2013-  Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job.  She faces 3 years in State Prison.  Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.   



This should hit every e-mail inbox to show how stupid we have become!
 
 

The Blaze:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/16/parents-outraged-over-wildly-intrusive-school-survey-that-polls-students-on-obamas-skin-color-parents-political-affiliation-obamacare/



This questionnaire is from the Central Community School System in Louisiana.  The parent notes on it that he thinks it's Common Core. no one hasn't been able to verify that, however.

(This stuff is absolutely sickening.  The people who are pushing this crap are setting the stage for us to lose an entire generation of children)

Warph, Thank you for posting this sickening questionnaire.

I still haven't heard or seen anything out of our West Elk School Board as to their standing on Common Core!

Perhaps, our School Superintendent can steer the School Board on this subject, like he does on every other subject that they try to address, do you suppose happen?

Mr. Moore is a very intelligent person and does a great job of directing the School Board Members and I'd like to see that talent used concerning the Common Core.

I feel strongly  if the School Board does not address Common Core soon, it may become too late. And then it won't matter if they have a Taj Mahal or not, the Federal Government will have full control.

Many thanks Warph.

Perhaps a couple more links may draw the School Boards Attention to a real problem ---- Common Core!

Common Core Developers Fail To Warranty Product
http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/educate/mar14/common-core-developers-fail-to-warranty-product.html


NEA Says Common Core Was 'Botched'
http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/educate/mar14/nea-says-common-core-was-botched.html


A Rose By Any Other Name Is Still 'Common Core'
http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/educate/mar14/a-rose-by-any-other-name-is-still-common-core.html

Education Briefs
http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/educate/mar14/education-briefs.html

I am in no way defending those questions, but something similar has always been asked for parents to address if a child was being considered for special help of any kind. General special ed. speech, psychological, extreme shyness, panic attacks.etc.It wouldn't have been just handed out to all kids.
I can't speak for now, but in my day that questionnaire would have been used at a one on one with the teacher or school counselor and one or both parents/guardians. Only the questions pertinent to that child would have been asked,to the adults,rarely the child, and not the whole list. Remember ,some kids have very strange home situations.There are abusive parents and relatives that will try to hide behind "privacy "issues.That should never have been given to first graders to fill out.I doubt most could even read most of it, let alone understand it.

This just represents one of the many faults with Common Core.
Excuses of yesteryear changes nothing.
This is here and now in the 21st Century with a government that is already
Spying on everyone and collecting humongous amounts of data.

Enough said, I think.

March 24, 2014

Nancy on Norwalk
Nancy is a former reporter for the Norwalk Daily Voice. She resigned in October to begin Nancy On Norwalk.

NORWALK, Conn. – A familiar fictional children's book will become the foundation for scientific learning and the development of critical thinking abilities in Norwalk Public Schools under Common Core State Standards, educators say.
"We will do our 'Frog and Toad' book just like we always did, but now we will pair it with an informational text on frogs and toads," said Wolfpit Elementary School Assistant Principal Maureen Jones, referring to what she said is a classic series of easy reader books, "Frog and Toad."

While Common Core State Standards are controversial on a state and national level, Norwalk educators agree it's full steam ahead, Board of Education Chairman Mike Lyons said recently.

That will mean a switch to more non-fiction books (now called informational text) in English classrooms and techniques to help students examine the differences in fiction and non-fiction, Jones and Middle School English/Language Arts Department Head Tritty Kelly said. Math students will be guided to reason and create arguments to back up their answers, District Math Specialist Craig Creller said.

"We're not competing anymore with Tennessee or Massachusetts," said Creller, head of the Norwalk Common Core Transition Team. "It's Hong Kong, it's Singapore. America wants to be globally competitive, that's what it's really about."

It's going to be 50-50 in terms of fiction and non-fiction for the English Language learners, Kelly said. But the kids will be digging deeper into the text, writing arguments and opinions, learning academic vocabulary as well as regular vocabulary, she said.

They will be asked to describe the characters in the Frog and Toad fiction books, and use examples from the text to back up their descriptions. They will also do a lot of comparing and constrasting, using non-fiction texts on frogs and toads.
 

In middle school, the mix will be 70 percent non-fiction and 30 percent fiction, Kelly said. The kids will be asked to compare the narrative styles in books and challenged to speculate how they would see the plot and characters differently if they were written from a different point of view. They will be asked to point out what narrative techniques make it obvious that a book is non-fiction, she said. They will be asked to write essays comparing and contrasting the use of details in narratives, she said.

"We're going to teach your kids to write such wonderful arguments that you're going to lose every time," she said.

Creller stressed three words in regard to the math curriculum: focus, coherence and rigor.

Focus means "fewer topics learned at a much deeper level," he said; while the old books had about 123 topics, the new books have about 50, he said.

Coherence means sticking with what is developmentally appropriate for children, he said.

"Instead of having to study probabilities in third grade, which we had to do for the Connecticut Master test, we don't do that until sixth grade now because brain research says that's when it's developmentally appropriate," he said.

Rigor means a rigorous education, he said. After 20 years of debate it's been decided – children in second and third grades should not have calculators, he said. This is so they can learn to add and subtract, and form habits of mind, he said.

"We want our children to be persevering problem solvers," he said. "We want them to reason abstractly, not just know the concept, but be able to quantitatively get the correct answer and, more importantly, construct viable arguments and critique the arguments of others."

http://eagnews.org/norwalk-educators-common-core-will-teach-kids-to-beat-parents-in-arguments/

March 25, 2014
         Kyle Olson

SHRUB OAK, N.Y. – The mandated increase in "informational texts" called for in the Common Core national standards has opened up a word of possibilities for classroom activists who wish to present politically radical ideas to their students.

Fourth graders in New York's Lakeland Central School District – and their parents – found that out when Jessica Fiorillo's son brought home a reading that turned out to be taken directly from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' (PETA) website. Word for word.


This is not unusual for Common Core reading texts. While the idea is for students to learn how to comprehend what they read, the texts are frequently left-wing political statements that many believe are designed to influence their opinions.

The reading, which argues why classrooms shouldn't have pets, was given to students as a lesson on "text structure."

The reading is titled, "Should Animals Be Kept in the Classroom?"

"Many teachers bring animals into their classrooms with good intentions, like wanting to teach you and your classmates responsibility or teach you about the animals themselves. However, rabbit, mice, rats, guinea pigs, frogs, snakes, fish, and other animals used as teaching "tools" are too often abused and neglected," it reads.

It then provides graphic examples of alleged abuse of animals in classroom settings, including a snake being microwaved, chinchillas being beaten, acid being poured on pigs and a lamb being duct-taped to the outside of the building and "left alone overnight in freezing temperatures."
 

The reading is filled with emotionally charged words and phrases in an obvious attempt to sway children's feelings.

"I was disgusted, appalled and in complete disbelief that a school would basically send home a guide on how to kill household pets. My husband after first reading it thought it was a handout from PETA not school work," Fiorillo told EAGnews.

But it was school work. Students then answer questions about the reading, including, "What is the main idea of the article? Use evidence from the text to support your answer."

"Why do you think the author chose this text structure? How does using this text structure help you understand more about keeping animals in the classroom? Use evidence from the text to support your answer," is another series of questions.

Upset, Fiorillo emailed the teacher with her concerns but it went unreturned. Fiorillo says her husband visited the principal to do the same. She says the principal was "shocked and made facial expressions like he was in awe."

"The principal actually said to my husband that this was part of the common core curriculum," Fiorillo told EAGnews.

The informational text appears to be lifted directly from a PETA website called PETAkids.com.

"There is no reason for a child to see this. If it involved reading comprehension there are many other topics that would have worked," Fiorillo said.

http://eagnews.org/fourth-graders-forced-to-read-graphic-peta-propaganda-under-the-guise-of-common-core/

by
Fox News InsiderFox News Insider
//  Mar 25 2014 // 7:40am

A workbook given to Illinois middle schoolers redefines the Second Amendment. The workbook entry was pointed out by the father of a seventh-grader in Springfield, and posted to a Facebook page named Illinois Gun Owners Rights.

"This amendment states that people have the right to certain weapons, providing that they register them and they have not been in prison. The founding fathers included this amendment to prevent the United States from acting like the British who had tried to take weapons away from the colonists," the workbook stated.

The school's superintendent, Bob Hill, defended the wording, arguing that it reflects the reality of the Second Amendment "in the context of 2014." Nevertheless, parents were outraged at the school's decision, with the teacher and the head of the history department agreeing with them that the lesson should be changed.

Judge Andrew Napolitano gave us his take on Fox and Friends this morning, explaining that the Supreme Court has upheld in separate cases that the "right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental liberty [that] comes from our humanity." He pointed out that the Constitution prevents the government from interfering with that fundamental right.

Napolitano added that Illinois is the worst state in the nation for someone who wants to own a gun.

"Illinois has worn away at the right to keep and bear arms more than any other state in the union and the statistics show it. What's the worst city in the country for murders? Chicago. What's the second worst? District of Columbia. Where is it most difficult to keep and bear arms? Chicago and the District of Columbia. This [superintendent] is making it worse by giving students in the suburbs around Chicago an inaccurate understanding of their rights," he said.

(There is a Fox video located on the web site.)

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/03/25/people-have-right-certain-weapons-illinois-school-workbook-rewrites-2nd-amendment

20th March 2014      by: Tom Woods      8 Comments


What's the real truth about Common Core? I talked to James Pesta of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on my podcast today. Listen below.


http://tomwoods.com/blog/the-dangers-of-common-core/

I just have to respond to this.
I don't know what the heck is going on in that New York School, if there is any truth to it, that is wrong, wrong, wrong... If it is a true public school! Groups like PETA cannot just drop letters or lesson plans in public schools any more than any other NGO, PIG or any other single interest group can. What age was it meant for and why?
If it is some sort of private school, then I guess they can do what they want. I know we have one all vegan  private preschool here which is PETA heavy. No leather shoes, no meat,etc.
I'd really have to see how that information was being used. Do you honestly believe a school knowingly would allow an animal to be duct taped to a wall? What if it was stolen from a farm and duct taped to the barn wall?  PETA gonna protest that too?  Give me a break! Aren't you even a little skeptical about this ?
Yes, firefighters do rescue classroom pets at school fires...people first of course. It's no different than what happens to pets  in fires where one lives. Some we can rescue, some we can't. Maybe PETA can have house pets banned too. Be very careful what you believe. They aren't known for sticking to the facts.
  I can't even drop off fire prevention contest rules in our district schools each fall without a permission to distribute letter,in hand,from the district superintendent's office. I've been doing it for years and everyone knows me, but it has to be reissued every year. Do you have any idea how much crap is dropped off at school with people trying to get access to the kids?
I'm really a skeptic on this, but I will check it out for myself. I also have a call into my girlfriend who is a currently a school psychologist in my district, about that form for that first grader's consideration for special ed.
Sorry, I don't believe any of it. I'd need real proof. I really don't know why some people are so quick to embrace and believe ANYTHING negative. There is enough really bad stuff out there without believing any piece of unproven junk that comes down the pike. Now go ahead and ripe my head off...you know you want to.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on March 26, 2014, 04:11:14 PM
I just have to respond to this.
I don't know what the heck is going on in that New York School, if there is any truth to it, that is wrong, wrong, wrong... If it is a true public school! Groups like PETA cannot just drop letters or lesson plans in public schools any more than any other NGO, PIG or any other single interest group can. What age was it meant for and why?

If you read the article it said the questionnaire was lifted right off of PETA's web site.
A PETA web site for children.
I looked at PETA's web site and there it was. All it took was one click to find it.
No where, did it say that PETA did a lesson plan or dropped a note or letter.   
Read the article, it clearly stated the age.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on March 26, 2014, 04:11:14 PM
If it is some sort of private school, then I guess they can do what they want. I know we have one all vegan  private preschool here which is PETA heavy. No leather shoes, no meat,etc.
I'd really have to see how that information was being used. Do you honestly believe a school knowingly would allow an animal to be duct taped to a wall? What if it was stolen from a farm and duct taped to the barn wall?  PETA gonna protest that too?  Give me a break! Aren't you even a little skeptical about this ?

None of that has anything to do with the questionnaire or Common Core.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on March 26, 2014, 04:11:14 PM
Yes, firefighters do rescue classroom pets at school fires...people first of course. It's no different than what happens to pets  in fires where one lives. Some we can rescue, some we can't. Maybe PETA can have house pets banned too. Be very careful what you believe. They aren't known for sticking to the facts.
  I can't even drop off fire prevention contest rules in our district schools each fall without a permission to distribute letter,in hand,from the district superintendent's office. I've been doing it for years and everyone knows me, but it has to be reissued every year. Do you have any idea how much crap is dropped off at school with people trying to get access to the kids?

So what?  My fireman brother gave instructions to grade school kids. Again none of this has anything to do with Common Core or the questionnaire does it?

Quote from: Diane Amberg on March 26, 2014, 04:11:14 PM
I'm really a skeptic on this, but I will check it out for myself. I also have a call into my girlfriend who is a currently a school psychologist in my district, about that form for that first grader's consideration for special ed.

I have no use for shrinks, I think of them as educated idiots that have people fooled!

Quote from: Diane Amberg on March 26, 2014, 04:11:14 PM
Sorry, I don't believe any of it. I'd need real proof. I really don't know why some people are so quick to embrace and believe ANYTHING negative. There is enough really bad stuff out there without believing any piece of unproven junk that comes down the pike. Now go ahead and ripe my head off...you know you want to.

Nobody is asking you to believe anything, so don't believe it.

Ask Obama he will tell you what you want to hear.

There are people that fail to learn, There are people that fail to ask the right questions, there are people that are afraid of the answers, or there people that want to believe everything is peachy keen. That is all fine, but history has taught us what happens with that attitude.

What do you know about the Common Core?
Have you done any studying on Common Core?
Where did it come from?
Who controls it?
Why do you think some states and some school boards are opting out of Common Core? (Oop's that must be a lie too.)
Do you understand propaganda?
At what age is the best time to start the use of propaganda?
Do you believe everything the government tells you?
Is our Government not to be questioned?

I know asking questions is not a good thing, unless done by a teacher with a red pencil, right?

March 26, 2014 - 11:48 pm

Earlier this week opponents of the "Common Core State Standards" cautiously celebrated their first major victory as Governor Mike Pence signed legislation withdrawing Indiana from the nationalized education program.

But in Georgia, the pro-Common Core big business/big government forces outgunned the grassroots and celebrated victory on the last day of the session last week.  A look at their tricks can provide lessons for other states.

Republican State Senator William Ligon was the sponsor of anti-Common Core legislation this year and last.  The 2013 version of his SB 167, which called for a complete withdrawal from Common Core, failed to get out of committee.  This year's bill, revised multiple times, also failed to get out of the education committee.  Parts of the bill attached as two amendments to another education bill did not get approval on the last day of the session (with some supporters switching their votes).

On the side fighting Common Core and trying to enact legislation that would withdraw Georgia from the national education standards were tea party groups, alarmed parents and grandparents, dissenting teachers, and such groups as Concerned Women for America and American Principles in Action.

But even Democratic teachers and parents who oppose Common Core would not be able to fight the pro-Common Core rent-seekers — lobbyists, the Chamber of Commerce, principals, teachers, superintendents, and public radio and television employees.

The only thing that passed was a resolution to form a study committee on Common Core.  But even this was too much for Georgia Democratic State Representative Alisha Thompson Morgan, now running for state school superintendent.  In February, Morgan had introduced a House Resolution affirming Georgia's commitment to Common Core.

To even discuss Common Core in a study committee was crazy talk, she implied in her speech against the measure in the waning hours on the last day.  For evidence, she noted, "I've heard all kinds of things, like let's abolish the U.S. Department of Education."  To Morgan, the federal Department of Education protects students: "It's the federal government's job to ensure that we don't violate the rights of students."

She listed the benefits bestowed by the U.S. Department of Education: the $400 million in stimulus funds in exchange for agreement to the Common Core standards, innovation grants, and data-tracking from "preschool to Ph.D." Morgan insisted this was not a Democratic or Republican issue.  She was speaking as "a mom" of a first-grader, and she was hearing great things from her teacher about Common Core — like developing "critical thinking skills." (remember critical thinking includes leaving you own prejudices out of the equation and having open and honest dialog or discussions.)


"Why are we still having this conversation?" Morgan asked.  No further discussion should be allowed: a March 5 education committee hearing on Ligon's bill had 68 people testifying, with the vast majority, 58, opposing Ligon's bill.

"I don't ever remember so many people testifying," she said: "It was the first time I recall groups like the Chamber of Commerce and Coalition of 100 Black Men joining together."

Plus, she had been overwhelmed by emails and other communication from teachers, parents, and citizens pleading to keep Common Core, a claim she repeated from what she had said at the education committee hearings on March 5 and March 12.  These Common Core fans, Morgan said, spoke up at "listening sessions" held across the state in the months leading up to the start of the session in January.  They greatly outnumbered those who spoke against it — proof that the public supported Common Core.

Quote(Where are the e-mails and other documents of verification, remember this is a politician.)

[/color][/b]

In spite of Morgan's arguments, the resolution for a study committee on Common Core passed, but it was the only — and largely symbolic — state level effort against Common Core this year.

Representative Morgan's characterization of the groundswell of support for Common Core, however, does not fit with what documents obtained from an open records request reveal.  Those testifying against Ligon's bill were largely members of the Chamber of Commerce — and public school employees: teachers, principals, superintendents, and administrators.  By my own count, 12 of them came from Tift County, 181 miles to the south of Atlanta, and they used school buses to get there. (they used taxpayers money for political actions not a nice thing to do)

They had apparently also used school buses to travel to the "listening sessions" across the state.  These were sham forums and used to present a show of openness on the issue.  In reality, the establishment, from Republican Governor Nathan Deal to the Education Committee chairman, Brooks Coleman (also a Republican), had made their decisions that Common Core was going to stay.  After the testimony of Tift County principal Mickey Weldon at the March 5 education committee hearing, Chairman Brooks Coleman thanked her and those who have been arranging the bus trips: "They bring those buses, and we appreciate them."

Five days previously, a mass email from Tift County Schools Superintendent Patrick Atwater to "principals" and others had gone out.  Dated Friday, February 28, 2014, it was titled "SB 167" and rated "high" in "importance."  It read,

We have just finished a conference call with Representative Alisha Morgan.  Tift County has a seat at the table for Wednesday's House Education Committee.  We are sending at least five staff to present and have begun to organize other counties to ride a bus with us.  Already, two other systems have agreed.  If you would like to go, please let me know and we will hold a seat on the bus for you.

Principals are invited!

This is a somewhat different account from what Representative Morgan has been presenting.  The Tift County school superintendent was strongly encouraging other employees to attend — and on a school day, during working hours.   A log shows payment for bus drivers for this and other trips. (more inappropriate use of taxpayers dollars.)

Employees could please the superintendent by attending and testifying in favor of Common Core — as they had done in previous months.  Furthermore, they were instructed on what to say as another correspondence will reveal.

So the groundswell of spontaneous support coming from teachers — as Morgan has presented it — is not accurate.  Obviously, teachers who dislike Common Core would fear for their jobs, especially in a district where there is pressure, or at least strong encouragement from higher-ups, to testify in favor of it.

Media outlets used the well-orchestrated shows of support at hearings and listening sessions as evidence of overwhelming support for Common Core by the business community and "education establishment."

Citizens and tea party groups, however, did not "have a seat at the table," or benefit from being on a payroll while lobbying.  They were concerned about the unconstitutional overreach of the federal government, and about children and grandchildren who would not be able to escape a national education program designed by special interest groups, and far-left academics.  But the media simply repeated the characterization of Common Core opponents as wearing "tin foil hats."

What is the lesson learned?  Fighting an entire federal bureaucracy is hard.

Common Core will, among other things, strengthen and grow that bureaucracy, and solidify business/educational establishment ties, and federal-state apron strings.

Common Core is the latest in efforts to make states dependent on the federal government for direction and funding of education.  Federal money comes with strings attached, and affects how employees of state education departments see themselves.  One Georgia Department of Education Title I specialist, at the Family Engagement Conference held in Athens, Georgia, in January, admitted, "We are essentially federal employees." That was the sense I got at this conference.  (As will also be revealed, state school employees were also encouraged by higher ups to advocate for more government funding.)

In Common Core, big business sees benefits from data-collection, curriculum development and new electronic delivery devices (such as student-ready computer tablets), assessment development and administration, and computer software and hardware upgrades for mandatory federally administered tests. (Big Money to be Made by some)

How to Break the Stranglehold

The liberal media and Chamber of Commerce-affiliated sites smeared Common Core opponents and ignored the scholarly critiques of Common Core.

At hearings, Senator Ligon was challenged by a state representative with inappropriate questions about specific standards.  Not surprisingly, those who ask the questions cannot answer them — even though they pride themselves on being educators. The media used the set-up to present Ligon as uninformed about his own legislation.

The use of taxpayer-supported Public Broadcasting (with their radio stations operated by the Atlanta public school system) to advocate and report on Common Core is of concern.  Georgia Public Broadcasting trained teachers in Common Core, produced curriculum materials, and hosted one-sided conferences and roundtable discussions
(We have learned locally how that does not work for the benefit of citizens, didn't we?)

Pro-Common Core workshops by Chamber of Commerce-affiliated groups were offered to public school employees and parent volunteers at at least one event essentially supported by taxpayers.

These aspects will be investigated in forthcoming articles.  The battle over Common Core is not over.  Given the entrenched nature of the education bureaucracy,it is to the credit of the grassroots (everyday people like you and me)that Common Core has gained so much attention — and has made the bureaucrats fight so hard.    They are, after all, used to implementing policies and spending money behind the scenes.

Still, the grassroots are outgunned.  They need to know that the enemy fire is coming from multiple directions.  The sources will be explored in forthcoming articles.

http://pjmedia.com/blog/the-show-of-support-for-common-core-in-georgia/

Well Ross, your attitude toward posters sure hasn't improved.
Yes, I read the PETA article. If you want to do word play fine, then tell me how that letter got into student hands? The teacher? Nope ,can't do it. I said it was wrong! Teachers can't free lance like that, especially with hot button topics and organizations such as PETA. I'm sure you already know that from your own son's school experiences. (He hasn't quit yet has he?) You were the one who suggested a flimsy relationship somehow with Common Core. Yes, I know now pretty much everything about Common Core, as far as it has gotten. Much has yet to be done and proofed.
No, I will not answer your totally stupid  leading questions. Go play with your own kind. . I'll be sure and tell Missy your take on school psychologists so we can both have a good laugh. My word,you rip me even when I agree with you.  Ready for the padded room yet?

Quote from: Diane Amberg on March 27, 2014, 03:03:59 PM
Well Ross, your attitude toward posters sure hasn't improved.
Yes, I read the PETA article. If you want to do word play fine, then tell me how that letter got into student hands? The teacher? Nope ,can't do it. I said it was wrong! Teachers can't free lance like that, especially with hot button topics and organizations such as PETA. I'm sure you already know that from your own son's school experiences. (He hasn't quit yet has he?) You were the one who suggested a flimsy relationship some how with Common Core. Yes, I know now pretty much everything about Common Core, as far as it has gotten. Much has yet to be done and proofed.
No, I will not answer your totally stupid  leading questions. Go play with your own kind. . I'll be sure and tell Missy your take on school psychologists so we can both have a good laugh. My word,you rip me even when I agree with you.  Ready for the padded room yet?

You are way off topic again.
TTFN

You brought up PETA and Common Core in the same title, not me, bubby. ;D ;D ;D ;D
You do understand that Common Core is state and not federal don't ya? Even Kansas approved it. Perhaps you've been reading the muddy water myths again.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on March 27, 2014, 05:21:59 PM
You brought up PETA and Common Core in the same title, not me, bubby. ;D ;D ;D ;D
You do understand that Common Core is state and not federal don't ya? Even Kansas approved it. Perhaps you've been reading the muddy water myths again.

I did not write the article about Common Core and the PETA questionnaire, please pay attention.

Perhaps you don't understand, a lot of states opted into a federal program in hopes of collecting millions of dollars from the federal government.

A few states are backing out of the federal program and even some local school boards are saying no.

I'd only suggest you study up on the facts. But I  doubt you will because you don't even read the posts on this or any other thread for comprehension in my personal opinion.

You have my sympathy's. Thank GOD I found my tin foil hat.

DO WE NEED COMMON CORE
TO MAKE MATTERS EVEN WORSE

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of our nation's finest universities, ranking 30th in the latest U.S. News and World Report list of top schools and eighth on Forbes' list of top public colleges. And the bit of drivel above apparently earned an A-minus, according to ESPN.

Why? Simple. That paper was written by an athlete for a class specifically designed to keep them moving through the university.

"Athletes couldn't write a paper," Mary Willingham, a specialist in the school's learning-support system-turned-whistleblower, told ESPN. "They couldn't write a paragraph. They couldn't write a sentence yet." She said that some of the students were reading at a second- or third-grade level, which is considered illiterate for a college-age student. As Willingham notes, in the "AFAM" classes, players were notching As and Bs, but in actual classes such as Biology and Economics were receiving Ds and Fs.

The academic scandal at UNC has deep roots; hundreds of classes since the mid-1990s fell into a "no-show" category, classes made up primarily or completely of athletes who didn't even show up to class and yet earned an A. Such dry statistics generally receive a disbelieving shake of the head, but it's not until you actually see what kind of work these "students" were producing that you start to see the way a "student-athlete," and an athletic department, can game the system:



Bryan Armen Graham        ✔   @BryanAGraham 
Follow
Whistleblower says UNC put athletes in classes that never met and required only one final paper. This one got an A-.

That paper doesn't even make it six words before its first error (the actual date of Rosa Parks' bus incident was Dec. 1, 1955), and the rest of the paper would make a fourth-grade Language Arts teacher burn through two red pens.

One of the key arguments of the NCAA and its defenders, or those opposed to paying players, is that the players are "receiving a valuable education." Giving an A-minus to a paper like this shows how false that premise can be.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/check-out-the-terrible-paper-that-earned-a-player-an-a--at-north-carolina-151005969.html

Under the Remarks section:
Given how tuition of colleges has soared 300% over the past 34 years... and the level of education has decreased overall... yet sports programs have boomed in the Universities.... does this really shock or surprise anyone?

We all see this. We have all been looking at this for decades, so this should really come as no surprise. For God's sake, we've all watched at least 1 basketball / football game in the past 20 years, and we've all seen and heard how some of these athletes talk... they talk like they're in Elementary school... blowing through words, mispronouncing them, etc... their level of education has been obvious and evident since at least the late 1980s...

So why does this surprise the Media and the people of our country, when its been so obvious?

The Daily Caller
March 30, 2014 10:18 AM


The litany of frighteningly stupid Common Core math worksheets never ends. Perhaps now, though, kids are starting to fight back in satisfyingly creative ways.

An alert reader sent The Daily Caller this image of her seven-year-old son's perfectly reasonable homework answer. The boy attends a public elementary school in San Jose, Calif. He is in the second grade.

The math curriculum used by the school is GO Math! The publisher of GO Math! is produced by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The parent who sent the homework question to TheDC noted that the curriculum aligns with the Common Core math standards.

"If you look closely under the math question, you will be able to see the Common Core standards in a blue-colored print that aligns to that particular question," she explained.

The constantly burgeoning inventory of sad and hideous Common Core math problems is very long.

Just this month, for example, a frustrated dad posted his kid's absurd Common Core-aligned math homework on Instagram. (RELATED: 'Why are they making math harder?' More absurd Common Core math problems.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over the summer, The Daily Caller exposed a video showing a curriculum coordinator in suburban Chicago perkily explaining that Common Core allows students to be totally right if they say 3 x 4 = 11 as long as they spout something about the necessarily faulty reasoning they used to get to that wrong answer. (RELATED: Obama math: under new Common Core, 3 x 4 = 11 [VIDEO])


Rep. Timothy Hill, R-Blountville, looks toward the House gallery where Common Core opponents were gathered during a floor debate in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 13, 2014. Hill's bill was amended to include a delay in Common Core standards before it was passed by the chamber. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)

Common Core, new educational standards adopted in many states across the country, is dividing Florida conservatives. Critics say local control of education would be stripped away.


In this photo taken on Tuesday, March 25, 2013, Airia Turner, a second grader at George Buck Elementary School in Indianapolis, works on writing. The national math and education standards outlined in the Common Core are everywhere at Buck Elementary. Stapled packets of the standards hang outside classroom doors, and individual guidelines are cut out and displayed in the hallways next to hand-drawn graphs scribbled in crayon. A bill signed last Monday by Gov. Mike Pence makes Indiana the first state to revoke those standards, but what will replace them is unclear in a state where teachers are still reeling from years of change. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

George Stephanopoulos goes one-on-one with billionaire Bill Gates on Common Core education standards.
http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/3r7nVs_ioTrahlV6qi_SJA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTQxNDtweG9mZj01MDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz03MzY-/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/video/video.abcnewsplus.com/e0aa4c1559ad6e6641b31e85cc15dc3a

Education


Eric Owens   9:51 AM 01/28/2014



The latest nightmarishly awful Common Core math worksheet to bubble up courtesy of Twitter is for third graders, according to Twitchy.

Here it is, in all its surreal, subtly cruel glory:


The instructions — "Match the picture with the fraction that names the shaded part" — are likely confusing to a typical third-grade kid just trying to make it through the day. This is because, as Twitter user Jennifer Hall keenly notes, there are no shaded parts.

Of course, the instructions would probably be even more confusing to some poor kid who knows very little about fractions.

Sadly, Hall observes, her daughter is just learning fractions for the first time:

Also, sure enough! Those super-tiny words at the bottom of the worksheet say "Common Core."

This awful worksheet is the latest in an ever-growing series of stories demonstrating the awfulness of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, a curriculum — but don't call it a curriculum! — currently being implemented by 45 states and the District of Columbia.

http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/28/this-common-core-math-worksheet-offers-a-glimpse-into-kafkaesque-third-grade-hell/

Eric Owens   11:09 AM 08/18/2013

Quick: what's 3 x 4?

If you said 11 — or, hell, if you said 7, pi, or infinity squared — that's just fine under the Common Core, the new national curriculum that the Obama administration will impose on American public school students this fall.

In a pretty amazing YouTube video, Amanda August, a curriculum coordinator in a suburb of Chicago called Grayslake, explains that getting the right answer in math just doesn't matter as long as kids can explain the necessarily faulty reasoning they used to get to that wrong answer.

"Even if they said, '3 x 4 was 11,' if they were able to explain their reasoning and explain how they came up with their answer really in, umm, words and oral explanation, and they showed it in the picture but they just got the final number wrong, we're really more focused on the how," August says in the video.

When someone in the audience (presumably a parent, but it's not certain) asks if teachers will be, you know, correcting students who don't know rudimentary arithmetic instantly, August makes another meandering, longwinded statement.

"We want our students to compute correctly but the emphasis is really moving more towards the explanation, and the how, and the why, and 'can I really talk through the procedures that I went through to get this answer,'" August details. "And not just knowing that it's 12, but why is it 12? How do I know that?"

Watch:

http://dailycaller.com/2013/08/18/obama-math-under-new-common-core-3-x-4-11-video/

Furious parents are taking to Twitter to explain their frustration with the new Common Core standards, posting screenshots of incomprehensible Core-aligned worksheets and tests.

The unintentionally hilarious images were collected by Twitchy.

http://dailycaller.com/2013/11/22/epic-fail-parents-reveal-insane-common-core-worksheets/

Education


Eric Owens   10:00 AM 12/07/2013


U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has promised to improve education quality vastly by pushing for the implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

This year, 45 states and the District of Columbia have implemented the Common Core standards and curricula based on those standards.

Duncan doesn't much care for the people who criticize Common Core, either. He has insisted that it's all a bunch of "white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn't as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn't quite as good as they thought they were, and that's pretty scary." (RELATED: Arne Duncan blames irrational angst of 'white suburban moms' for Common Core pushback)

What, exactly, is the content of this Common Core that's going to make American kids so much smarter? So far it appears to be a slew of worksheets and tests involving various, incomprehensible arrays of squares and circles.

There are also traditional word problems. Twitchy has found a word problem that may be the most egregiously awful math problem the Common Core has produced yet. Take a look:


According to the Twitter user who posted it, the vexing problem came from a friend who is a teacher.

The problem comes from a Houghton Mifflin Assessment Guide. It appears among a larger set of basically similar math problems here. The problem involving Juanita appears on page AG102, nestled among some other problems that are similarly weak and crappy — though not nearly as harrrowing as the problem above.



Houghton Mifflin is Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, a huge textbook publisher. The company's website promises to be "a partner who will share the responsibilities" of the Common Core: "We have created a wide range of content, curricula, and services to support school leaders, teachers and educators, parents, and especially students with this transition."

Twitchy readers tried to tease out the answer to the Juanita problem — how can you not? – and determined that the answer is either 12, 24, 0 or 7.

http://dailycaller.com/2013/12/07/is-this-common-core-math-question-the-worst-math-question-in-human-history/

2:21 AM 09/23/2013

A YouTube video went viral over the weekend showing a parent who got violently arrested for expressing his frustrations about the implementation of the Common Core at a public forum Thursday night in the suburbs of Baltimore.

Somehow, Ellicott City parent Robert Small was then charged with assaulting a police officer in the second degree, reports The Baltimore Sun.

Small stood up out of order during a question-and-answer forum held by the Maryland State Department of Education. He interrupted Dallas Dance, the Baltimore County School Superintendent. Small explained — calmly, though not particularly fluidly — his belief that the Common Core lowers standards of education for children in the district.

"You are not preparing them for Harvard," he said.

The irate parent, who has a sixth-grader and a second-grader in Howard County, Md. schools, asserted that the new curriculum will only prepare students for community college.

This fall, for the first time, 45 states and the District of Columbia have begun implementing the Common Core State Standards Initiative, which attempts to standardize various K-12 curricula around the country.

Criticism of the Common Core has risen sharply. Opposition has brought together conservatives who stand athwart a federal takeover of public education and leftists who deplore ever-more standardized testing.

The plan for the question-and-answer forum was for attendees to write their questions down on pieces of paper. Then, Dance and the Maryland State Superintendent of Schools, Lillian Lowery, would answer them.



After Small spoke for perhaps a few minutes, a security guard confronted him. A police report alleges that Small tried to push the guard away when the guard initially confronted him.

The video does not appear to show Small pushing the guard.

"Let's go. Let's go," the security guard said.

"Let him ask his question," someone yelled.

To audible gasps, the guard then pulled the 46-year-old father aggressively in the direction of the aisle.

As the guard escorted Small out of the forum, Small said "Don't stand for this. You are sitting here like cattle." Then he asked, "Is this America?"

According to The Sun, Small was then handcuffed and forced to sit on the curb outside until police showed up to take him to a local police station. He was finally released around 3 a.m.

The charge against Small, second-degree assault of a police officer, carries a maximum fine of $2,500 and a prison term of up to 10 years. Another charge, disturbing a school operation, carries a $2,500 fine and six months in prison.

"Look, I am being manhandled and shut down because I asked inconvenient questions," Small told The Sun on Friday. "Why won't they allow an open forum where there can be a debate? We are told to sit there and be lectured to about how great Common Core is."

Small added that he himself attended a community college before transferring to the University of Maryland, College Park to finish his bachelor's degree.

Watch:



http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/23/now-theyre-arresting-people-who-complain-about-the-common-core/

There is another video at the bottom of the page, which is not youtube.
But watch it, it looks and sounds like a School Board President of a large School District.
Listen to how well he is spoken. And then try to observe the lies, I feel I observe.
Just try it you might like the experience.

Education


Eric Owens






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Education

Here's another impossibly stupid Common Core math worksheet

Eric Owens   5:35 PM 01/22/2014




















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Common Core Problem. Photo: Twitter courtesy of @Hollaatme_baby
 
   






Yet another painfully awful Common Core math worksheet has bubbled up courtesy of Twitter.

This time, the math is for fourth graders, according to Twitchy.

The incomprehensible directions tell the poor nine-year-old souls forced to endure the worksheet to "use number bonds to help you skip-count by seven by making ten or adding to the ones."

At the top left corner of the worksheet are the all-capitalized words "NYS COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM."


Lauren ✌️   @HollaAtMe_Baby 
Follow
My 9 year old sisters math homework with this "common core" shit. WHAT ARE THESE DIRECTIONS.

A subsequent Twitter conversation between the tweeter Lauren, who is trying to make sense of the assignment for her little sister, and someone named Relle is ribald and hilarious.

This awful set of homework problems is the latest in an ever-growing series of stories demonstrating the awfulness of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, a curriculum — but don't call it a curriculum! — currently being implemented by 45 states and the District of Columbia.

In December, Twitchy found the most egregiously awful math problem the Common Core had produced yet until that point.

In September, a father was violently arrested for expressing his frustrations about the implementation of the Common Core at a public forum in the suburbs of Baltimore.

http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/22/heres-another-impossibly-stupid-common-core-math-worksheet/

Public school teachers are now getting in on the action when it comes to America's bullying problem.

In Pawtucket, R.I., Slater Junior High School teacher Richard C. Koster faces misdemeanor charges over allegations that he physically assaulted a student who tried to scarf down a cookie in his classroom on March 18.

According to The Boston Globe, Koster told the unidentified male student not to eat in his class. The student  may or may not have then made some sort of face at Koster.

Koster allegedly responded by following the kid to his next class, picking him up at the waist, pinning him to the wall and calling him a "freak."

Court documents obtained by local CBS affiliate WPRI indicate that a second teacher entered the fray to try to defuse the escalating confrontation.

The boy's family contacted police to press charges. Koster, 49, now faces a simple assault charge. He turned himself in this week and was released on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond.

He is now on administrative leave as well. It's not clear if the leave is paid.

Meanwhile, an eighth grader in Waterbury, Conn. surreptitiously recorded his junior high reading teacher declaring that she wanted to beat the crap out of another student with whom she had gotten into a dispute at lunch.

The teacher, Mary Lou Addona, allegedly announced her desire to go "one-on-one" with student Jesus Velez, reports NBC Connecticut.

"Me and him, one-on-one, I'd punch him right in the face and break that glass in his eye," Addona appears to have said in the recording.

"I wanted him suspended, but what does he do? He just cries," she also can be heard saying. "I can't stand a crybaby."

A bit later in the four-minute recording, Addona can also be heard speaking  to a new student in her class.

"What is your name anyway? Blake. Blake, what kind of name is Blake? Irish, Italian, French? What are you? White?"

The secret recording was made by a student named Aaron Stewart, who said he correctly guessed that Addona's lunchtime frustration would carry over to the next class period.

It's not clear why Addona and Velez were arguing, but this fight pretty clearly wasn't their first.

"She just screamed at me," Velez told NB Connecticut, "so she just found a way to pick on me."

The boy's mother, Ellise Vasquez, was "disgusted, upset, mad, angry, everything else" after hearing the clandestine recording.

"How can she talk to my son that way?" she asked in an NBC Connecticut interview.

School district officials won't call Addona's actions bullying. Instead, they are calling it "belittling," which is totally different.

The teacher is also on administrative leave. It's not clear if the leave is paid.

http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/30/this-week-in-teachers-who-bullied-students-over-cookies-threatened-punches-right-in-the-face/

(I heard rumors running around Elk County about West Elk loosing a couple of employees for similar reasons, i.e. bullying. Just  rumor, because none had the cahonies to stand up. So they shall always remain rumors.)

Student: Prof Taught Wrong Course All Semester


By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 31, 2014

http://img2-cdn.newser.com/image/973711-0-20140331074822.jpeg(http://[center][/center%5D)

(Newser)  – A college professor was apparently teaching above her students' pay grade, and one former straight-A student is more than a little upset about it, KHOU reports. Lauren Firmin claims she struggled all semester in her introductory chemistry class at Texas' Lone Star College at University Park, and was left with an F grade as she neared the final exam. But then, one class suddenly made her semester-long struggle a lot clearer: Her teacher, Thao Shirley Nguyen, admitted to the class she'd been teaching the curriculum for a more advanced chemistry course the whole time, Firmin says.

"She told her mistake in class to all of the students," says Firmin. "She was teaching general chemistry, another course, all semester." To make up for students' poor performance, Nguyen said she'd boost the grades, turning Firmin's F into a B—but even that still ruined her 4.0 average, the student says. The executive director of college relations, however, says, "They were taught the right class," noting Nguyen "followed the syllabus and taught from the 1405 textbook." But an email Firmin received from the head of Lone Star's science department reads, "This was not intentional on Ms. Nguyen's part ... She was new to the introductory level." Nguyen's response? "No comment".

http://www.newser.com/story/184560/student-prof-taught-wrong-course-all-semester.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=united&utm_campaign=rss_topnews

April 1, 2014

Kyle Olson founded Education Action Group in 2007.
Find Kyle on Twitter. 

COLUMBIANA, Ohio – How are parents supposed to help their children with Common Core math when it's just flat-out wrong?

Parent Mina Boyd's kindergartener was given an assignment to count the number of apples on the page and write the number. The worksheet is titled "Count and Write 20," so presumably, there would be 20 apples to count.

Except there's 19.


"They ask her to count and write 20. So she counts...counts again and again. And says mom, 'there's only 19,'" Boyd wrote on the Parents and Educators Against Common Core Standards Facebook page.

"I'm just glad she was smart and said 'they' messed up. If they are going to enforce this then they better double and triple check their work books so they are accurate," Boyd wrote.

But apparently they're not – or even the publishers are having difficulty with kindergarten math.

The lesson is part of a "Go Math" Common Core-aligned curriculum published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

http://eagnews.org/before-the-math-gets-too-complicated-common-core-publishers-should-learn-to-count-to-20/

Under remarks:

Typical of the confusing format being used in workbooks and textbooks. Even if the apple in the upper left is supposed to be apple # 1, why is it not numbered and put with the rest instead of out in left field. It seems the purpose in most of the lessons is to trick and confuse, not to teach.


the 20th apple is in the upper left ...still get rid of the common core crap and get back to basics ....

I think there is a lot of frustration out there about the government trying to take control of
everything, especially when they screw it up so well.

I know you don't get it, but the circle of apples shouldn't have bothered anybody who was taught anything about critical thinking and word problems. When one starts, one is supposed to scan  all available information, to see what's there. What did those parents think that extra apple marked "one" was for? That is part of early critical thinking skills. It's not a trick. I don't know of course, but I'll bet lots of kids did get it!

Quote from: Diane Amberg on April 02, 2014, 09:32:57 AM
I know you don't get it, but the circle of apples shouldn't have bothered anybody who was taught anything about critical thinking and word problems. When one starts, one is supposed to scan  all available information, to see what's there. What did those parents think that extra apple marked "one" was for? That is part of early critical thinking skills. It's not a trick. I don't know of course, but I'll bet lots of kids did get it!

I get it, but apparently you don't get it.
They are dealing with very young, children ---- most during their first year of school!
The lessons should be kept crystal clear and not have even a hint of confusion.
As you so aptly seem to point out about anyone that suggest other wise.

I suppose all kindergarteners are suppose to start grade school fully equipped with critical thinking skills.

Hell, we have organizations they refuse critical thinking by saying, "Be positive."

We even have school board members that fail at critical thinking.

But yeah, kindergarteners in their first year of school are expected to have critical thinking.

Excellent critical thinking Diane!

Tuesday, 25 March 2014 17:03

Written by  Alex Newman


Celebrations by parents, teachers, and taxpayers across the political spectrum over the purported death of Common Core in Indiana may have been premature. When legions of outraged Hoosiers forced lawmakers to pass legislation dropping the Obama administration-pushed nationalization of K-12 education, which Republican Gov. Mike Pence signed on Monday, they thought that would be the end of the deeply controversial standards. However, now that drafts of Indiana's "new" standards have emerged, it is clear that they were largely copied and pasted from the scandal-plagued Common Core. 

Officials still celebrated the bill, perhaps hoping nobody would notice or care. "I believe our students are best served when decisions about education are made at the state and local level," Gov. Pence claimed in a statement this week. "By signing this legislation, Indiana has taken an important step forward in developing academic standards that are written by Hoosiers, for Hoosiers, and are uncommonly high, and I commend members of the General Assembly for their support."

Despite the new law supposedly aimed at stopping Common Core in Indiana, though, suspicion and outrage is still building as Hoosiers learn about the supposedly "new and improved" standards. According to education expert Dr. Sandra Stotsky, who refused to sign off on the national standards while serving on the Common Core Validation Committee and was hired by Indiana to review the state's "new" proposed standards, what is happening is tantamount to "grand deception."

The retired University of Arkansas professor explained that the draft standards proposed as a replacement for Common Core in Indiana, in fact, are almost the same as the national scheme that sparked the public uproar in the first place. Incredibly, internal government documents actually reveal that as much as 90 percent of the "new" standards were taken from Common Core, meaning the "new" is essentially a repackaged version of the old.

Dr. Stotsky recently released an Indiana Department of Education report that blew the lid off what is happening. According to the document, cited in multiple news reports, more than 70 percent of the "new" Indiana standards for grades six through 12 were taken directly from Common Core. Another 20 percent of the standards were simply edited versions of Common Core. About half of the new standards from kindergarten through fifth grade were also lifted from the national scheme.       

"It makes a fool of the governor," Dr. Stotsky, one of the premier national experts on Common Core, was quoted as saying by Fox News about Indiana's allegedly "new" standards. "The governor is being embarrassed by his own Department of Education if the final version is too close to Common Core." Based on the legislation rejecting Common Core, the Indiana Board of Education is set to vote on the proposed "new" standards in late April. It was not immediately clear whether they would be approved, but opposition is building as the public slowly realizes it has been taken for a ride. 

Stotsky, the former 21st-century chair in teacher quality at the University of Arkansas's Department of Education Reform, also told The New American last year that Common Core standards should be scrapped entirely. Among other concerns, she said the national standards reduced opportunities for the development of critical thinking in students, scaled back literary study, and were "written hastily by people who didn't care how poorly written they were." The math subject-matter expert on the Common Core Validation Committee also refused to sign off on that component, citing, among other concerns, incorrect math.

Veteran Indiana educator Mary Black, who has been teaching for 40 years, also lambasted the attempted deception taking place in her state. "The truth about Common Core in Indiana is that we still have Common Core; it is just renamed," explained Black, who currently serves as Curriculum Director for FreedomProject Education, an online K-12 school dedicated to classical education and Judeo-Christian values. "The commission established to write the new Indiana standards 'by Hoosiers and for Hoosiers,' as Gov. Pence put it, was filled by publicly known proponents of Common Core."

One member of the commission, Black told The New American, was a representative of WestEd, a controversial organization connected to the federally funded Common Core testing regimes that also provides schools with a widely criticized data-collection scheme known as "Positive Behavioral Intervention System" (PBIS). In mid-April, meanwhile, the draft Indiana standards will go to an education "Round Table" which is expected to include representatives of the federally funded National Governors Association and billionaire Common Core financier Bill Gates — both of which played a key role, along with the Obama administration, in foisting the controversial standards on America.

"We have renamed Common Core standards, but are still bound to implement them by the federal government's waiver to [the unconstitutional federal education plot known as] No Child Left Behind, and have funding for the development of a state-wide data system for our schools," Black added, referring to the massive, federally funded information-collection regime targeting students. "Indiana has not dropped out of Common Core. Opponents of Common Core will have a difficult time convincing people that we have to get rid of it because so many have now been tricked into believing it is gone."

The education expert also offered some background on how it happened. The original legislation to stop Common Core in Indiana, she said, in addition to establishing a commission to create new standards, would have repealed the Obama administration's lawless waiver from the Bush-era No Child Left Behind mandate. As the bill worked its way through the legislature, however, the measure to repeal the NCLB waiver was dropped, causing the original author of the bill, State Senator Scott Schneider, to withdraw his support. He voted against the final version, too.   

For the governor, it may be about slick politics. "Governor Pence, a neocon, is using this so-called victory over Common Core to deceive Hoosiers into thinking he took a stand against the standards for political gains," Black continued, adding that despite the rhetoric, the reality on the ground suggests the governor is just playing games with the public for his own purposes. "His ambitions to become president are well-known."

In 2010, Indiana became one of the first state governments in the nation to accept Obama administration bribes in exchange for foisting the controversial national standards on schools. It was done very quietly, and as in most of the 45 states that eventually capitulated to Washington, D.C., almost nobody noticed at the time. Once parents and teachers began catching on, though, Indiana, along with the rest of America, was in open revolt against the usurpation of education by unaccountable establishment forces.

The pressure to withdraw from the Big Business- and Obama-backed scheme eventually boiled over in Indiana, contributing to the fact that it became the first state to adopt Common Core and then "officially" withdraw. The process began last year, when lawmakers passed legislation to "pause" the implementation of the controversial education takeover. It all culminated with a bill this year that required State Board of Education officials to develop new benchmark standards for Indiana — standards that, again, were apparently copied and pasted from Common Core for the most part.

In signing the bill to formally kill the standards, Gov. Pence suggested other states would follow Indiana's lead. "I believe when we reach the end of this process there are going to be many other states around the country that will take a hard look at the way Indiana has taken a step back, designed our own standards and done it in a way where we drew on educators, we drew on citizens, we drew on parents and developed standards that meet the needs of our people," the governor was quoted as saying.

Indeed, Pence may be correct, although not in the way he presumably meant it. Across America, facing a tsunami of trans-partisan opposition, embattled state officials are desperately seeking to placate the outraged masses but, at the same time, keep the Obama administration bribes flowing and the pro-Common Core establishment happy. To that end, governors and policymakers are increasingly turning to deception rather than real action — in many cases simply slapping a new name on Common Core in an effort to deceive the public.

However, the American people may not be as gullible as the establishment believes, as evidenced by mounting outrage over Indiana's half-baked attempt to re-package the deeply controversial and poor-quality national standards under a new name. With the nationwide uproar against Common Core gathering momentum even in the face of a new Big Business propaganda blitz, officials in Indiana still have time to take real action against Common Core. In other states, meanwhile, as the battle between the public and the establishment intensifies, it will become increasingly difficult for officials to dupe the citizenry. (emphasis mine)

By Robert M. Penta
Posted Mar. 28, 2014 @ 8:45 am

MEDFORD 
Know about your children's rights regarding the upcoming Common Core/PARCC assessment exam.and your right to "OPT OUT!"

This Common Core/PARCC issue I'm discussing is vitally important to every parent in Medford and in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, so I urge you to take the time to read and consider this article I have put together.

Throughout this essay, I shall present in simple terms my thought process. It is one that I have not taken lightly.

To be fair, there are people who will agree and disagree with me on this matter, and that will be their right.

During the past five weeks, I have been speaking out at the City Council on Medford's upcoming Common Core/PARCC field testing. The testing is scheduled for some randomly pre-selected grades and students within our Medford Public Schools.

If Common Core and the PARCC field assessment test is accepted after the next two year tryout, then the whole Common Core undertaking and implementation will present a major educational change and huge financial demand upon our community.

As such, I believe it important and necessary to speak out early about this extremely important matter.

At the Thursday (3-20-2014) public forum held at the Carron Theatre, Medford High School, there were interesting comments and positions presented regarding Common Core and PARCC.

Participating at the forum were personnel from Medford's School Department led by Superintendent of Schools Roy Belson, the State Department of Education, parents and a group of Medford elected officials, including myself.

For the purpose of this writing, I wish to comment on one particular issue out of the many that were discussed that evening ... that being a parent's right to not have their child take this exam or as it is better known as "opting out."

I believe that we can all agree that smart and informed parents want strong public schools in their communities. There now comes from Washington a top down federal to state mandate claiming the alleged problems in public education in the U.S. can be corrected through Common Core and PARCC testing.

In January, at a Medford School Committee meeting, Caldwell emphasized that "it will be difficult for our students ... and further ... we're a little bit concerned about the instructional time our kids will be losing."

Additionally, she stated, "It's just a lot of pressure on our teaching staff and our kids."

Knowing that neither the teacher, the parent, the student nor the school will be able to attain any scores and/or results compounds the Common Core PARCC agenda, one may ask why?

The results will be put into a melting pot assessment of all the kids throughout our state, at minimum, to come up with a standard that is universal for all... if Common Core is to be adopted according to Common Core/PARCC state education bureaucrats.

Personally, that to me is wrong and carries a complete load of bias against any other student's knowledge who never takes the exam.

As a further reference point of concern, it has been noted that PARCC tests will not be in sync with MCAS and local curriculum standards. MCAS and PARCC testing have major important differences, including the timing of tests, the availability of individualized graphic organizers and reference sheets, the availability of new accommodations for ELL students and the expansion of some MCAS accommodations for all students taking PARCC.

The untested and unproven Common Core and PARCC field testing assessments goes hand-in-glove with the Common Core State Standards Initiative, which was developed initially by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), with financial incentives provided by the federal government through the 2009 Race to the Top funding.

From the 45 states that originally signed on, there are less than 19 left who are participating, and Massachusetts is one.

The National Federation of Teachers have ended their five year multi-million dollar annual relationship with the Bill Gates funding for Common Core after rank and file national union members have expressed a deep distrust of the Common Core approach to educational reform.

Additionally, another major organization, the National Teachers Association and Union, has come out saying that a course correction is needed to slow down this push toward Common Core.

As such, this matter has presented interesting issues of law because the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the 1970 General Educational Provisions Act and the 1979 law establishing the U.S. Department of Education all prohibit a national curriculum law for which Common Core and PARCC is a federal to state mandate.

Medford parents dilemma

At this point without discussing the pros and cons of Common Core and PARCC any further (I'll keep that for a future writing) is the at- present dilemma of Medford parents as well as others throughout our state and country "does my child have to take this exam and is there a penalty if he or she 'opts out?'"

This, eventually will include increased regulations, federal standardized testing requirements, and mandates regarding what and how our children should be taught .

Since those Medford students selected will also be taking the MCAS test at approximately the same time, the questioning has been presented as to teacher and student preparing for both tests knowing some other class subject has to be forfeited.

As was stated at the March 20th meeting by Assistant Superintendent Diane Caldwell, Medford is putting in an inordinate amount of time to prepare for a sampling field test.

Bickerton stated further, "Parents, if they withhold their child from participating in school (regarding this exam) there is a truancy law and I am not invoking that here...what I am saying here we are not going to force people ...its just common sense"

That meeting can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mass-Parents-Opt-Out-of-PARCC-Pilot-Testing/168197043382200

With that said and with no Medford School Committee official position as yet coupled with the comment from Belson at the March 20th public forum on Common Core and PARCC wherein he stated (paraphrasing): "... that if a parent wished to not have his or her child take the exam," he would entertain such a request.

Public school awareness to this issue should be communicated to all participating parents and school principles of the pre-selected grades and students.

Parents and guardians of all students involved have a right and responsibility to let their school committee know their position on what could be an over demanding and financial nightmare for Medford and every other city and town throughout our United States if Common Core/PARCC becomes adopted.

I conclude that it is never too early to request of your elected representatives to have their opinions and votes on this most important city issue.

To tell or lead a parent/guardian to believe that their child doesn't or cannot have an "opt-out" position is unfair and wrong.

http://medford.wickedlocal.com/article/20140328/NEWS/140328106/12456/OPINION?tag=4

Apr. 1, 2014 6:16pm   Jason Howerton   

The Oklahoma Senate voted Tuesday to repeal the controversial Common Core State Standards from the state's curriculum.


Under the bill, the state Board of Education would draft new standards specifically tailored for Oklahoma students to replace Common Core, which has been adopted by 45 states so far.

"The Republican-controlled Senate voted 37-10 on Tuesday for the bill repealing the standards over the objections of some Democrats who argued it is a political decision to roll back Common Core, which has faced fierce resistance from grassroots conservative groups," the Associated Press reports.

The bill, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Josh Brecheen, would direct the state BOE to join forces with higher education officials as well as career and technology professionals to adopt new standards by August of 2015.

The bill now heads back to the Oklahoma House, which could move to accept Senate changes or reject them and send them to a conference committee, the Tulsa World reports.

Read the bill here. http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2013-14%20COMMITTEE%20SUBS/SCSH/HB3399%20SCSH.PDF

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/04/01/common-core-opponents-another-step-closer-to-huge-win-in-oklahoma/

 ;D ;D ;D. What is so special about OK kids that they need a special cirriculum? OK city kids? country kids? ranch kids? oil field kids?
English and reading are English and reading. How different can they be? Isn't math math, no matter what state it's in? If all paths take one to the correct answer,what's the problem? Personally I'd prefer to teach the way that gets there the fastest, but most competant, because the day is so stuffed with information to be taught.
One of the problems that started all this fuss had to do with schools teaching different things in different grades. If one school teaches biology in 10th grade and chemistry in 11th, what happens to the child who comes in from Texas whose school chose to teach it the other way around? They would take one course twice and the other not at all? The same thing could happen with geometry and algebra. There needs to still be some coordination within schools ,Common Core or not. As I said before and was ignored,those countries who are supposedly beating our kids in academics are using Gov't. produced cirricula. If it works for them, why are we so special? ;D

Quote from: Diane Amberg on April 03, 2014, 07:55:26 AM
;D ;D ;D. What is so special about OK kids that they need a special cirriculum? OK city kids? country kids? ranch kids? oil field kids?
English and reading are English and reading. How different can they be? Isn't math math, no matter what state it's in? If all paths take one to the correct answer,what's the problem? Personally I'd prefer to teach the way that gets there the fastest, but most competant, because the day is so stuffed with information to be taught.
One of the problems that started all this fuss had to do with schools teaching different things in different grades. If one school teaches biology in 10th grade and chemistry in 11th, what happens to the child who comes in from Texas whose school chose to teach it the other way around? They would take one course twice and the other not at all? The same thing could happen with geometry and algebra. There needs to still be some coordination within schools ,Common Core or not. As I said before and was ignored,those countries who are supposedly beating our kids in academics are using Gov't. produced cirricula. If it works for them, why are we so special? ;D

Perhaps we should become communist like some of the other countries?
Or perhaps we should have more teachers that actually teach using some enthusiasm and interest in what the subjects they teach.

I'd also suggest that school boards do their jobs and use their guidance tool to improve teaching standards instead of building un need gymnasiums and instead of calling picnic's school board meetings. Schools are getting good grades from the state on sub-standard educational standards and it didn't happen over night.

But, I guess you would prefer Obama Care and Obama Common Core and Obama Gun Control and maybe an Obama Village to live in.

But read the following article, Diane and learn the difference between us and other countries.


The rebellion against the federal education standards known as "Common Core" is quickly spreading across the states.

The process under which it was created was very secretive and had little to no state input.  Big corporate interests were heavily involved in the process, and they worked with federal bureaucrats to create these standards, which were foisted upon the states using the coercion of federal funding.

Desperate to obtain the funds during the severe recession, states quickly adopted the standards with little to no hesitation.  But the more we find out about just how bad Common Core is, the more states are moving in the direction of full repeal of the standards.


  http://conservativetribune.com/Oklahoma-to-repeal-common-core/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

During financially desperate times people, act irrationally and tons of money is a great coercive tool.

We saw the Obama hopey changy thing happen right here in Elk County over the wind farm money that people wanted to control out side of the County Government for their own desires.

They said be Positive, the only thing wrong with that is the lack of critical thinking and it makes it much easier to manipulate people. However the people of Elk County became wise to the plot.

This Obama Common Core and ObamaCare also lack the critical thinking factors when started, but that has also turned around. The lies behind keep it positive are coming out.

I wish you a great and positive thinking and liberal day Diane.

The colors red and blue are my emphasis.

So you consider Japan's educational system and Great Britain's' and many others communist? Wow!
By the way, I read the entire OK standards guide. It's actually quite good. I suspect the parents who want their kids to get "good grades" without rising to the challenge will kill Common Core, without ever putting in the effort to find out the details about it. It sets state standards, and right now just for math and English/reading, but allows a lot of flexibility in the materials used and allows the teachers many ways to present information. Weak teachers won't like it.The ones who aren't very creative will struggle and it unfortunately may also allow PIGS too much access to the kids...like PETA
So, you go right ahead with your personal attacks and negative labels. Apparently you can't write without them. I'm sure you have taken your son out of school by now. You surely wouldn't want him to  have an open mind about his education.

Kyle founded Education Action Group in 2007.
November 26, 2013

MUSKEGON, Mich. – On the heels of a controversial children's book about Barack Obama – which stated "white voters would never vote for a black president" and that "Barack's former pastor" said "God would damn the United States for mistreating its black citizens" – comes a new lesson that casts America's 44th president in a messianic light. Literally.

And – surprise – it's Common Core-aligned.

The lesson plan and accompanying visual presentation were authored by Sherece Bennett, and is for sale on TeachersPayTeachers.com. It's all based on a book titled, "Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope," by Nikki Grimes.

In one passage, a young Obama sees beggars and wonders, "Will I ever be able to help people like these?"

"Hope hung deep inside of him," the book adds.

Another excerpt from the book reads: "Before dawn each morning, Barry rose – his mother's voice driving him from dream land. 'Time for learning English grammar and the Golden Rule. Be honest, be kind, be fair,' she taught him."

The story continues: "One morning, he slipped on the name he'd been born with. The name of his father, Barack. For the first time in his life, he wore it proudly – like a coat of many colors."

Uh oh – another Obama-inspired Biblical reference in a government school! But there's no controversy here. Leftists will use God and the Bible, in instances such as these, when it appropriately fits their propaganda purposes.

Son of Promise Prezi still No story about Barack Obama would be complete without mentioning his work as a community organizer. The book describes those days in dramatic fashion:

"The work was grueling, with stretches of failure, and puny patches of success. Door-to-door Barack went, early mornings, late nights, pleading and preaching, coaxing strangers to march together, to make life better for everyone.

"He worked as hard as a farmer, planting the words 'Yes, we can!' like seeds in spring.

"Impatient, Barack kept wondering if those seeds would ever sprout. He worried that the hope in him would fade away."

This mythical interpretation of Obama was the #1 New York Times bestselling picture-book biography of Obama, according to Amazon.com.

Bennett's lesson calls for students as young as third grade to read Grimes' book and do a number of activities, including making a collage of Obama:

"Have students bring in magazines and photos of President Obama. Have students create a collage about Barack Obama based on the information from the text. The collage should represent pictures and words about Barack Obama."

Grimes' book and Bennett's lesson plan are more fitting for an authoritarian regime in which children are taught to deify and praise their dear leader. One can almost envision teachers in Cuba, Venezuela and Iran using similar books and lessons.

Thankfully, that's not the American way, which makes these learning materials completely unsuitable for our classrooms.

Still, given the large number of activist teachers in the U.S., there's a very real possibility this is the version of Barack Obama's history many of our young students are learning in a school near you.


http://eagnews.org/teachers-3rd-grade-lesson-presents-messianic-view-of-obama-literally/

Quote from: Diane Amberg on April 04, 2014, 09:33:19 AM
So you consider Japan's educational system and Great Britain's' and many others communist? Wow!
By the way, I read the entire OK standards guide. It's actually quite good. I suspect the parents who want their kids to get "good grades" with out rising to the challenge will kill Common Core, without ever putting in the effort to find out the details about it. It sets state standards, and right now just for math and English/reading, but allows a lot of flexibility in the materials used and allows the teachers many ways to present information. Weak teachers won't like it.The ones who aren't very creative will struggle and it unfortunately may also allow PIGS too much access to the kids...like PETA
So, you go right ahead with your personal attacks and negative labels. Apparently you can't write without them. I'm sure you have taken your son out of school by now. You surely wouldn't want him to  have an open mind about his education.

I give up on your negative attitude about such a great and noble goal of removing the federal government from control of our class rooms. Please see the propaganda in the above post.

You stick with supporting Obama Common Core and the propaganda and the lies in education that is a real positive thing and I wish you luck with it.

No ma'am my son has not been taken out of school, that was just plain nasty and cruel of you to suggest. What happened to positive.

I bet, I have spent more time in school in the last 5 to 10 years than you have. I am a welcomed visitor at Elk Valley. That's right Elk Valley USD 283 - something that never happened at West Elk USD-282. The attitude at Elk Valley USD-283 is so much better, so much friendlier, so much more helpful in my opinion.

Now, that there is a real positive attitude about Elk Valley USD- 283.

TTFN

I never said I was pro or against Common Core, so stop labeling me!
I know schools that are using it for the reasons it was meant to be used..in a two year trial period. They are doing fine. With the UD College of Eduction right here ( not it's actual name ) there is a lot of research interest  in how the kids are doing, proofing the CC work and yes, finding errors. They have student teachers in a lot of the schools I've worked with and they are checking it all out too. Has nothing to do with Federal "control".  I do resent the total crap that some people are blogging and making it all sound wrong by taking a sentence or two out of context to make a negative point. I just saw one about having the kids show their work when doing math, so the teacher could tell how the child was thinking about the problem. Suddenly that was turned into a teacher who said that an incorrect answer was acceptable. That is not even remotely what she said or further explained. LIES!  She was explaining why she wanted to see the child's work, so the error in thinking could be corrected!
You are absolutely right. I have not spent any time in Kansas schools in the last 15 years. ;D As far as Delaware schools, I'll take that bet and win. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
You, yourself have written about lousy parenting, parents who don't want to have to support their kids' educations, want them to be given grades they don't deserve or earn, yet you want the parents to totally control the schools. There is just nothing more unsettling than having a parent come in with a chip on their shoulder to try to negotiate a higher grade for their spoiled kid, especially when the teacher shows them the grade book and all the 0's for missed assignments, or missing home work. We never gave homework on Friday as it was.
Why, Common Core is too hard! AW! Sez who...whom.
Which parents? The ones who care and do the right things for their kids education, or the whiny ones who don't want their kids to work as hard as they can for their ability, and are very vocal about it. After all, it's all the teachers' faults .....Especially the truant kids who rarely go to school. Ya can't help or teach a child who isn't there.
You have been so nasty and insinuating to me, I've stopped caring how I treat you. You get what you get.
A "welcome" guest? Why, what are you doing? Disrupting class? Helping with spelling practice? Taking lunch duty?  Teaching your version of constitutional law? ;D
So you are keeping your son in a public school you hate so much? Why? You really want him exposed to all those heathen communist teachers who toe the Federal line? Kind of contradictory aren't ya? HA!

Quote from: Diane Amberg on April 05, 2014, 08:41:03 AM
I never said I was pro or against Common Core, so stop labeling me!
I know schools that are using it for the reasons it was meant to be used..in a two year trial period. They are doing fine. With the UD College of Eduction right here ( not it's actual name ) there is a lot of research interest how the kids are doing, proofing the CC work and yes, finding errors. They have student teachers in a lot of the schools I've worked with and they are checking it all out too. Has nothing to do with Federal "control".  i do resent the total crap that some people are blogging and making all sound wrong by taking a sentence or two out on context to make a negative point. I just saw one about having the kids show their work when doing math, so the teacher could tell how the child was thinking about the problem. Suddenly that was turned into a teacher who said that an incorrect answer was acceptable. That is not even remotely what she said or further explained. LIES!  She was explaining why she wanted to see the child work, so the error thinking could be corrected!
You are absolutely right. I have not spent any time in Kansas schools in the last 15 years. ;D As far as Delaware schools, I'll take that bet and win. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
You, yourself have written about lousy parenting, parents who don't want to have to support their kids' educations, want them to be given grades they don't deserve or earn, yet you want the parents to totally control the schools. There is just nothing more unsettling than having a parent come in with achip on their shoulder to try to negotiate a higher grade for their spoiled kid. espaecilly when the teacher shows them the grade book and all the 0's for missed assignments or absent home work and we never gave homework on Friday as it was.
Why, Common Core is too hard! AW! Sez who...whom.
Which parents? The ones who care and do the right things for their kids education, or the whiny ones who don't want their kids to work as hard as they can for their ability, and are very vocal about it. After all, it's all the teachers' faults .....Especially the truant kids who rarely go to school. Ya can't help or teach a child who isn't there.
You have been so nasty and insinuating to me, I've stopped caring how I treat you. You get what you get.
A "welcome" guest? Why, what are you doing? Disrupting class? Helping with spelling practice? Taking lunch duty?  Teaching your version of constitutional law? ;D
So you are keeping your son in a public school you hate so much? Why? You really want him exposed to all those heathen communist teachers who toe the Federal line? Kind of contradictory aren't ya? HA!

Oh Diane you sweet talking, silver tongued lady you!
Thanks for all the compliments.
You have yourself a nice and positive weekend. TTYL

April 4, 2014
(http://eagnews.org/wp-content/uploads/userphoto/9.jpg)
Steve Gunn
Steve, Editor-in-chief of EAGnews, joined in 2009. Previously, he was a newspaper journalist.

SACRAMENTO – Officials at Sacramento Unified School District need to remind themselves that public schools belong to the public, and the public has a right to express itself about education issues.

power to the people_337x244Katherine Duran is the mother of a student at Sacramento's Mark Twain Elementary, and one of many parents with deep concerns about the school's scheduled transformation to Common Core math and English standards in the fall.

As a form of protest, Duran printed out a bunch of forms for parents, which they can sign if they want to have their children opted out of Common Core testing.

She gave the forms to her son, Christopher Duran, who handed them to other students to take home to their parents.


That was obviously too much for school officials, who had a police officer visit Duran's house and hand her a notice of a 14-day suspension from school property.

This is wrong in so many ways, it's tough to know where to begin.

For starters, when approached by the media, school officials were confused about why Duran was banned from the school in the first place.

"It appears she went a little too far with regards to how she distributed information at school sites, distributing information to children directly," Gabe Ross, a spokesman for the Sacramento school district, was quoted as saying by News10.net.

When she heard that, Duran reminded the reporter that she gave her son the forms to distribute to children, and she did not participate in the distribution. Ross later admitted she was correct.

The district then claimed that Ross was suspended because of a confrontation she had with the principal of Mark Twain Elementary, after school officials took the forms from her son.

Duran said she tried to take the forms from the principal's desk, and the principal slammed her hand on them and said they were no longer her property. Duran said she took the forms, anyway, which led to the visit from the police officer.

The hypocrisy in this case is pretty thick.

We can think of many instances, usually during teachers union labor disputes around the nation, when school employees – including administrators – encourage students to walk out of class or stage other forms of protest, in support of the teachers.
 
When challenged, they argue that students are citizens who have the right to express themselves and promote their views.

Fair enough.

So why don't school officials recognize Christopher Duran's right to protest Common Core by distributing the opt-out forms? Neither the boy nor his mother can force other parents to sign them. They are simply making parents aware of the issue, and their right to have their students exempted from Common Core exams.

The difference seems to be as simple as this – school officials encourage student activism when the students advance a cause they support, but turn the tables when they don't agree with the message being promoted.

"I think it's an effort to undermine the anti-Common Core movement," Durant said.

We think she's correctly identified the problem.

The Sacramento school district has no justification for blocking the First Amendment right of Christopher Duran to express his views by distributing the forms, as long as he's not disrupting school activities.

And school officials should cut his mother a break. If she was a little upset when she visited the principal, it's understandable. The school kept her son from exercising his rights, confiscated her property and allegedly refused to return it.

For too long the education establishment – school board members, administrators and union leaders – have acted as though public schools are their own private fiefdoms, and citizens have to accept their decisions and the way they run things.

They're way off base. Citizens have a right to upset the apple cart when they believe a policy is not in their best interest.

It's disgusting to hear about a concerned citizen being banned from public property for expressing herself. That would be like banning citizens from city hall or the state house when they protest a tax or a law.

In the end, millions of citizens like Duran will decide the fate of the Common Core experiment in California, whether the school establishment likes it or not.

If K-12 officials really expected this issue to pass by with little protest, they were fooling themselves. Parents care about the type of education their kids receive, and they've been protesting throughout the nation about the confusing new Common Core standards.

That's their absolute right, and school officials need to stay out of their way while they exercise it.

http://eagnews.org/mother-suspended-from-her-childs-school-after-raising-awareness-about-common-core/

Emphasis is mine. Diane, I did not write the article or choose the state. Just as in any other article I may post. And as far as being slanted all articles, opinions and even science that is suppose to be fact is slanted. Even politicians and teachers and voters are slanted. That is not the same as corrupted just biased. Simple, huh?

So please get off the slanted B.S., please.

Personally, I am not much for so called think tanks, they are people just like you and me and they read and think just like you and me. But this article popped up and I am sharing it because it pertains to Common Core and Kansas. It for you decide it's value.


March 5, 2014

Kansas Policy Institute
(http://eagnews.org/wp-content/uploads/userphoto/81.jpg)
KPI is an independent think-tank that advocates for free market solutions and the protection of personal freedom for all Kansans.

WICHITA, Kan. – Common Core. Two words that make the "Who is the best Kansas college basketball team" debate seem downright tame.
common core twoCommon Core finds its way into just about any education policy discussion and pugilists on both sides start to jab.

As with most questions of public policy, Common Core (CC) certainly started out with the best of intentions but has become just another roadblock between Kansas children and their future success. At one point the saving grace of CC was the promise of high, transparent standards by which Kansas schools would be graded. However, the baggage that now accompanies those standards, with no promise of them remaining high, is too much and Kansas should return to the state performance standards we had prior to passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

Also interesting, CC recently underwent a name change but remain CC is spirit and fact – They're now called the Kansas College and Career Readiness Standards.

The last federal intervention, NCLB, is where any notion of CC being a state initiative went off the rails. Assume for a moment that CC supporters are correct in saying it was initially a state-led effort and that the Feds jumped onto an already-moving train. The reality is that most states only got on board to CC when they were offered a federal waiver from the impossible mandates of NCLB – 100% student proficiency by 2014 at the hazard of federal education dollars. Not to mention federal enticements of more money in the 2009 "stimulus" bill. Kansas applied for the stimulus' "Race to The Top" money but didn't receive it while our state has received a waiver from NCLB. Minutes from Kansas Board of Education meetings show that Kansas was signing onto the standards during the same period as the "enticements" were being offered.

That is the kind of "voluntary" decision that only Michael Corleone could love. To think that the federal government will not use further enticements and the power they already have to wield influence on CC disregards both common sense and recent history. We need look no further than NCLB to hear Washington say they will not affect the classroom. But, you would be hard pressed to find a teacher who does not bemoan NCLB as interfering in their ability to teach.
 

If NCLB was an unwarranted, unprecedented federal intrusion into the classroom why welcome more of the same with Common Core?

To believe that CC will remain state-led with Kansas able to control our own destiny is to ignore the simple experience of getting a few friends to agree on where to eat dinner. Magnify this phenomenon to 40-some states trying to agree on education standards and we begin to see where Kansas control may be eroded. It is also hard to imagine that what is in the standards will not ultimately dictate curriculum and teaching. How is CC any different than the NCLB refrain of "teaching to the test"? Because, we know that what is tested is what is taught?

Even college-bound private school students or homeschoolers will feel the weight of CC as the ACT and SAT are both being aligned to Common Core standards.
Recent CC test results in New York and Kentucky also show the "high standards" are under attack. New York's 2013 High School Principal of the Year said that "The New York Common Core test results are the fruit of a poisonous tree." While the leading teachers union in New York recently called for a CC moratorium in the face of high-stakes testing. If CC can survive these early attacks, we will likely be left with CC following the course of NCLB, which, as Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says, "led to a dumbing down of standards."

Good thing, then, that Kansas already has our pre-NCLB standards on the shelf. Surely, any cost to update those would be no more than the cost of implementing CC standards and would ensure Kansas-led decision making. Suffice it to say, Kansas' pre-NCLB standards required "Proficiency with difficult, rigorous and formidable material..." and would be a step in the right direction from where Kansas standards are currently.

The evidence is overwhelming; Kansas should pass on CC and return to our pre-NCLB standards. Those standards are on the shelf while Common Core will corrode public, private, and home schools. We'd also be sticking our head in sand to believe that Kansas will stay in control of K-12 education with a 40-some state consortium and the Feds already interfering with this "state-led initiative."

Authored by James Franko – Kansas Policy Institute

http://eagnews.org/go-back-to-move-forward-from-common-core-standards/

February 12, 2014

Kelly Poynter
(http://eagnews.org/wp-content/uploads/userphoto/75.jpg)
Kelly is a photographer, a hobby farmer, a child advocate and a mother of 3 elementary-aged children.


You may have already seen this image today. I posted it this morning on my business page and after returning from a session out in Syracuse, it has been shared over 400 times. I want to take a moment to explain this image so as those who do not know me, can understand how this image came to be.

I am a photographer, a hobby farmer, a child advocate and a mother of 3 elementary-aged children. This is my middle child in the photo ... she is 7 and is in 2nd grade. My kindergartner and my 4th grader were already finished with their homework and had left the table. I had brought my camera in to work on my white balance skills while shooting in low light as I had a session the next morning to prep for.

After checking her work, I had found 2 math problems were incorrect. I tried to help her understand where she went wrong through her process but I don't understand it myself and was not much help.
 

I told her to forget about it and we'd try again tomorrow but she became very upset that she could not get the answer and kept trying and trying to fix it. She is hard on herself as she very much wants to excel in school and not be pulled for extra help all of the time. I was talking to her and clicking my camera as I changed settings ... it's something that is very common in our household ... and that is when I caught this image.

My daughter is incredibly strong.  My daughter is a 4-year cancer survivor.  She is a fighter with a resilient spirit.  It crushes me to see her cry; to see her struggle.  My daughter deserves a happy childhood.

Please know that 5 minutes later I had convinced her to leave the homework behind and go snuggle with her dad on the couch and watch some Olympics coverage. She is not neglected. She was not abused or left alone to cry. And this photo was not staged.

http://eagnews.org/common-cores-impact-the-first-picture-of-my-daughter-i-ever-hated/

Under Comments:

Common Core is child abuse. The educational system is set up to reward administrators to accept the federal dollar. Since the Department of Education took over the curriculum it has already failed more Americans than it has ever helped, which can be easily ascertained by the a look at the number of remedial courses necessary for college students. Two things need to be done immediately: get the federal government out of our schools, and get the unions out of our schools.

February 27, 2014

Eagle Forum
Eagle Forum's Mission is to enable conservative and pro-family men and women to participate in the process of self-government and public policy making so that America will continue to be a land of individual liberty, respect for family integrity, public and private virtue, and private enterprise.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Many people said Ho-Hum when Barack Obama threatened to change any law with his pen or phone, and even used that power to personally alter Obamacare and the welfare law, and to "legislate" the Dream Act that Congress refused to pass.

common core twoBut Americans are rising up by the tens of thousands to stop Common Core, which is the current attempt to compel all U.S. children to be taught the same material and not be taught other things parents might think important.

Ever since Congress began pouring federal tax dollars into public schools, parents have been solicitous to have Congress write into law a prohibition against the federal government writing curriculum or lesson plans, or imposing a uniform national curriculum. Parents want those decisions made at the local level by local school boards which are, or should be, subject to the watchful eyes of local citizens and parents.

Parents are supported in this view by the U.S. Constitution which gives the federal government no power over education. Here is some of the repetitive language included in federal school appropriation laws.

The 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the first federal attempt to regulate and finance schools, stated: "Nothing in this act" shall authorize any federal official to "mandate, direct, or control" school curriculum. The 1970 General Education Provisions Act stipulates that "no provision of any applicable program shall be construed to authorize any" federal agency or official "to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program of instruction or selection of instructional materials by any" school system.

The 1979 law that created the Department of Education forbids it to exercise "any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum" or "program of instruction" of any school system. The amended Elementary and Secondary Education Act reiterates that no Education Department funds "may be used ... to endorse, approve, or sanction any curriculum designed to be used in" grades K-12.

Despite all those emphatic words Obama's Department of Education, headed by an alumnus of the Chicago Democratic machine and other leftists, seeks to mold the minds of all our children into supporters of big-government. Their vehicle to accomplish this is Common Core, which is artfully designed to impose de facto national uniformity while complying with all explicit federal prohibitions.
 

The mechanism of control is the tests that all students must take, which will be written by the people who created Common Core. If students haven't studied a curriculum "aligned" with Common Core, they will have a hard time passing the tests required for a high school diploma and entry into college.

As explained by education researcher and author Darcy Pattison, the Common Core gang in 1996 gathered a cozy group of rich big businessmen, six governors, and a few other politicians and founded an organization called Achieve Inc. Working backward from the 12th grade down to kindergarten, this eventually morphed into the Common Core State Standards.

Achieve Inc. started implementation of Common Core with 13 states, but a national curriculum was still the goal, and a congressional debate about that would have been a political risk. So the Common Core advocates bypassed most elected officials, went straight to each state department of education, and by 2009, 35 state curriculums had aligned with Common Core.

Common Core advocates then announced that "standards" had been developed "in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts ... to prepare our children for college and the workforce." By 2011, 45 states signed up even though the final draft of the standards was not yet available and they had never been field tested.

Still careful to skirt the laws barring federal control of curriculum, Education Secretary Arne Duncan used federal funds to bait the states to align with Common Core by offering grants from the federally funded Race to the Top program.

The Common Core promoters, whose goal is a national curriculum for all U.S. children despite laws prohibiting the government from requiring it, used the clever device of copyrighting the standards by a non-government organization, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). That enables Common Core advocates to force uniform national standards while claiming that the laws prohibiting federal control of curriculum are not violated.

No one may copy or reprint the standards without permission, and states that sign on to Common Core may not change or modify the standards. The license agreement that states must sign in order to use Common Core states: "NGA/CCSSO shall be acknowledged as the sole owners and developers of the Common Core State Standards."

Authored by Phyllis Schlafly - EagleForum.Org

http://eagnews.org/national-takeover-of-school-curriculum/

April 11, 2014



ARKPORT, N.Y. – Were officials in the Arkport Central School District being petty and vindictive in their treatment of children whose parents removed them from Common Core testing?


If so, they went about it in the worst possible way – by giving an ice cream treat to the third through sixth grade students who took the tests, and denying those who didn't.

Parents of the opt-out kids were simply exercising their legal rights, and they're angered that their children had to pay the price in such an obviously nasty manner.

After all, The fair and equitable distribution of ice cream is a very serious matter to elementary students.

The school superintendent tried to explain away the controversy, claiming the slight was unintentional.

"Very sorry it was taken in the light that it was taken," Superintendent Glenn Niles said, according to WLEA News. "We try to do a simple token, as we've done every year that we've ever tested, and this year was no different. We just had more kids that didn't take the tests, and therefore, it was a little bigger deal, so we will evaluate what we will do in the future."

As if he had no idea that small children might be upset when their classmates got ice cream and they didn't. If Niles was genuinely surprised by the reaction, he has no business working around youngsters because he clearly does not understand them.

Niles and the school principal said they were very upset about the community reaction to the ice cream scandal.

"Some of the things said about me, about Mrs. Dewey (the principal), and about the school are really just plain ugly," Niles said.

Dewey indicated she had been threatened and was worried about the safety of her family, the news report said.

These folks are public servants, and they should know there are knuckleheads out there who are going to speak and act in a moronic fashion over any type of controversy. It comes with the territory.

But if Niles and Dewey really want citizens to stop saying nasty things, they should try to avoid obviously provocative actions, like giving some kids ice cream and denying others.

That's just asking for big trouble, and they certainly are getting their share.

Posted on: April 11th, 2014 by Steve Gunn

http://eagnews.org/kids-who-didnt-take-the-common-core-test-were-denied-an-ice-cream-treat/

Common Core – what is it and just how much educational instruction time is being lost to the standardized tests used to measure student performance?

You might want to start reading up on it in addition to checking your child's homework bag. I had heard about the move to Common Core-aligned standards here and there, including some of the theories that it was a plot to nationalize K-12 education and brainwash our children, or that it was nothing more than a grass roots effort to develop a set of standards that all schools should strive for.

Well, as usual, the truth is somewhere in between but, as they say, the devil is in the details. The mission statement from the Common Core website sounds reasonable: "The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them."

Based on that description, how could it be anything but apple pie and cute puppies? The reality is that while the standards may be good, the standardized tests (Keystone and Pennsylvania System of School Assessment) and what common sense tells us would naturally follow, are the problem.

What do you think happens when teachers are told that a portion of their performance pay or how much funding a school gets, will be based on how their students perform on a standardized test? How could either resist the temptation or pressure not to do well by teaching to the test?

I performed a simple internal search of my school district and came up with more than 700 hits on PSSA alone. Just a quick glance was enough to demonstrate that teachers are indeed teaching to the test.

During the 2012-13 school year, when our middle son was a junior at Council Rock South High School, he was required to take and pass the Keystone Biology exam in order to satisfy new graduation requirements. He had taken honors Biology in 9th grade and passed, but as 2012 was the first year the statewide Biology test was given and since it had been two years, my wife was told at "Back to School Night" that they would take 20 minutes each week out of his AP Physics class to review biology material.

This continued all through the fall until the tests were administered in December of 2012. The testing lasted three days, so during the majority of the time when he didn't have a test he was in study hall receiving no instruction.

We heard from other parents that a number of the students planned to skip school when not taking a test since there were no homework assignments during the week of testing, and no new material was being covered. Our son had to sit in study hall for four hours waiting for the modified schedule to begin, for classes he would learn nothing new so as not to distract the kids from performing well on the exams.

This year we began seeing packets of material come home for our 6th grader that include practice tests and study guides, but in reality they are nothing but probable questions they will see on the PSSA. Each week I could look in her assignment book and find at least one entry to complete in preparation for the test.

"Complete page 17 questions." When I looked at previous pages, there is a small check mark from the teacher indicating that it was done, but there was no grade, as I would usually see on other homework assignments. She received no school credit, suggested class selection for next year or offers of assistance in areas of weakness.

The PSSA tests for 2014 were administered from the middle of March through the end of April with each grade tested for approximately a week. The testing does not last all day, but runs several hours each day. There were no homework assignments during the week of testing, which could only lead me to believe they were not receiving any new instruction and either did test prep-work or something non-value added.

What do students and parents receive from these high-stakes tests months after taking them? They will receive an evaluation summary and comparison to averages around the state long after the student has moved on, when the opportunity for remediation has been lost. Not that expediency would help since no one- not the teacher, school administrators, student or parent- will ever see which questions were missed.

Just a yard stick held up to show how your child measures up to others locally, statewide and perhaps nationally, rendering the results largely worthless, unless of course you were planning to move and wanted to base your decision on average test scores.

When you take this time and couple it with practice tests leading up to the exam, you really have to wonder what the benefit is to the child who; will not receive any academic credit for the test, is not promoted or given extra help in areas of deficiency, never receives the graded test to see where they made a mistake, whether minor oversight or complete misunderstanding of the question.

So where does all this testing get us and who benefits? The school district has an incentive to achieve certain academic goals or they may lose some funding. Teachers are being measured on how well their students perform and may have a portion of incentive pay added or subtracted. The big winner will be the companies and consultants that develop the tests and the piles of workbooks and study guides schools will inevitably purchase from them so that they can continue to get full state and federal funding.

What does your child get, besides perhaps bragging rights? Nothing, since any increase or decrease in funding or designation as a failing school will come only after they have moved on. They are merely laboratory mice used in a high stakes experiment, where the results are dubious at best when a school teaches to the test.

In Pennsylvania, parents have the right to have their children opt-out of the PSSA tests on religious grounds. You are not required to provide any further explanation or justification to anyone. In most cases, an email or written letter to the district superintendent or administrator and a copy to the school principal is all that is required.

This year we chose to have our 6th grade daughter excused from the exams, the process was simple and we were asked if we had a preference as to what she should be assigned during the test period, like reading, library or some other project.

The number of other parents choosing to opt-out this year was small, but hopefully as more and more parents become educated on the costs versus benefits of Common Core standardized tests, those numbers will grow and send a clear message to our legislators – don't mess with our children's education!

Allan Spurr

A Liberal Progressive and strict Constitutional Conservative. Actually, Classical liberal being committed to the ideal of limited government and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets. Progressive as it pertains to moving forward and understanding that the unintended consequences of public policy is usually worse than the problem it was intended to solve. In real life, just your average husband, father, engineer and computer geek.

http://watchdogwire.com/pennsylvania/2014/04/14/pa-common-core-standardized-tests-erase-educational-value/

Teacher simulated orgasm, gave massages
April 15, 2014
by Dr. Richard Swier

Ms. Christine Jane Kirchner is a language arts teacher at Coral Reef Senior High School, Miami-Dade public schools. Ms. Kirchner in 2008 was appointed by the Miami-Dade School Board to the Lesson Plan Development Task Group. Kirchner was elected Vice President At-Large and sits on the Executive Board of the United Teachers of Dade (UTD).

So what's so special about Christine Jane Kirchner?

According to the April 4th Education Practices Commission of the State of Florida report:

    During the 2012-2013 school year, Respondent [Kirchner] discussed inappropriate topics, such as sex, virginity and masturbation, with her language arts class. The conversations made several students feel uncomfortable or embarrassed.
    During the 2012-2013 school year, during a lesson with her language arts class, Respondent [Kirchner] simulated having an orgasm. The simulation made several students feel uncomfortable or embarrassed.
    During the 2012-2013 school year, Respondent [Kirchner] gave massages to students of her language arts class. The massages made several students feel uncomfortable or embarrassed.

Kirchner was found guilty of "gross immorality or an act involving moral turpitude" and that she violated "the Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession". Kirchner was found to have violated Florida State Statute 1012.795 (1)(d) and (1)(j), respectively.

What is the punishment given Kirchner?

The Florida Department of Education accepted a "Settlement Agreement". The settlement agreement consists of a letter of reprimand and placing Kirchner on two years probation. Kirchner accepted the Settlement Agreement.

Kirchner will return to her classroom at Coral Reef High School and retain her position on the Executive Board of the UTD.

Does the punishment fit the crime? We report, you decide.

Dr. Richard Swier

Dr. Rich Swier is Publisher of www.DrRichSwier e-Magazine. He holds a Doctorate of Education from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA, a Master's Degree in Management Information Systems from the George Washington University, Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts from Washington University, St. Louis, MO. Richard is a 23-year Army veteran who retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1990. He was awarded the Legion of Merit for his years of service.

http://watchdogwire.com/florida/2014/04/15/settlement-reached-over-florida-teachers-gross-immorality-with-students/

Although many would like Americans to believe that the Common Core standards were developed by states, were state led, and belong to the states, that is simply false. The standards belong solely to the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The NGA and CCSSO license of the standards only "grants" a limited license of the Common Core Standards to the states that supposedly developed them. The NGA and CCSSO Common Core Public License can be seen in its entirety here: http://www.corestandards.org/public-license

The license agreement states that: "NGA/CCSSO shall be acknowledged as the sole owners and developers of the Common Core State Standards, and no claims to the contrary shall be made." So does Oregon own the standards? No. Does Wisconsin own the standards? No. Does Massachusetts own the standards? No. No state owns the standards.

The license agreement makes it clear that although the NGA and the CCSSO own the standards, they do not stand behind them or make any claim to their efficacy or effectiveness. In fact, they want nothing to do with accountability, outcomes, or any damage the standards may cause.

Reading the policy, one is reminded of the "Sold As-Is" sticker on the window of a used car. This part of the license is written by the NGA and CCSSO lawyers in all capital letters, presumably so states don't miss it and fail to understand the implications:

THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS ARE PROVIDED AS-IS AND WITH ALL FAULTS, AND NGA CENTER/CCSSO MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTIBILITY [sic], FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, OR THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF ERRORS, WHETHER OR NOT DISCOVERABLE.

The standards have no guarantee of "fitness for a particular purpose." The purpose of the standards is college- and career-readiness for K-12 students in all states where they were adopted. But the NGA and the CCSSO clearly do not warranty or guarantee their fitness, accuracy, or absence of errors.

If anything is found lacking in the standards, or if in fact our education system circles the drain in the coming years, the NGA and the CCSSO want nothing to do with any liability for the standards. Children, parents, teachers, school districts, and states are on their own. This section is presented in all capital letters, as well, lest anyone become confused and believe the developers can be held responsible in any way for what was developed:

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL NGA CENTER OR CCSSO, INDIVIDUALLY OR JOINTLY, BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY LEGAL THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER FOR CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR A COMBINATION THEREOF (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH RISK AND POTENTIAL DAMAGE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, LICENSEE WAIVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK LEGAL REDRESS AGAINST, AND RELEASES FROM ALL LIABILITY AND COVENANTS NOT TO SUE, NGA CENTER AND CCSSO.

Some are left wondering why there is such emphasis on not being held responsible for the results of something that is supposedly well-researched, benchmarked, and developed by experts. In fact, Common Core is not benchmarked or based on any scientific or education studies. It's simply based on what the NGA, CCSSO, and their agent, Achieve, Inc., wanted to produce. And they are not education "experts."

It seems that if the giant, national experiment that is Common Core fails, those opponents who are sending up warnings that this is a bad idea will have to be satisfied with saying, "We told you so."

It will come as no surprise to those who have studied Common Core to learn that should some entity be foolish enough to be undeterred by all the legal protections with which the developers have shielded themselves, a lawsuit could not be filed in any state where the "state-led" standards were supposedly developed. The NGA and the CCSSO are private lobbying organizations headquartered in Washington, D.C., and as such: "A court of competent jurisdiction in Washington, D.C. shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any disputes regarding this License, and consent to the personal and subject matter jurisdiction, and venue, of such court is irrevocably given."

The Common Core license agreement demonstrates a lack of confidence in the product. If it were a used car, no one would buy it.

http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/educate/mar14/common-core-developers-fail-to-warranty-product.html

Your post about the misbehaving teacher has nothing to do with Common Core, now does it? Or are we supposed to believe it's part of the standards and controlled by the Gov't . Tsk,tsk. :P   It's terrible, but has unfortunately gone back thousands of years. People in positions of trust should never take advantage of it, but a few do. That is no reason to stick labels on whole categories of people.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on April 20, 2014, 08:12:50 AM
Your post about the misbehaving teacher has nothing to do with Common Core, now does it? Or are we supposed to believe it's part of the standards and controlled by the Gov't . Tsk,tsk. :P   It's terrible, but has unfortunately gone back thousands of years. People in positions of trust should never take advantage of it, but a few do. That is no reason to stick labels on whole categories of people.

Yes, Diane it has everything to do with Government Control.
Perhaps I should have left Federal out of the title of this thread,
but I just didn't foresee this level of control being out of control.
Local and State School Boards are Governing Bodies, which equals Government Control.
Our local School Board consists of Elected Officials.
Florida basically excused her behavior.
Which in my opinion is just wrong, thank you tenure.

Thank you Diane and Happy Easter to you,

Bill Gates wrote in USA Today on February 12, 2014: "we're in the grip of mythology." He claims that the "myths" surrounding Common Core standards are "harmful, because they can lead people to fight against the best solutions to our biggest problems." Bill Gates is the chief funder — besides the federal government — and one of the most adamant proponents of Common Core standards. Questions to be asked are: "Best solutions according to whom?" and "Where is the proof?"

Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationGates's USA Today article glosses over controversial aspects of Common Core and gives simplistic responses to troubling parts of the standards. Common Core was developed at the behest of two private Washington, D.C. lobbying organizations, the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). Gates doesn't address concerns that Achieve, Inc., the group that the NGA and the CCSSO assigned to develop the standards, did not include educators or child development specialists; that development was done behind closed doors; that the standards adopted in most states of the nation were never piloted, anywhere, by anyone; and that the federal government requires personally identifiable student information from schools as an integral part of Common Core.

Life in a Wealthy, Progressive Family

Bill Gates is a successful man, if success is measured by computer genius and the ability to amass a fortune. But Gates is not an expert on and has no formal training in child development or education. Born William H. Gates III into a wealthy and prominent Seattle family, "Bill" attended an exclusive private school and enrolled at Harvard in the fall of 1973. He took a leave of absence during his junior year and never completed his college education.

Gates comes from a progressive, liberal family background. He told Bill Moyers in a 2003 interview:

When I was growing up, my parents were always involved in various volunteer things. My dad was head of Planned Parenthood. And it was very controversial to be involved with that. And so it's fascinating. At the dinner table my parents [were] very good at sharing the things that they were doing. And almost treating us like adults. . . .

Speaking about "philanthropic things," Gates told Moyers, "I have to say I got off the track when I started Microsoft." (PBS.org, 5-9-2003) Largely due to family influence, Gates got back on track with philanthropy once his fortune was established.

Why $2.3 Billion, Bill?

Experts commonly agree that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has granted over $2 billion to Common Core development and implementation. Recent research by Jack Hassard, Professor Emeritus at Georgia State University, indicates that the Gateses have to date spent $2.3 billion on Common Core. (TruthInAmericanEducation.com, 3-18-14) The Gates Foundation is the nation's richest charity. In 2011, the Wall Street Journal reported that in the previous ten years the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had "poured some $5 billion into education grants and scholarships." (7-23-11)

Why did Bill Gates turn his attention to education? Why has he spent so much cash to force Common Core upon the nation? Questions and theories abound but answers do not. $2.3 billion is a large commitment and Gates is certainly not turning his back on Common Core now. He will continue to spend until his goals are achieved.

"Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives," according to the foundation's website. They "take on some tough challenges: extreme poverty and poor health in developing countries, and the failures of America's education system." They admit, "Some of the projects we fund will fail. We not only accept that, we expect it. . . ." (GatesFoundation.org)

Some say Gates is "a promoter of global sameness of education as defined by UNESCO and the United Nations." (WhatIsCommonCore.wordpress.com, 3-28-13) Gates is certainly active within the United Nations and has expressed agreement with UN policies that many Americans oppose. Agenda 21 is a UN-sponsored action plan that promotes "sustainable development" and global governance at the expense of private properties, individual liberty, and national sovereignty. Some Common Core concepts align with Agenda 21's education goals.

Whether Bill Gates is a globalist aligned with United Nations Agenda 21, a liberal do-gooder, or something in between, most agree that one unelected philanthropist wielding so much power is not the American way.

Gates's First Education Failure

Gates has a poor education track record. Analysts say his first foray into influencing education was a failure. In 2003, the Gates Foundation decided that small high schools were the ticket. He funded programs to create and improve small and personalized high schools, each having around 400 students. The Gates Foundation gave "grants to more than 2,000 high schools — of which about 800 were existing schools attempting to create smaller schools within schools." (Seattle Times, 11-5-2006)

Gates himself admitted in his 2009 Annual Letter that the Small Schools Project was unsuccessful. Gates wrote, "Many of the small schools that we invested in did not improve students' achievement in any significant way." He said that while some schools had higher attendance and graduation rates than peer schools, "we are trying to raise college-ready graduation rates, and in most cases, we fell short." (GatesFoundation.org)

Melinda Gates told Business Week in 2006 that Small Schools Project "setbacks" didn't mean they had "squandered the $1 billion the foundation has spent so far." She continued, "If you want to equate being naïve with being inexperienced, then we were definitely naïve when we first started." (Business Week, 6-25-2006)

Education blogger Mercedes Schneider states:

[T]he extraordinary [eventual] $2 billion initiative — which created 2,600 new small schools in 45 states and the District of Columbia — has been ditched by Gates and his foundation. School districts across the nation were left disrupted, with some charging that Gates had abandoned the successful good schools he created and Gates citing statistics showing the project failed. Gates has now moved on to funding a completely different approach. . . .

Schneider continues, "Gates is a businessman. If one business venture is failing, move on to the next. So what if it hurts people?" (Deutsch29.wordpress.com, 3-15-13)

In the case of Common Core, Gates's possibly naïve, possibly devious experiment stands to harm an entire generation of schoolchildren.

Bill Gates Demands Common Core

Undaunted by his first false start, Gates has nonetheless undertaken the funding of a sweeping change in American education. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation now promotes an untested, top-down, national standards scheme with aligned testing that has children, parents, and teachers reeling from the fallout. Individual states and local school boards are not helpless to stop the juggernaut but little has actually been achieved. The grassroots movement to stop Common Core has gained traction but no state has effectively halted Common Core implementation. Indiana has pulled out of Common Core but drafts of the standards they are developing are, so far, about a 90% match to Common Core. Alaska, Nebraska, Texas, and Virginia are the only states that have never adopted Common Core standards.

One reason Common Core is difficult to slow down and examine is Gates Foundation money. Gates has handed out money to organizations, think tanks, and newspapers, providing organizations and the people behind them with enormous amounts of cash. This may have influenced opinions and tainted reports about Common Core standards. Ethics breaches may be occurring because of Gates Foundation dollars. Besides the $2.3 billion in direct Gates cash, many businesses and other entities are making unprecedented amounts of money from Common Core implementation.

Common Core is a perfect example of a few people making something happen, many more just going along with what happened, and the rest left wondering what just happened. The Obama administration, Bill Gates, and a small circle of others circumvented the voting public and pushed Common Core into schools.

Gates has control of the opinion machine; he's given grants to hundreds of education "reform" groups who now support Common Core. The Gates Foundation is a primary funder of Education Week, which calls itself "American Education's Newspaper of Record." Articles tend to paint opponents of Common Core as Tea Party fanatics. In each edition, the newspaper features ads for Common Core-related companies and curriculum; many of them are glossy full-page color ads that garner hefty revenue for the publication.

Even the PTA has been subverted by Gates's money. The National Parent Teacher Association failed to take a stand for students and parents. Gates Foundation dollars have flowed to the PTA for years; they received $2 million in 2009 and in 2013 they received almost $500,000 "to educate parents and communities on the Common Core Standards and empower leaders to create the changes needed in their school systems." In other words, to persuade parents to accept Common Core.

http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/educate/apr14/one-mans-money-bill-gates-education-and-common-core.html

David Horowitz thinks that anybody who cares about the future of America should confront the fact that U.S. colleges and universities are the fountainhead of financing for the radical movement in America. He has personally taken up the challenge to do something about this.

Horowitz was a leftwing campus activist in the 1960s, but he says that men who were too radical even for him in the 60s now hold tenure at major universities. During the 1970s, these hardcore leftists achieved critical mass on university faculties, took control of the hiring committees, and then saw to it that only leftists were hired. Now there are literally tens of thousands of "hard-line Marxists" in academic sinecures. They have made universities "a subsidiary of the political left and the Democratic Party."

These hard-core leftists have no shame about using the classroom podium for political speechmaking. They may be teaching a course in biology or Shakespeare, but that doesn't inhibit them from launching into tirades against American policies or in favor of the Communists, or assigning students to write a paper on why George W. Bush is a war criminal.

The amount of money universities have to carry out their leftwing mission is mind-boggling. Whereas conservative and pro-American intellectual foundations and journals may have budgets of a few million dollars, universities have billions of dollars. A great portion is taxpayers' money (through research grants and taxpayer-financed tuition), and in addition the leftists control most student activity assessments.

Horowitz's new organization, Students for Academic Freedom, has attracted students on many campuses with the goal of demanding a more balanced point of view among faculty and in campus lecture series. They are promoting an Academic Bill of Rights as a policy statement for colleges to adopt, so that students can enjoy intellectual diversity with fairness for conservative viewpoints.
Feminist Propaganda in Textbooks

A woman walked into my office recently and handed me the textbook her daughter was assigned for her "Women and Gender Studies" Course at the University of Missouri/St. Louis. The title is Women's Voices, Feminist Visions by Susan M. Shaw and Janet Lee. This textbook is a collection of propaganda essays to sell students on radical feminism.

One article pretends to describe a typical woman's life in the 1970s, which supposedly included unacceptable horrors of inequality. The student is supposed to learn that feminism saved women from oppression by the patriarchy. Other articles teach that being male is a privileged status, just like being white or heterosexual.

The authors teach that the roles of male and female are merely learned behaviors and you can change to the other gender if you want to. Bisexuality and trans-sexuality are presented as normal. The textbook includes personal stories of adults who changed their gender. The book explains that heterosexuality exists only because of socially imposed stereotypes and homophobia, and has nothing to do with nature or morality. Students are encouraged to organize a National Coming Out Day on their campus.

A couple of articles in this textbook discuss that it is common for women to be bisexual. Of course, the book endorses abortion. The traditional model of the family is presented as only one of many forms of family. The book teaches that married women should be liberated from marriage and turn their children over to the state to be raised. This college textbook has a radical feminist political agenda: anti-marriage, anti-homemaker, pro-abortion, and pro-lesbian. College students should not waste their tuition dollars taking women's studies courses.
Definition of 'Politically Correct'

The prevailing environment on most college campuses is what is called Political Correctness — in faculty bias, course content, visiting speakers, and organizations and events funded by student fees. Here are the principal tenets of the campus dogma known as Political Correctness:

    Everything is political. All academic subjects must be seen through the prism of gender and race oppression, including history, literature, social relationships, and even private conversation. Most students encounter this immediately in their freshman English class. The writings of the DWEMs (Dead White European Males) have been censored out and replaced with Oppression Studies: writings by third-rate authors who whine about America's oppressive society.

    Victimology. Every group is entitled to claim minority status as victims except white males and Christians.

    Multiculturalism. That's a code word for the false notion that Western Civilization is bad and every other group, whether civilized or not, is superior.

    Radical feminism. The entire world must be seen as one big conspiracy against women, and all men are guilty, both individually and as a group. Joking about this doctrine is not permitted; several colleges have even banned jokes. At Arizona State University, drama professor Jared Sakren was fired for producing Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew; Shakespeare is not Politically Correct.

    Affirmative action. Reverse discrimination in admissions, grading, and employment for groups that proclaim their status as "victims" is not only mandatory, it is non-debatable.

    Having sex with anybody, anytime, is OK and may not be criticized. Dating is out; "hooking up" is in. The social acceptance of pre-marital and homosexual sex and activism is non-debatable.

    Tolerance. That's a code word meaning tolerance for Politically Correct views, but not for the Politically Incorrect. Tolerance requires conformity to P.C. views, and hundreds of colleges have speech codes.

    Christianity is Politically Incorrect. In some colleges, students are not permitted to turn in papers that identify historic dates as B.C. (Before Christ) or A.D. (Anno Domini), but must use B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era).

Christianity Under Attack

If you don't yet realize that Christianity is under attack in America, here is evidence that might wake you up. Rollins College in central Florida has ruled that Christian student clubs that require their officers to be Christian are in violation of the college's "non-discrimination policy." Rollins College further ruled, as part of its non-discriminiation policy, that all Christian student groups that refuse to allow their leaders and officers to be non-Christian cannot receive any university funds normally given to student groups. The organization that was the victim of this ruling was the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. It's hard to believe, but the Rollins College board of trustees voted unanimously not to exempt this student organization from its ruling. This ruling means that the InterVarsity Chistian Fellowship can no longer receive funding and will no longer be recognized as an official campus organization.

Rollins College was not the first college to make such an offensive decision. Vanderbilt University in Tennessee adopted the same rule. Colleges that were founded as Christian institutions are now forbidden to have Christian leaders of student groups!

Carol Swain, professor of law and political science at Vanderbilt whom you may have seen sometime on TV interviews, publicly criticized these rulings. She said "This hastily conceived policy has the potential to destroy every religious organization on campus by secularizing religion and allowing intolerant conflict. Carried to its logical extension, it means that no organization can maintain integrity of beliefs."

What Colleges Are Teaching

Dennis Prager wrote an interesting column asking parents to meditate on what colleges are teaching their kids for the $20,000 to $50,000 tuition they are paying. Here is part of Dennis Prager's depressing list of what colleges are teaching.

The United States is no better than any other country, and in many ways it's worse. Big government is the only humane way to govern a country. Christianity is largely a history of oppression, inquisitions, and anti-intellectualism. On the other hand, Islam is a religion of peace. Therefore, criticism of Christianity is OK, while criticism of Islam is Islamophobia. There is no better and no worse in literature and the arts. The reason universities in the past taught about Shakespeare, Michelangelo, and Bach rather than Guatemalan poets, Asian musicians, and Indian storytellers was Western fascination with dead white European men.

Continuing with Dennis Prager's list of what colleges are teaching: Mothers and fathers are interchangeable; traditional claims that married mothers and fathers are the ideal way to raise children are heterosexist and homophobic. White people can be racist, but nonwhites cannot be racist. The great world battles are not between good and evil, but between rich and poor, between the powerful and the powerless. We live in a patriarchy, which makes women victims of men. Big corporations are bad; big unions are good. The American Founders were sexist, racist slaveholders whose primary goal was preserving their wealthy status.

Dennis Prager concludes by saying, if you think he has exaggerated the anti-American propaganda taught at major universities, you can check it out by visiting any college bookstore and seeing what books are assigned by instructors for their students to read.

A One-Party Classroom

It should come as no surprise that American universities are dominated by leftwing professors. But the extent to which many teachers seek to indoctrinate their students and draw them into radical activism will amaze you. This is documented in the book called One-Party Classroom: How Radical Professors at America's Top Colleges Indoctrinate Students and Undermine Our Democracy by David Horowitz and Jacob Laksin. The authors painstakingly researched the course offerings and teaching methods at 12 major universities and described a dozen courses at each one, quoting from course catalogues, syllabi, and the professors' own writings.

Course after course is dedicated to the thesis that Marxism never failed, that differences between men and women have no basis in reality but are socially constructed by society, and that America is an oppressive and racist society. Professors do not advance these opinions as mere theories to be discussed, but assert them as though they are facts that all must accept. They use their classroom time to inculcate these and other radical ideas in their students. Courses devoted to race present a terribly skewed vision of the world, but this sort of teaching is in nearly all courses, regardless of subject.

At Columbia Teachers College, students learn that non-Socialist societies are the root cause of all violence. A course description at the University of California/Santa Cruz declares, "The goal of this seminar is to learn how to organize a revolution." A University of Arizona course description announces proudly, "Here it is, activism for credit! Give four hours to a social activism organization and I'll give you 200 points!" The instructor lists a number of very left-wing social movements that students are encouraged to join. Another course takes identity politics to a whole new level with the assertion that race, class, gender, and religion all "constitute significant forms of oppression."

At Temple University, the mandatory two-year "Intellectual Heritage" course devotes much time and energy to Karl Marx, while excusing the devastation that Marxism brought to the world. These courses indoctrinate students with leftist ideologies and lower academic standards. Professors believe their political convictions excuse them from rigorous standards of academic inquiry.

The National Association of Scholars (NAS) spent two years examining graduation requirements, reading lists, and course descriptions, and interviewing students and faculty at the University of California. The conclusion is that radical leftist politics have robbed California students of a good education. The quality of teaching has been badly reduced.

The report also told about the universities' lack of political balance. In 2004, UC Berkeley had 8 Democratic professors to 1 Republican. Then the ratio got much, much worse. Within a few years, UC Berkeley had 17 Democrats to 1 Republican in the humanities departments, and 21 Democrats to 1 Republican in the social sciences. The report said that this ratio cannot be accidental. It had to be the result of discrimination in the hiring process.

The NAS concluded that university administrators have failed to ensure that students get a quality education and instead have used the university to promote a left-wing political agenda. The California universities have all sorts of rules that sound good on paper and are supposed to prevent this kind of bias. For example, the Regents' Policy on Course Content states that the regents "are responsible to see that the university . . . never functions as an instrument for the advance of partisan interest." Obviously the professors pay no attention to those rules.
Colleges Are Big on Diversity

Universities are crying that their appropriations of state funds have been "cut to the bone," but here is how one college department at the University of California at San Diego is not only not cutting expenses, but is significantly increasing faculty costs and raising tuition rates. It created a new Department of Diversity, with a new full-time "vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion." This position will augment that university's already massive diversity apparatus, which includes the Chancellor's Diversity Office, the associate vice chancellor for faculty equity, the assistant vice chancellor for diversity, the faculty equity advisors, the graduate diversity coordinators, the staff diversity liaison, the undergraduate student diversity liaison, the graduate student diversity liaison, the chief diversity officer, the director of development for diversity initiatives, the Office of Academic Diversity and Equal Opportunity, the Committee on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Issues, the Committee on the Status of Women, the Campus Council on Climate, Culture and Inclusion, the Diversity Council, and the directors of the Cross-Cultural Center, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center, and the Women's Center.

The main purpose of spending taxpayers' money for all this diversity nonsense is probably to make respectable some of the worthless college courses such as gender studies, queer studies, and ethnics studies. I hope the students attending the California universities will have the smarts to NOT waste their tuition dollars on such worthless courses.

It's important for students to know before they go to college that diversity doesn't mean allowing conservatives to speak on campus, either as visiting lecturers or professors, except for occasional tokenism. Diversity on college campuses doesn't mean giving fair coverage to the ideas and achievements of Western civilization, but it does mean featuring a lot of offbeat concepts. It's important for students to know that multiculturalism doesn't mean tolerance and respect for all cultures. It's just another college fad to put down Western civilization.

The intolerant liberals who run most colleges have adopted campus speech codes which are outrageous violations of our free speech rights. These notorious campus speech codes punish students and even professors who say anything that someone might find offensive. The feminists are vigorous backers of campus speech codes because they don't want feminist follies to be debated and, besides, feminists have no sense of humor. Some college speech codes have even banned inappropriate jokes.
Colleges Dangerous for Men

College is a dangerous place for men. They are not only a minority but they are victimized by discriminatory and unconstitutional anti-male rules. In another striking proof that the Obama Administration is totally manipulated by feminists, the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights sent out a 19-page Dear Colleague Letter to colleges and universities that should make men fear attending college at all. The letter adopts the feminist theory that in all sexual controversies or accusations, the man is guilty unless he proves himself innocent.

This Dear Colleague Letter carries the force of law since it purports to be an additional implementation of Title IX, the 1972 federal law that bans sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal assistance. But it was never legislated by Congress, and it was not even launched as a regulation that requires posting for comment in the Federal Register. It is just a federal order, issued by a feminist bureaucrat, which colleges and universities must obey under threat of losing their funding.

The most unconstitutional part of this impertinent Dear Colleague Letter is that it orders colleges to reject use of the standard of proof that an accused man must be judged guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt" or even the intermediate standard of "clear and convincing" proof. Instead, the colleges must judge an accused man based on "a preponderance of the evidence" standard. That means the campus disciplinary board (which may include feminist faculty from the Women's Studies Department) only has to believe that the female accuser is 51% likely to be truthful and accurate. Furthermore, the Letter "strongly discourages" colleges from permitting an accused man "to question or cross-examine the accuser" during the hearing.

A man convicted under these rules will likely be expelled, barred from graduate or professional school and some government jobs, suffer irreparable damage to his reputation, and possibly be exposed to criminal prosecution.

(Sounds to me like the neutering of the male species by college acceptance.)

Victory for One Conservative

One college professor who has been outspoken for conservative principles is Mike Adams at the University of North Carolina. His life has had some interesting developments. When Dr. Adams began his University career in 1993, he was an outspoken atheist and liberal. During those years, he was widely praised in the university for his teaching and scholarship, and he achieved tenure in 1998 without any controversy.

Then Mike Adams had a life-changing experience in 1998. He visited a mentally handicapped prisoner on death row in a Texas prison and was struck by the fact that this prisoner had read the entire Bible, which Mike Adams had not read. Dr. Adams decided to read the Bible, and he had a religious conversion. He became a Christian, and after that became a conservative, too. Dr. Adams then began writing a column for Townhall.com that sharply criticized leftwing actions in universities. The reaction in his own university was furious. When he applied for promotion to full professorship in 2006, Dr. Adams was subjected to secret investigations and all kinds of discriminatory treatment.

Finally, Dr. Adams sued his university for violating his First Amendment right of free speech. Of course, his case dragged on and on for several years. Finally his case went to a jury which recently found in favor of Dr. Adams' free-speech rights. The jury found that the University of North Carolina's denial of First Amendment rights was a "substantial or motivating factor" in the university's decision not to promote him to full professor. Even though the university is appealing the verdict, Dr. Adams has won a historic appeals-court ruling in favor of academic freedom for a conservative professor.

Red tape varies from state to state
April 23, 2014
by Amelia Hamilton

"It seemed that education was something that teachers and parents cared about, but the education system itself was too gigantic and convoluted to do it well." That sentiment is what led Katie and her husband Michael to look at alternative options for education.

They both attended public schools and had great experiences, but knew that this was not always the case, having seen that it was not so rosy for their siblings. So, when they had their first child, they really began to think about education.

"I also began to understand the power-grabbing within government schools, from unions and political backing to indoctrination and textbook publishing. By the time Lucas was three months old, we decided that I would be home-schooling him and any other children we would have," Katie told Watchdog Wire.

Lucas is now 10 and has been joined by Lilia (9), Jude (6), Eva (4), and Natalia (2). Knowing that they would be having a large family, Katie and Michael saw that private Catholic schooling would not be an option. "With tuition rates for elementary school being on par with what we had just recently paid for college tuition," Katie said, "while being a one-income family, the sensible choice was to home-school."

The red tape involved in home schooling varies from state to state. In Georgia, where Michael and Katie live, the family has to submit a Letter of Intent to Home School to the Department of Education. Although they also have to complete annual progress reports and complete standardizing testing periodically, those are not submitted to the state.

Home schooling is not what many would expect. For one thing, the kids enjoy it! Lucas likes to get his work done right away so he can play with his siblings. Lilia loves crafts and experiments. Jude enjoys being with his family during the day. While Eva and Natalia are too young for formal schooling, there's no doubt they are getting benefits from this as well.

Another misconception about home schooling is that you need to be a perfect parent with endless patience or have perfect children with endless brilliance.

"In fact," said Katie, "if you're having a difficult time with your child, maybe having more time together to build a relationship is exactly what you need. Home schooling is a lifestyle, and it's centered on the family. Education is of course important and you'll spend a few hours per day doing the bookish stuff, but the entire day – every day – is spent with everyone improving in respect, diligence, responsibility, and kindness. This cannot be replicated or substituted in any school."

That's not the only reason Katie and Michael are happy with the choice they made, for two major reasons. "First," said Katie, "I have the pleasure and satisfaction of seeing my children learn so many things and grow in virtue as a direct result of my time and effort. At the same time, I have been challenged to overcome my vices and imperfections to become a better mother for them, and I'm very grateful for this."

A better mom, better kids, and the government leaves them alone (well, as much as the government ever does). Non-traditional schooling can be pretty sweet.
Amelia Hamilton

Amelia is a blogger and author of children's book One Nation Under God: A Book for Little Patriots. A lifelong writer and patriot, Amelia also loves dogs, Red Wing hockey, old cars, old movies, and apple juice. She has a master's degree in both english and 18th century history from University of St Andrews in Scotland.

http://watchdogwire.com/blog/2014/04/23/georgia-couple-calls-home-schooling-win-power-grabbing-public-schools/

OKLAHOMA CITY – Opponents of the Common Core experiment are putting Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin on the hot seat.

Mary FallinToday, a collection of anti-Common Core groups and activists are releasing a public letter they've sent to Fallin, asking the Republican governor to pull the plug on the nationalized K-12 learning standards.

They're focusing on Fallin because she serves as the chairwoman of the National Governors Association, the organization that co-created the one-size-fits-all math and English standards and helped foist them unto America's K-12 schools.

The letter-writing effort was coordinated by the American Principles Project (APP), and includes signatories from the Eagle Forum, the Pioneer Institute, the Home School Legal Defense Association, Concerned Women for America and other like-minded groups and individuals, reports Breitbart.com.


Join American Principles Project, Eagle Forum, HSLDA, Pioneer Institute, Michelle Malkin and others urging Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, Chair of the National Governors Association, to end the Common Core State Standards Initiative.  Through this initiative the NGA has enabled corporations and other private interests to drive education policy which has compromised the power of parents.  So we are asking parents, educators and concerned citizens to add their names with ours in order to stop the Common Core State Standards.




May 5, 2014
Governor Mary Fallin
Oklahoma State Capitol
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 212
Oklahoma City, OK  73105

mary-fallin

Dear Governor Fallin:

We write to you in your capacity as governor of Oklahoma and as the chair of the National Governors Association and its affiliate the NGA Center for Best Practices (together, "NGA").  In particular, we write to you about NGA's activities with regard to the national Common Core Standards system.

As set forth in the Joint Statement Regarding the National Governors Association's Common Core Standards Initiative and the Constitutional Structure, NGA's activities, including its ownership, development and propagation of the Common Core,have caused profound harm to our constitutional structure.  NGA has enabled corporations and other private interests to drive education policy and, concomitantly, compromised the power of parents.  It has enlisted the power of the federal government to bring about these changes and, in so doing, has weakened the power of states to defend the authority and rights of parents and other citizens.

More specifically, NGA has assisted the federal government in employing a strategy against the states that has divided and conquered the state checks and balances that are intended to guard against federal overreach.  It has presided over the development of math standards that lock children into a defective education, one that does not prepare children for studies in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) or for admission to competitive public and private universities.  It has presided over the development of English standards that fail to prepare children for authentic college work in the humanities and that weaken the formation of strong citizen-leaders and individuals of substance who are fully capable of exercising their liberties.

The pushback against the Common Core rests on parents' love for their children and their defense of the Constitution that protects their rights to form their children and direct their education. It is a movement based on truth, and on highly informed citizens –citizens who follow in the footsteps of the Founders.  It is a movement that continues to grow and which will be victorious.

We respectfully ask that, as chair of the NGA, you end the Common Core project.  We respectfully submit that your decisions on this matter will define your legacy.

Sincerely,

Tim Wildmon, President, American Family Association
Sandy Rios, Director of Governmental Relations, American Family Association
Emmett McGroarty, Director of Education, American Principles Project
Jane Robbins, Senior Fellow, American Principles Project
Donna Hearne, Talk Show Host, Bott Radio Network
Penny Nance, President and Chief Executive Officer, Concerned Women for America
Tamara Scott, State Director, Concerned Women for America of Iowa
Phyllis Schlafly, Founder and President, Eagle Forum
Glyn Wright, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Kyle Olson, Founder, EAGnews.org
Paul Caprio, Director, Family PAC Federal
Joy Pullman, Research Fellow, Heartland Institute
William A. Estrada, Director of Federal Relations, Home School Legal Defense Association
J. Michael Smith, President,  Home School Legal Defense Association
Michael Farris, President,ParentalRights.org
The Honorable David M. McIntosh, Former Congressman from Indiana
Michelle Malkin, Syndicated Columnist, Author and Blogger
Jenni White, President, Restore Oklahoma Public Education
Jamie Minter, Founder, Oklahoma Parents and Educators for Public Education
Bunny Chambers, State President, Oklahoma Eagle Forum
Jim Stergois, Executive Director, Pioneer Institute
Jamie Gass, Director of the Center for School Reform, Pioneer Institute
Stacy Mott, Founder and President, Smart Girl Politics Action
Steve Deace, Nationally Syndicated Radio Host
Shane Vander Hart, Editor, CaffeinatedThoughts.com & TruthinAmericanEducation.com
Jan Mickelson, Host of Mickelson in the Morning, WHO Radio 1040 AM Des Moines, IA

Sign your name below.
http://ngaendcommoncore.com/

What law did he break?

Parents in Gilford New Hampshire went to a school board meeting to get answers as to why they were not notified that their children would be reading the book "Nineteen Minutes" which details, among other things, a violent sexual encounter between teenagers. On a day when we also hear that a California school district was trying to move forward with a "lesson plan that instructed middle school students to make arguments denying the Holocaust happened," isn't this the type of parental involvement we should be encouraging? I can understand if he was being abusive or if he kept the meeting from continuing, but to be put in handcuffs for a short outburst like this?

Watch and decide for yourself...

Video at http://www.caintv.com/video-dad-arrested-for-speakin

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Tuesday, May 6, 2014 12:50

On Monday night May 5,2014 William Baer, a New Hampshire father whose 9th grade daughter attends Gilford High School was arrested for speaking out about a controversial book called nineteen minutes that his daughter was assigned to read that contained a description of rough sex between two teenagers at a school board hearing

Please watch this disturbing video were public servants from the school board uses another one of our public servants( other wise known as a police officer) to incarcerate a father for caring aboutt what goes into his daughters mind.

http://www.caintv.com/video-dad-arrested-for-speakin

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In my opinion the School Board lacked the intelligence and leadership to provide answers. And rather than have an intelligent dialog and respond politely and properly to a parent they find it easier to call in the police.
In my opinion the parent should have politely asked the officer to remove his hand. The officer has no legal right to touch, unless he first announces, he is placing you under arrest. Just as I have no legal right to lay hands on you.

This is possibly a lawsuit for false arrest. Can the town afford that? Can the School Board afford that for calling the police? There happens to be plenty of video available. Just something to think about. Intimidation is a very bad move in my personal opinion. This parent might be able to afford to send his daughter to a private schools. He might even thank the School Board after the dust settle's because they failed in their job.

Just my opinion.

May 7, 2014


INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana lawmakers recently voted to opt out of the "voluntary, state-led" Common Core public education experiment, and now they're paying the price.

The Indiana Department of Education received a letter from federal officials last week threatening to revoke the state's waiver from No Child Left Behind – reforms enacted under the Bush administration to improve public schools, HeritCommon Core protestage.org reports.

In 2009, U.S. Department of Education officials offered states exemptions from the more stringent provisions of No Child Left Behind in exchange for adopting the Common Core national education standards. Officials in Indiana and numerous other states jumped at the opportunity to ditch the tough No Child Left Behind requirements and adopted Common Core instead.

Amid strong public backlash over Common Core, Indiana lawmakers recently scrapped the national standards and instead opted to devise their own college- and career-ready standards by July 1 for use next school year, according to Heritage.org.

Then this letter came in the mail:

"IDOE (Indiana Department of Education) met ED (Department of Education) requirements in its approved ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act – also known as No Child Left Behind) flexibility request through the 2013-14 school year by adopting and implementing standards common to a significant number of states.

"Because the IDOE will no longer implement those standards, IDOE must amend its ESEA flexibility request and provide evidence that its new standards are certified by a state network of IHEs (Institutions of Higher Education) that students who meet the standards will not need remedial coursework at the postsecondary level."

In other words, the feds plan to revoke the Indiana's No Child Left Behind waiver if state officials don't demonstrate that the new standards will fully prepare students for a career or college, something that's far from guaranteed with Common Core.

The episode illustrates that despite repeated claims that Common Core isn't a federal program, federal officials are heavily involved in shepherding states into the national experiment.

"The saga of NCLB waivers is further evidence of the (Obama) administration's clear fingerprints on what is ostensibly a 'state-led' effort," Heritage.org reports.

"Indiana's work to remove Hoosiers from Common Core has paved the way for other states looking to exit the national standards boondoggle. And if state autonomy is something other states cherish, it's a path they should follow.

"Because the letters issued to Indiana (and several other states) show just how weak the phrases 'state-led' and 'voluntary' become when used to describe Common Core."

http://eagnews.org/feds-threaten-to-punish-indiana-for-dropping-out-of-the-common-core-experiment/

Slightly off course but still eduction

A UC-Santa Barbara student is alleging that during her first day of class last fall, her black studies professor named Otis Madison "warned any Ted Cruz-supporting 'tea baggers' to get the hell out of his classroom before he sent them home to their mother in a body bag."  This apparently happened during a course called "The Obama Phenomenon."

Alice Gilbert was the student who recalled this incident, and she's speaking out in The College Fix. She's one of many who's starting to come forward and talk about their experiences as conservatives in American universities, where conservatism definitely isn't cool. And evidently, it's not just the students who preach that narrative.

Anyone remember when college campuses were supposed to be the places for free thought, tolerance, diversity, open discussion, and LEARNING?  Anyone?

While nothing shocks me anymore in this country, I find this sort of treatment in our universities sickening.  Before I became a full-time Chick on the Right, I used to teach at the university level part-time, in addition to my full time day job, and my students NEVER knew what my political affiliation was.  It simply wasn't any of their business, and it wasn't my job to tell them.

It was my job to teach them the subject at hand.

For some odd reason, many liberals don't understand that concept.  They don't understand how to keep their personal feelings - and prejudices - out of the classrooms.  They seem to have a real issue focusing on DOING THE JOBS THEY'RE BEING PAID TO DO.  It's becoming a very obvious, huge problem in our universities.

And it's the reason I wonder on a daily basis whether or not my four-year old daughter will even go to college one day. If she's not going to come out with a tangible set of skills, God knows that she, her father, and I are not going to shell out 100-grand+ for her to spend four years getting her head filled with a bunch of useless liberal crap that won't give her any return on her investment.   

Universities should pay attention to that sentiment, actually, because I'm not the only conservative who feels this way, I'm not the only conservative who's sick of this crap, and I'm definitely not the only conservative who is willing to NOT give money to many universities because they're obvious liberal indoctrination centers.

In other words, we're onto you.  And we're out here busting our asses and writing checks, too.  So just keep that in mind, universities, because someone's gotta pay your bills, right?

http://chicksontheright.com/posts/item/25825-behold-what-our-institutions-of-higher-education-have-become

Quote from: ROSS on May 08, 2014, 05:32:55 AM
Slightly off course but still eduction

Behold -
What Our Institutions Of
Higher Education Have Become...

A UC-Santa Barbara student is alleging that during her first day of class last fall, her black studies professor named Otis Madison "warned any Ted Cruz-supporting 'tea baggers' to get the hell out of his classroom before he sent them home to their mother in a body bag."  This apparently happened during a course called "The Obama Phenomenon."

Alice Gilbert was the student who recalled this incident, and she's speaking out in The College Fix. She's one of many who's starting to come forward and talk about their experiences as conservatives in American universities, where conservatism definitely isn't cool. And evidently, it's not just the students who preach that narrative.

Anyone remember when college campuses were supposed to be the places for free thought, tolerance, diversity, open discussion, and LEARNING?  Anyone?

While nothing shocks me anymore in this country, I find this sort of treatment in our universities sickening.  Before I became a full-time Chick on the Right, I used to teach at the university level part-time, in addition to my full time day job, and my students NEVER knew what my political affiliation was.  It simply wasn't any of their business, and it wasn't my job to tell them.

It was my job to teach them the subject at hand.

For some odd reason, many liberals don't understand that concept.  They don't understand how to keep their personal feelings - and prejudices - out of the classrooms.  They seem to have a real issue focusing on DOING THE JOBS THEY'RE BEING PAID TO DO.  It's becoming a very obvious, huge problem in our universities.

And it's the reason I wonder on a daily basis whether or not my four-year old daughter will even go to college one day. If she's not going to come out with a tangible set of skills, God knows that she, her father, and I are not going to shell out 100-grand+ for her to spend four years getting her head filled with a bunch of useless liberal crap that won't give her any return on her investment.   

Universities should pay attention to that sentiment, actually, because I'm not the only conservative who feels this way, I'm not the only conservative who's sick of this crap, and I'm definitely not the only conservative who is willing to NOT give money to many universities because they're obvious liberal indoctrination centers.

In other words, we're onto you.  And we're out here busting our asses and writing checks, too.  So just keep that in mind, universities, because someone's gotta pay your bills, right?

http://chicksontheright.com/posts/item/25825-behold-what-our-institutions-of-higher-education-have-become

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. –
http://eagnews.org/missouri-legislature-passes-bill-to-withdraw-from-common-core/

Both chambers of the Missouri legislature have passed a bill to end the state's involvement in the Common Core educational standards. One final committee approval is required before sending the bill to the Governor's desk for a signature.

House Bill 1490 (HB1490) passed through the state senate on May 1 by a 24-8 margin. It had previously passed the house by a 132-19 vote. Since the Senate version differed from the House version, the House had an opportunity to accept the amendments offered by the Senate, but refused. That sends the bill to a joint conference committee, with members of both chambers, to work out the differences in the bill and finalized the version going to the governor.

A spokesman for Rep. Bahr, the bill's chief sponsor, said, "The conference was requested by the floor leader since the house passed a four page bill and the senate sent back a 44 page version. He did not feel like there would be enough time for all 150 house reps to pour over all of the new information in the bill to pass it speedily and also doing their duty."

The amendments do not stop the bill from taking important steps to re-establish local control of education and end involvement with Common Core in the state. HB1490 states that "[each] local school board shall be responsible for the approval and adoption of curriculum used by the school district." It also would sanction "work groups composed of education professionals to develop and recommend academic performance standards" which would ultimately be used to replace Common Core by the 2016-2017 school year.

Common core is just another government/socialist project.  Even if it's defeated, the government schools will not improve and never will. 

If you like socialism, one thing you can do is to support government schooling. 

Lets see..no Gov't schooling= lower classes who stay ignorant, can't find work in today's high tech world, so we the taxpayers, have to pay for them with food stamps,.welfare and all the free stuff.Which is better? Either way the public pays. HA!

Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 16, 2014, 07:02:00 AM
Lets see..no Gov't schooling= lower classes who stay ignorant, can't find work in today's high tech world, so we the taxpayers, have to pay for them with food stamps,.welfare and all the free stuff.Which is better? Either way the public pays. HA!

You just don't get it do you.
Perhaps you should do some studying before you post.

Common Core is FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, can you comprehend that.
This is stated through out this thread.

Common Core is also CORPORATE OWNERSHIP, is that comprehensible?
This is also stated through out this thread!

We do not need the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT controlling every aspect of our lives in my opinion and also in the opinion of supposedly educated people as well as the opinion of EDUCATORS AND EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATORS. And the same applies to the majority of STATE GOVERNMENTS.

This too is illustrated through out this thread!

Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 16, 2014, 07:02:00 AM
Lets see..no Gov't schooling

I don't know about Delaware, maybe your state is part of a different country.

Here in Kansas (as most states) we have the Kansas State Department of Education which has provided guidance  and laws for the various School District Governing School Boards.
Governing means Government which is Locally Elected Officials.


Please do some studying on the subject Diane.

And have a great weekend.

Beck was on "The Factor" tonight to discuss the Common Core, a curriculum which has some parents and teachers very upset.

Common Core "is about taking our kids and molding them into good little citizens however the state wants those good little citizens," Beck said, adding that the left loves this curriculum.

"This is about control and conform, period," he said.

(For some reason I can not get the video to post here, so I have to provide a link.)
Watch the full interview at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNmH5DM1az8

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/05/13/%E2%80%98-about-control-conform%E2%80%99-glenn-beck-slams-common-core-oreilly-factor

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When Glenn Beck mention's the state, I am certain he is referring to the Federal Government.
If I am wrong, I would not object to being corrected properly. Thank you.

May 20, 2014


LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – On Tuesday, May 13, the Northern Illinois Patriots , President Greg Clements, sponsored Dr.  Duke Pesta, Freedom Project Education Academy Director — an online school offering a complete classical education for students from Kindergarten through High School, free from public school spin and Common Core indoctrination — as its featured speaker at Austin's Saloon and Eatery, 481 Peterson Road in Libertyville. Dr. Pesta's topic:  "Common Core:  Dangers and Threats."

Pesta_IL patriots As a teacher himself, Dr. Pesta is not anti-teacher despite his negative opinion of Common Core.  If truth be told, many teachers oppose Common Core but are told to keep quiet or lose their jobs.  Pesta received his MA in Renaissance literature from John Carroll University and his Ph.D. in Shakespeare and Renaissance literature from Purdue University.

He has taught at major research institutions and small liberal arts colleges, and has been active in education reform, developing and implementing an elective Bible course that is currently available for public high school students in Texas. Currently he is a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh in addition to his role as Academic Director of Freedom Project Education.

The chilling truth behind the new national standards are sure to terrify you, as they did to those who attended the Northern Illinois Patriots event.  A question Dr Pesta asks at the beginning of each of his events is how many are familiar with Common Core?  As is the case most often, 90 to 95% are still foggy about the nature of Common Core.

Dr. Duke Pesta, using research done by others, presented Common Core as the drive it is toward complete government control of our children's education through a series a slides and commentary titled,  "Common Core:  Dangers and Threats."   Dr. Pesta considers Common Core a hugely bi-partisan problem. In Wisconsin Republicans refused to allow a vote to be held on Common Core legislation.  Nationally, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie are in total support of Common Core, as is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Duke Pesta divided his presentation into three parts

Part 1:  How did Common Core come about?   ​a Research Fellow in Education at the Heartland Institute

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) implies that that all states were consulted before they signed on to Common Core, as though it were a democratic thing instead of Banana Republic tactics. Not so!  Joy Pullman, a Research Fellow in Education at the Heartland Institute, traces the writing of Common Core back to five individuals.  One of its writers, David Coleman is considered the chief architect of Common Core. According to Dr. Pesta, Coleman is not qualified to write on any subject. Worrisome is that Coleman has since moved on to become president of the College Board where he will integrate the AP assessments with Common Core standards.

Hence, the curriculum was written by a small group of individuals and then copyrighted by two Washington lobbyist groups, making it devoid of any government ownership. This is important because the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Acts was the first federal attempt to regulate and finance schools. In 1979 the law that created the Department of Education forbids it to exercise "any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum" or "program of instruction" of any school system.  The mechanism of control were the tests all students had to take to be written by the people who created Common Core. To pass the tests, the Common Core curriculum had to be taught. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated $170 million to support the creation and implementation of Common Core State Standards. To date they have contributed $2.5 billion.

But there is no way Common Core could have been brought into the nation's schools given that it was the product of a small group of activists supported by billionaire Bill Gates.  As background, in 2001, President G.W. Bush came up with "No Child Left Behind" which he gave over to Senator Ted Kennedy to write.  "No Child Left Behind" was a disaster from the beginning as it was based on "outcome" education, which is akin to socialism.  Every single child was expected to meet the same arbitrary standard through high stakes testing.




Fast forward to 2009. President Obama is now in office. It was in 2009 that President Obama took $5.1 billion of taxpayer money and offered it to states to sign on to his "Race to the Top" program.  The catch:  If states accepted "Race to the Top" money they had to accept Common Core State Standards (CSSS) sight unseen.   Additionally, a waiver was granted to states so they could opt out of Bush's "No Child Left Behind" program if they signed on to Obama's" Race to the Top" program.

Forty-four states agreed to trade their K-12 math and English targets and tests for those of the Common Core's State Standards yet to be written. Now that CC is in place, in some states longer than others, Dr. Pesta looks upon Common Core as "No Child Left Behind of steroids." He also refers to Common Core as a social justice curriculum that comes before the ABC's.  Remaining at its core is a one-size fits all definition of education.  But what if the high standards can't be met?  It becomes obvious that the only way to get more children to the same place is in time to lower standards.

Part 2:  Nature of Common Core Curriculum

Although it is often said that Common Core is not a curriculum but a set of standards, Common Core standards are being put into textbooks which then become curriculum.  Pierson, as the largest education product sales company on earth, has a monopoly on education products, including textbooks.  This month Bill Gates — the second richest man on earth who almost single-handedly funded and marketed the entire Common Core movement going back to UNESCO and its goal to bring a master curriculum worldwide – has joined forces with Pearson to create a one size fits all curriculum.  Although it is claimed that states can deviate 15% from what is being taught in other states, if this were true there would have to be a different test for each state.

Dr. James Milgram, professor of mathematics at Stanford University, and Dr. Sandra Stotsky, professor emerita at the University of Arkansas and former Senior Associate Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Education, as members of the Common Core Validation Review Panel were the only experts on the panel in their subject area.  Both Milgram a math expert and Stotsky an English expert refused to give Common Core Math and English standards, respectively, a good recommendation as did the rest of the panel.  Both have gone on to testify with a warning voice to state legislatures and school boards about the inadequacy of the standards.

Hear Dr. Milgram talk about "What happened to Math education and why Common Core won't help."

James Milgram points out these flaws of the new Core Curriculum math standards:

•By the end of fifth grade the material being covered in arithmetic and algebra in Core Standards is more than a year behind the early grade expectations in most high achieving countries.  By the end of seventh grade Core Standards are roughly two years behind.
•Core Mathematics Standards are written to reflect very low expectations and do not reflect the mathematics education that underlie the results in the high achieving countries.  The explicitly stated objective is to prepare students not to have to take remedial mathematics courses at a typical community college.

Common Core applies a never before seen methodology in the way common math problems are solved.  Parents can no longer help their children with simple addition and subtraction not understanding the system. Staking of numbers is no longer permitted, instead children must draw dots, circles, squares, etc., to come up with the answer.

Dr. Pesta used as a demonstration a Champion News video of a Grayslake D46 Curriculum Coordinator relating how under the new Common Core math system if a child determines that 3 + 4 is 11, that's perfectly fine if the child is able to explain how he arrived at the answer. Even if a child can do math beyond his grade level, he must stay put and not try to move to a higher level.

Dr. Sandra Stotsky has come to refer to Common Core standards as propaganda.  Hear Dr. Sandra Stotsky describe "What are the major problems with Common Core English Standards?"

Dr. Stotsky's concerns about Common Core can be read here.

•Common Core is a step backwards for English Standards.  The architects of Common Core's English Language Arts standards never claimed that their standards would do so; rather, they claimed the standards would make all students "college-ready,"
•Common Core English standards require English teachers to emphasize skills, not literary or cultural knowledge, such as how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text at all grade levels, which may lead to a decreased capacity for analytical thinking.
•Common Core standards require English teachers to teach "informational" texts over 50% of their reading instructional time rather than literary texts.  There are, however, 30 books sexually unfit for high school kids to read on the Common Core approved reading list, one such book for the 11th grade: The Bluest Eye.
•Writing is emphasized more than reading, but kids only learn to write well after they can read well.  When writing they will most likely write what they read in their textbooks such as the global warming, threat, ways to save the planet, or a denial of American exceptionalism.

Here is Dr. Pesta's anti-Common Core Speech similar to the one he presented at Austin's on Tuesday, May 13.

Article 2:  "Shocking Far Reaching Tentacles of Common Core" as referenced in 3rd part of Dr. Peta's presentation on Common Core sponsored by Northern Illinois Patriots Tuesday, May 13
Authored by Nancy Thorner at Illinois Review

http://eagnews.org/thorner-chilling-truth-behind-common-core-state-standards/

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By Sandra Stotsky

Since coming to office, the Obama Administration has been intent on standardizing what is taught at each grade level in all of the nation's schools. It has used its flagship "Race to the Top" competitive grant program to entice states to adopt the K–12 standards developed by a joint project of the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). It has also suggested, in its 2009 Blueprint for Education Reform, that adoption of these common standards could one day be a qualification for states wanting future Title 1 dollars for low-income schools.

Parents, teachers, and education leaders along the political spectrum are increasingly raising questions about the constitutionality and transparency of this joint project, called the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI). They are also expressing concern about the high cost of implementing the standards and the national tests that will be based on them, as well as the potential loss of local control of curriculum and instruction.

Common Core: A Step Backwards for English Standards

Little attention has been paid to the academic quality of the mathematics, literature, and writing standards that NGA and CCSSO developed, despite the fact that they were not internationally benchmarked or research-based. The fatal flaws in the Common Core English Language Arts (ELA) standards went unnoticed because over 45 state boards of education and/or their governors hastily adopted the standards in 2010, in some cases long before they were written or finalized.

Most states agreeing to adopt the Common Core English Language Arts standards may well have thought they were strengthening high school English coursework. However, the architects of Common Core's ELA standards never claimed that their standards would do so. Rather, they claimed that these standards would make all students "college-ready."

This extravagant promise was and remains undergirded by a belief that a heavy dose of informational or nonfiction reading (50 percent of reading instructional time in the English class at every grade level) will result in greater college readiness than a concentrated study of complex literature in the secondary English class will.

Loss of Classic Literature

Why do Common Core's architects believe that reading more nonfiction and "informational" texts in English classes (and in other high school classes) will improve students' college readiness?

Their belief seems to be based on what they see as the logical implication of the fact that college students read more informational than literary texts. However, there is absolutely no empirical research to suggest that college readiness is promoted by informational or nonfiction reading in high school English classes (or in mathematics and science classes).

In fact, the history of the secondary English curriculum in 20th-century America suggests that the decline in readiness for college reading stems in large part from an increasingly incoherent, less challenging literature curriculum from the 1960s onward. This decline has been propelled by the fragmentation of the year-long English course into semester electives, the conversion of junior high schools into middle schools, and the assignment of easier, shorter, and contemporary texts—often in the name of multiculturalism.

From about the 1900s—the beginning of uniform college entrance requirements via the college boards—until the 1960s, a challenging, literature-heavy English curriculum was understood to be precisely what pre-college students needed. Nonetheless, undeterred by the lack of evidence to support their sales pitch, Common Core's architects divided all of the ELA reading standards into two groups: 10 standards for informational reading and nine for literary reading at every grade level.

This misplaced stress on informational texts (no matter how much is literary nonfiction) reflects the limited expertise of Common Core's architects and sponsoring organizations in curriculum and in teachers' training. This division of reading standards was clearly not developed or approved by English teachers and humanities scholars, because it makes English teachers responsible for something they have not been trained to teach and will not be trained to teach unless the entire undergraduate English major and preparatory programs in English education are changed.

Common Core's damage to the English curriculum is already taking shape. Anecdotal reports from high school English teachers indicate that the amount of informational or nonfiction reading they are being told to do in their classroom is 50 percent or more of their reading instructional time—and that they will have time only for excerpts from novels, plays, or epic poems if they want students to read more than very short stories and poems.

Long-Term Consequences

A diminished emphasis on literature in the secondary grades makes it unlikely that American students will study a meaningful range of culturally and historically significant literary works before graduation. It also prevents students from acquiring a rich understanding and use of the English language. Perhaps of greatest concern, it may lead to a decreased capacity for analytical thinking.

Indeed, it is more than likely that college readiness will decrease when secondary English teachers begin to reduce the study of complex literary texts and literary traditions in order to prioritize informational or nonfiction texts. This is because, as ACT (a college entrance exam) found, complexity is laden with literary features: It involves characters, literary devices, tone, ambiguity, elaboration, structure, intricate language, and unclear intentions. By reducing literary study, Common Core decreases students' opportunity to develop the analytical thinking once developed in just an elite group by the vocabulary, structure, style, ambiguity, point of view, figurative language, and irony in classic literary texts.

It will be hard to find informational texts with similar textual challenges (whether or not literary nonfiction). A volume published in 2011 by the National Council of Teachers of English on how English teachers might implement Common Core's standards helps us to understand why. Among other things, it offers as examples of informational or nonfiction texts selections on computer geeks, fast food, teenage marketing, and the working poor. This is hardly the kind of material to exhibit ambiguity, subtlety, and irony.

Common Core Is Not the Answer

An English curriculum overloaded with advocacy journalism or with "informational" articles chosen for their topical and/or political nature should raise serious concerns among parents, school leaders, and policymakers.

Common Core's standards not only present a serious threat to state and local education authority, but also put academic quality at risk. Pushing fatally flawed education standards into America's schools is not the way to improve education for America's students.

—Sandra Stotsky, Professor of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, was formerly Senior Associate Commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Education and in charge of the development of the state's widely praised English Language Arts standards. Their heavy emphasis on literary study is considered a major reason for the Bay State's first-place scores on NAEP's reading tests. For further details, see the recent report by  Mark Bauerlein and Sandra Stotsky, "How Common Core's ELA Standards Place College Readiness at Risk,"  http://pioneerinstitute.org/pdf/120917_CommonCoreELAStandards.pdf .

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/12/questionable-quality-of-the-common-core-english-language-arts-standards

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By Alexandra Cardinale  August 22, 2013

The Department of Education's controversial set of education standards being mandated by the state, also known as Common Core, is taking harsh criticism for its 11th grade suggested reading list. The book that has parents particularly fired up is Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, a popular selection of Oprah's Book Club. The curriculum describes the novel as: An Eleven-Year-Old African-American Girl In Ohio, In The Early 1940s, Prays For Her Eyes To Turn Blue So That She Will Be Beautiful, and in response, one town in Colorado has had parents petition to have the book removed from public schools suggested reading lists.

Although the book has extremely explicit sex scenes describing incest, rape, and pedophilia, it is a key thought-provoking literary work that students should have the opportunity to properly analyze and digest. Rather than say that the novel is inappropriate, it's more accurate to say that it's not appropriate for the younger generation. That being said, the actual demographic of students reading this book, right around age 16 and 17, are no strangers to the public world of sex. In reality, many of them are beginning to have their own sexual experience right around ages 16-18.

Undoubtedly, these students should have the opportunity to understand the countless poetic books discussing sex in a real-life and visceral way, especially in a historic context for their understanding of bygone perspectives. To deny them intellectual and challenging literature because the traditional community is too uncomfortable with taboo subjects like pedophilia and incest only deprives that student of understanding the deeper emotional and psychological complexities behind the taboo.

It is however, understandable that parents take issue with the author herself. In her research on the The Bluest Eye, Macey France exposes some shocking discussion by the author.

"Morrison, says that she wanted the reader to feel as though they are a 'co-conspirator' with the rapist. She took pains to make sure she never portrayed the actions as wrong in order to show how everyone has their own problems. She even goes as far as to describe the pedophilia, rape, and incest 'friendly,' 'innocent,' and 'tender.' It's no wonder that this book is in the top 10 list of most contested books in the country."

Nonetheless, this is one of the greatest benefits of these contended works. It is consciously designed to provoke a response, and that only emphasizes that a student is best served by discussing such responses and issues in a safe, academic setting like a classroom, where they can debate and fully appreciate the information Morrison was trying to impart.

Ultimately, this is the goal of education itself. So rather than hide their youth from frightening topics and reacting by sho'shoving them under the rug,' all parties- — students, parents, and the educational system- — be better served by recognizing and appreciating the value of such truthfully harsh works like Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye."

http://www.policymic.com/articles/60609/bluest-eye-banned-why-parents-want-toni-morrison-s-book-out-of-schools

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Check out these video's:

More than 200 people were in attendance at the sold out conference. Among the states represented were California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia; most of which have strong grassroot movements fighting against the Common Core.

Leading experts addressed the conference on the changing landscape of the American education system and the implications of the Common Core Standards. Concerned citizens, many of whom are parents, joined in the discussion by sharing their experiences and concerns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7Gyocw3Be4

Published on Nov 20, 2013 


Video of Amanda August, Grayslake D46 Curriculum Director explaining the focus of Common Core Math:

Video Segment Transcript:

Amanda August: "But even under the new common core if even if they said 3 * 4 was 11, if they were able to explain their reasoning and explain how they came up with their answer. Really in words and oral explanation and they showed it in a picture but they just got the final answer wrong. We're more focused on the how and the why."

Parent: "Will we be correcting them?"

Amanda August: "Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. We want our students to compute correctly. But the emphasis is moving more to the explanation, and the how, and the why, and can I really talk through the procedures that I went through to get at this answer -- and not just knowing its 12, but why its 12. But the emphasis is really moving on toward the explanation and the how and the why and can I really talk through the procedures that I went through to get the answer."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW0VxxoCrNo

Published on Apr 24, 2014

https://www.fpeusa.org/ - Have you heard about Common Core? The chilling truth behind these new national educational "standards" will terrify you. Common Core represents the latest and most comprehensive step in the drive toward complete government control of our children's education. Join us for a special presentation exposing the truth about Common Core and the ongoing struggle to roll back its implementation. Our speaker will provide examples of how Common Core threatens to further undermine, weaken, and centralize public and private education in our country.

Speaker Bio -- Dr. Duke Pesta

Dr. Duke Pesta received his M.A. in Renaissance literature from John Carroll University and his Ph.D. in Shakespeare and Renaissance literature from Purdue University.

He has taught at major research institutions and small liberal arts colleges, and his been active in education reform, developing and implementing an elective Bible course that is currently available for public high school students in Texas. He is a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh and the Academic Director of FreedomProject Education. - https://www.fpeusa.org/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si-kx5-MKSE

by Phyllis Schlafly
May 14, 2014

"My Child Is Not Common" are the words on the attention-getting signs carried by a group of white and African-American mothers protesting the adoption of the aggressively promoted Common Core standards. Common Core is scheduled to take over the testing of all U.S. kids, pre-K to 12, but parents are saying "no way" in every way they can.

Common Core was rapidly adopted by 44 states and the District of Columbia before any read the standards. Four states rejected it from the outset: Alaska, Nebraska, Texas and Virginia.

Those of us who have been speaking and writing against national control of education for years are amazed at the way parents are coming out of their kitchens to protest. None of the previous attempts by the progressives to nationalize public school curriculum created anything like this kind of grassroots uprising.

Bad education fads started some fifty years ago with Whole Language, which cheated generations of school kids out of learning how to read English by phonics. Call the roll of the fads that followed: Values Clarification, Goals 2000, Outcome-Based Education, School-Based Clinics, Sex Ed, Suicide Ed, Self-Esteem Ed, New Math, History Standards, School to Work, Race to the Top, and No Child Left Behind.

Our powerful and erudite articles against all those fads never aroused the angst caused by Common Core. Those of us who for years have been criticizing the mistaken courses that kept kids from learning are flabbergasted at what we see erupting among the grassroots.

Former Education Commissioner Robert Scott was the Texas official who articulated that state's rejection of Common Core. He pointed out how the feds tried to bribe Texas into going along.

Scott said, "We said no to Common Core and they said, 'you want Race to the Top money?' That was $700 million. They said, 'do it.' Well, we still said, no thanks. The feds also asked if Texas wanted a No Child Left Behind waiver and again, Texas said no."

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal recently came out with a strong statement against Common Core: "As we have seen in Obamacare, President Obama's Washington believes it knows better than the peasants in the states. But centralized planning didn't work in Russia, it's not working with our health care system, and it won't work in education."

No wonder the grassroots have dubbed Common Core Obamacore. That's a play on the Obamacare health plan that is so widely despised.

Indiana became the first state to opt out when its Senate voted 35-13 to withdraw Indiana from Common Core standards on March 12, 2014. But Indiana Governor Mike Pence appears to have backtracked and just renamed it, a bureaucratic trick that doesn't fool either side, and is a disappointment to the Indiana moms who started the national revolt against Common Core.

Pence's action is particularly baffling because pre-Common Core Indiana was known to have one of the highest standards of all the fifty states. Hillsdale College professor Terrence Moore said that Common Core's English standards deserve an "F" and even omits teaching phonics, and Stanford University math professor James Milgram, who served on the Common Core math validation committee, charged that the math standards are so "incomprehensible" and complicated that they should be called "bizarre."

As Common Core keeps plodding right ahead in most states, parents are finding plenty to criticize in the curriculum. Parents think that the math questions children bring home are incomprehensible and stupid. New York parents are objecting to the fact that Common Core social studies standards say America is founded on the democratic principles of equality, fairness and respect for authority but don't mention liberty, and Alabama parents are objecting to the pornography in assigned readings.

There's no mention of education in the U.S. Constitution because the Founding Fathers believed education is a parental and a state issue. Our laws still reflect that assumption, but that concept has been widely violated in recent years by the flow of federal money with strings attached.

Parents are also suspicious of the gigantic amount of money that is being spent to promote the use of Common Core-aligned books and teacher training. Emeritus Professor Jack Hassard of Georgia State University estimates that billionaire Bill Gates has spent $2.3 billion on Common Core.

Some say Gates is a promoter of "global sameness of education as defined by UNESCO and the United Nations." Gates has expressed agreement with UN policies that many Americans oppose such as Agenda 21, which promotes global governance at the expense of private property and national sovereignty.

http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/column/my-child-is-not-common.html

(BIN) -- Common Core Standards are teaching racism. How can any parent allow their children to be taught racism in the public school system is beyond comprehension. Yet here it is live in Dupo, Illinios. How do you feel about this? Is this the truth? Is this how the new Common Core Standards are going to create even greater social disorder? Could this take the "Knockout Game" being practiced by Black youths around this country to a whole new level? There were plenty of "White" people who have voted for Obama, me being one of them in the first election! Why would The United Nations Common Core Teaching Standards teach racism against "White" people


Fourth grade students in Dupo, Illinois assigned to reading a Common Core approved biography of President Barack Obama are being told that all white voters were unlikely to vote for a black president due to racism.

Children at Bluffview Elementary who have been assigned to read the book, entitled "Barack Obama," published by Lerner Publications and a part of Scholastic's "Reading Counts" program, were informed on page 40 that despite Obama being a "nice fellow," many allegedly believed that no white American would vote for him in 2008 based solely on the color of his skin.

"But some people said Americans weren't ready for that much change. Sure Barack was a nice fellow, they said. But white voters would never vote for a black president," the book reads.

The book, approved for children as young as seven years old, also goes on to specifically mention controversial comments made by President Obama's former pastor Jeremiah Wright, while also claiming that the president has worked to bring whites and blacks together.

The book's comments were brought to the attention of the "Moms Against Duncan" Facebook page, a group of parents and education activists opposed to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan who recently claimed that "white suburban moms" only opposed Common Core because it showed that their children weren't as smart as they thought, attempting to paint the nation-wide backlash against the curriculum as a race based issue.

"Would it have been possible for him to be elected (twice) without the support of vast numbers of white Americans?" one member stated.

The book appears to follow the viewpoint that all opposition to the president is based purely on race, which has reached near-comedic levels in its absurdity. Some are now even claiming that opposition to Obamacare is pure racism, despite 55 percent of the public being opposed to its disastrous roll out as millions get dropped from their current providers.

The book raises even more questions over what exactly children are being taught through the Common Core approved curriculum, which has continued to produce inaccurate and highly questionable material.

Just last month, sixth grade students in Arkansas were asked to throw out two amendments in the "outdated" Bill of Rights, causing major backlash from parents.

The month prior, students in several states using a Common Core approved textbook not only found incorrect interpretations of the Second Amendment, but were also taught that Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War, labeled as the "American mobs," were the same as "guerrilla" groups like those that fought in Vietnam in the 1960s.

http://www.redflagnews.com/headlines/bombshell-common-core-teaching-4th-graders-white-voters-are-against-black-barack-obama

Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 16, 2014, 07:02:00 AM
Lets see..no Gov't schooling= lower classes who stay ignorant, can't find work in today's high tech world, so we the taxpayers, have to pay for them with food stamps,.welfare and all the free stuff.Which is better? Either way the public pays. HA!

Speaking of staying ignorant, your government schooling is a very good example. 

It was the Republicans who created the scheme for universal free education after the Civil War.  The tyrants, along with mob rule voting, have been in charge of education in the USA since then.  They're teaching what they want their citizens and immigrants to learn.  After the Civil War, the Southern States were required to create a State Board of Education for the particular Southern State to be re-admitted to the Union.  That was the beginning of State Boards and the concept spread into the northern states soon thereafter.  Ross has mentioned that the Kansas BOE was founded in 1873 so now you should know that the republicans/socialists got their way in education over the entire USA shortly after the Civil War which the north defeated the America as established by our founding fathers.

The Republicans have been stealing the liberty of Americans since 1861 and as the Democrats have more fully accepted re-construction, neither party defends liberty anymore.  Both parties are pro-government and worship the Fed's power just like you Diane.

AH yes....room temperature IQ speaks again.  Do you collect points for everyone you try to insult? Good grief, you have slammed everyone.Repubs, Demos, Moderates, Independents,educators...Who died and left the office of professional griper to you? HA! ;D ;D ;D.... And you don't even live and vote in ELK COUNTY? WHOOOOO!  Why in the world would anyone who is concerned about Elk County politics listen to you? That bond issue won't affect you one way or another! At least I support Elk County projects when I can.
  I'm very pro education but not at all costs. I'm also a very frugal person who wants good value for every penny I spend.Fluff and icing in education means nothing to me. Things that will help kids get ready for the adult world they will live in? Yes! That includes art and music, drama and sports too. If just a job is what is wanted, go to an industrial training school.
Some of the things you just mentioned can be given a very negative slant.Do you ever ask yourself WHY some of those things happened? How about the fact that many of the poor kids in the south weren't getting any education and the costs were keeping some kids from even learning to read. Not every family could send their kids to private school, especially in the post war south.  Can you even construct a sentence without using smear, negative words like tyrant and socialist? I doubt it.  BUT somebody did teach you to read,write and type and probably some math.were you home schooled? That can work very well too. How are you going to give the Gov't a black eye then?
You have no objectivity about education in this country and will not acknowledge that in some countries, who are supposedly better educated than our kids, are using strictly Gov't created curriculum to get that way.      Now go wrap yourself in some pessimistic black flag and think about how it would be to live in some other country. Now think of all the people who died to give you the freedoms you do have and be greatful.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 26, 2014, 10:42:00 AM

AH yes....room temperature IQ speaks again. 

And you don't even live and vote in ELK COUNTY? WHOOOOO!  Why in the world would anyone who is concerned about Elk County politics listen to you? That bond issue won't affect you one way or another! At least I support Elk County projects when I can.

Who's IQ is room temperature?
I hope you are looking in a mirror!

It does not take a lot of comprehension to read the title/subject of this thread.

And I quote, "Re: Common Core Education And More About Federal Government Control"

That has nothing to do with the present ballot in Elk County!

Common Core is a national affliction?

I do believe Diane that you owe redcliffsw  and extreme apology.

How shameful !

But, I doubt he would stoop so low as to accept it.

May 27, 2014

Common Core is on the defensive across the country, but Oklahoma has an opportunity to score the biggest victory against it yet! HB3399 would immediately repeal Common Core and return control of education standards to the state. It has been vetted by opponents of Common Core to ensure that it is a genuine repeal and not a political stunt.

Although this bill passed the state legislature overwhelmingly, Gov. Mary Fallin has not announced her intentions. If she takes no action by June 2, the bill dies. If she signs it, Common Core disappears from Oklahoma.

Gov. Fallin needs to hear from concerned citizens everywhere. Oklahoma students will benefit immediately, but other states will see that repealing Common Core is achievable and will be inspired to follow suit.

Since Gov. Fallin is the chair of the National Governors Association, which is a key supporter of Common Core, her repudiation would seriously damage Common Core's credibility. This is a matter of national importance, so Gov. Fallin needs to hear from you. Contact her today and urge her to sign HB3399.
   
Take Action

Please contact Gov. Fallin by email or by her office's phone number, 405-521-2342. Tell her to sign HR3399 and end Common Core in Oklahoma. Also, if you have not already done so, sign the petition to Gov. Fallin asking her to oppose Common Core at http://ngaendcommoncore.com/.
   
Suggested message:

We urge you to sign HB3399, the bill to repeal Common Core, and replace it with state-based standards. This measure would be a victory for educational quality and accountability all across the nation.

Although I am not an Oklahoma resident, I share the concerns of many Oklahomans that the federal government and private interest groups have taken control of our education system. Their voices are drowning out those of parents and teachers, who are the most invested in the success of our children.

Because HB3399 gives control of education back to the state and communities, we urge you to sign this bill because it has national implications in placing our education system back on the right track.

http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/alerts.html?vvsrc=%2fCampaigns%2f36217%2fRespond%3funregistered%3dVqhBCnJfemFcjEeIpy-GeA%26vvcgRD%3dA4brJ6529c%26vvsbr%3dS84544YADeAc3iqr2Hs4Jw

Education /analysis


Brittany Corona  / @BrittanyLCorona / June 03, 2014


Following Indiana's lead, state legislatures in Oklahoma, South Carolina and Missouri have approved measures to exit and replace the national standards and tests known as Common Core.

A proposal in Oklahoma would repeal Common Core and replace it with new standards developed by the state board of education. In the interim, Oklahoma's prior state standards, the Priority Academic Student Skills standards, would be reinstated.

"If signed, HB3399 would be the most thorough removal of Common Core from any state of adoption in the nation to date," said Jenni White, president of Restore Oklahoma Public Education.

The South Carolina legislature just agreed to a proposal that would create a committee to review and revise the Common Core standards in the state by the 2015-16 school year. The bill also requires the state to exit Common Core-aligned Smarter Balanced testing consortia completely and replace the tests with their own assessments by the 2014-15 school year.

In Missouri, the legislature has passed a proposal which also repeals and replaces Common Core.

The bill requires the state board to develop new academic standards by October 2015, in place of the Common Core, and adopt and implement these standards by the 2016-17 school year. "This puts the process back into the hands of the people," said State Senator Ed Emery, R-Lamar.

Missouri's bill also requires the Common Core-aligned Smarter Balance testing consortium to be used during the 2014-15 school year, likely resulting in Common Core being taught in Missouri for at least the next school year.

Indiana has fully exited the national standards, and Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Missouri have an opportunity to reclaim their state education decision-making authority. Sixteen other states have pushed back against the Common Core national standards by downgrading or halting implementation of the standards and/or national tests, including Arizona last week.

Exiting Common Core would give all these states the opportunity to implement strong state standards that are innovative and reflect the input of academic content experts, teachers, and parents across the state.

http://dailysignal.com/2014/06/03/three-states-push-back-common-core/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningbell

Written by Lyndsey Layton 
Published: June 7

The pair of education advocates had a big idea, a new approach to transform every public-school classroom in America. By early 2008, many of the nation's top politicians and education leaders had lined up in support.

But that wasn't enough. The duo needed money — tens of millions of dollars, at least — and they needed a champion who could overcome the politics that had thwarted every previous attempt to institute national standards.

So they turned to the richest man in the world.

On a summer day in 2008, Gene Wilhoit, director of a national group of state school chiefs, and David Coleman, an emerging evangelist for the standards movement, spent hours in Bill Gates's sleek headquarters near Seattle, trying to persuade him and his wife, Melinda, to turn their idea into reality.

Coleman and Wilhoit told the Gateses that academic standards varied so wildly between states that high school diplomas had lost all meaning, that as many as 40 percent of college freshmen needed remedial classes and that U.S. students were falling behind their foreign competitors.

The pair also argued that a fragmented education system stifled innovation because textbook publishers and software developers were catering to a large number of small markets instead of exploring breakthrough products. That seemed to resonate with the man who led the creation of the world's dominant computer operating system.

"Can you do this?" Wilhoit recalled being asked. "Is there any proof that states are serious about this, because they haven't been in the past?"

Wilhoit responded that he and Coleman could make no guarantees but that "we were going to give it the best shot we could."

After the meeting, weeks passed with no word. Then Wilhoit got a call: Gates was in.

What followed was one of the swiftest and most remarkable shifts in education policy in U.S. history.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation didn't just bankroll the development of what became known as the Common Core State Standards. With more than $200 million, the foundation also built political support across the country, persuading state governments to make systemic and costly changes.

Bill Gates was de facto organizer, providing the money and structure for states to work together on common standards in a way that avoided the usual collision between states' rights and national interests that had undercut every previous effort, dating from the Eisenhower administration.

The Gates Foundation spread money across the political spectrum, to entities including the big teachers unions, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, and business organizations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — groups that have clashed in the past but became vocal backers of the standards.

Money flowed to policy groups on the right and left, funding research by scholars of varying political persuasions who promoted the idea of common standards. Liberals at the Center for American Progress and conservatives affiliated with the American Legislative Exchange Council who routinely disagree on nearly every issue accepted Gates money and found common ground on the Common Core.

One 2009 study, conducted by the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute with a $959,116 Gates grant, described the proposed standards as being "very, very strong" and "clearly superior" to many existing state standards.

Gates money went to state and local groups, as well, to help influence policymakers and civic leaders. And the idea found a major booster in President Obama, whose new administration was populated by former Gates Foundation staffers and associates. The administration designed a special contest using economic stimulus funds to reward states (to bribe) that accepted the standards.

The result was astounding: Within just two years of the 2008 Seattle meeting, 45 states and the District of Columbia had fully adopted the Common Core State Standards.

The math standards require students to learn multiple ways to solve problems and explain how they got their answers, while the English standards emphasize nonfiction and expect students to use evidence to back up oral and written arguments. The standards are not a curriculum but skills that students should acquire at each grade. How they are taught and materials used are decisions left to states and school districts.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledges to fund the writing of common math and reading standards for kindergarten through high school designed to make sure graduates are ready for college or jobs. Early grant recipients include groups that will promote the idea among state legislators and business leaders. In the past, states took about five years to develop new education standards.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-bill-gates-pulled-off-the-swift-common-core-revolution/2014/06/07/a830e32e-ec34-11e3-9f5c-9075d5508f0a_story.html

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Perhaps checking out some of the lessons that have been posted on various places throughout the internet might be helpful in determining if this plan purchased with the Gates Foundation and Money and Influence is worth it!

I do believe they have said in this article that our School Board should perhaps be discussing Local Educational Standards as well as all school Districts through out the US of A.

Is there room for improvement?

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No money for tests; will take time
June 5, 2014
by Ann Kane

Just this evening, the North Carolina House of Representatives passed HB 1061 with a vote of 78 to 39. The bill would repeal and replace Common Core State Standards.

The Senate passed its version on Tuesday, and now the House Committee Substitute to the SB 370 bill will be going back to the Senate and into conference for final shaping.

Before the vote, when the floor was opened up for debate in the House, members of the legislature voiced their concerns or support. [see video supplied by WRAL.com]


Rep. Marcus Brandon (D-Guilford) was opposed and said, "We are using this bill to appease about 20 percent of the population that's very upset about something that's very misconstrued."

With tongue in cheek, Brandon went on to say, "This bill was about indoctrination, Obama. We want to do a repeal and replace and we have to be very careful because we tried to do that with Obamacare...and we still have a fiasco in this state in how we're dealing with that."

Brandon's main concern was that he doesn't see a clear set of standards to use as a replacement for the ones presently used. He also said, "so now we're going to take all this on because we're big bad North Carolina and Obama can't tell us what to do."

In response to Brandon's remarks, the main sponsor of the bill Rep. Bryan Holloway (R-Rockingham) gave a comprehensive look at what the bill intends to do with the Common Core.

Holloway said, under the bill, the school board wouldn't be purchasing tests or other materials connected to Common Core.

Holloway said:


The standards are in place, the curriculum has been created to go along with those standards and to say that we're operating with no standards is a little exaggeration.

If we ripped the rug called Common Core out from underneath our school system today, which would leave us with no standards, then we would be in jeopardy of having to send $400 million dollars, roughly, back to the federal government.

But we are not doing that. We are going to take the state board...they are already going to do a five year study...this is not the first time the standards have ever been amended. This will not be the last time the standards have ever been amended. They're going to do this anyway. They're going to make changes. We're saying in this bill, when you do your review next year, we want you to move away from Common Core.

We want high standards. If there are pieces or components of Common Core that you think are age appropriate, they can take those individual pieces, but as a whole they need toward something new and we want more rigorous standards.

As it stands, a majority in both houses voted to repeal and replace Common Core. Once the final version is crafted, it will go to Governor McCrory to sign. McCrory has generally been in support of the standards, so whether he will sign off or allow it to take effect is still a question.

http://watchdogwire.com/northcarolina/2014/06/05/north-carolina-on-its-way-to-repeal-and-replace-common-core/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sunday

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Why take money for something you don't understand and is not even developed when the money is offered? Why?   GREED, that's why?

Education /commentary

June 10, 2014

It won't be as simple from now on for ineffective California teachers to coast off to a lifetime career on easy street.

In a Los Angeles Superior Court ruling today, Judge Rolf M. Treu "found five California laws governing teacher tenure, layoffs and dismissals unconstitutional," reports Politico.

"Treu found," reporter Stephanie Simon wrote, "that the statutes permit too many grossly incompetent teachers to remain in classrooms across the state —and found that those teachers shortchange their students by putting them months or years behind their peers in math and reading."

There's no doubt that not all teachers are created equal. Some are excellent, of course. But not all of them are, and in California, it's almost impossible to fire a tenured teacher.

The case, which was brought by nine public school students, challenged five California statutes related to teacher tenure, including one that requires teachers to receive tenure—or be dismissed—after a mere 16 months on the job. In contrast, 41 other states give school authorities a full three years to make that tenure decision.

Students Matter, a group affiliated with the nine students in the case, asserts that poor teachers were hurting California students. "According to the testimony of Dr. Raj Chetty, a student assigned to a grossly ineffective teacher loses $50,000 in potential lifetime earnings compared to a student assigned to a teacher of average effectiveness," states the group's fact sheet.

Minority students have been particularly hard hit. "According to the testimony of Dr. Thomas Kane, in Los Angeles Unified [school district], African American students are 43 percent more likely than white students to be taught by a teacher in the bottom 5 percent of effectiveness," Students Matters wrote. It's an even worse story for Latino students, who "are 68 percent more likely to have a teacher in the same 5 percent of effectiveness."

The ruling should help boost California public school students' access to a decent education.  This "tentative decision" (the court's words), based on the California Constitution, will likely be appealed. While assessing the quality of education is normally a policy matter best left to the legislature, unless you're a lousy teacher, this should be a cause for celebration.

http://dailysignal.com/2014/06/10/defeat-terrible-teachers-california/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningbell

 That's  just one state...I happen to agree, if their facts are accurate. In most states, teachers who just don't have it are easily found out before their tenure is even considered. Most are picked up even during student teaching, before they ever graduate. They might try another grade level or subject or give up altogether.
We have no problem eliminating teachers who are tenured, but burn out, lose interest or just can't do the job any longer for some reason. Kids should not be stuck with them. BUT tenure was also started to protect teachers from "political" influence and unreasonable expectations from parents as to the teachers' or schools' grading systems ,especially when a child was considered to be failing a grade.
As I have said many, many times, truancy was one of our worst problems. Even the best teacher can't help a child who isn't there, and/or has parents, usually just one..or a grandparent, who could care less or are so private they won't allow help, or because they are too embarrassed to take it.   Usually the real problem kids go on from year to year to year and it will be said that the teachers "always had it out for poor Johnie" even after poor Johnie had had many different teachers. Sounds a little suspicious, right?  There are actually surprisingly few ordinary two parent homes where the kids' actual biological father and mother are "normally" raising their children together and both real parents are home every night to spend time with their kids. Common on TV, not so much in real life.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 14, 2014, 01:27:31 PM
That's  just one state...I happen to agree, if their facts are accurate. In most states, teachers who just don't have it are easily found out before their tenure is even considered. Most are picked up even during student teaching, before they ever graduate. They might try another grade level or subject or give up altogether.
We have no problem eliminating teachers who are tenured, but burn out, lose interest or just can't do the job any longer for some reason. Kids should not be stuck with them. BUT tenure was also started to protect teachers from "political" influence and unreasonable expectations from parents as to the teachers' or schools' grading systems ,especially when a child was considered to be failing a grade.
As I have said many, many times, truancy was one of our worst problems. Even the best teacher can't help a child who isn't there, and/or has parents, usually just one..or a grandparent, who could care less or are so private they won't allow help, or because they are too embarrassed to take it.   Usually the real problem kids go on from year to year to year and it will be said that the teachers "always had it out for poor Johnie" even after poor Johnie had had many different teachers. Sounds a little suspicious, right?  There are actually surprisingly few ordinary two parent homes where the kids' actually biological father and mother are "normally" raising their children together and both real parents are home every night to spend time with their kids. Common on TV, not so much in real life.

Tenure is just plain bullshit Diane and always has been.

It protects bad teachers from being fired across the nation, not just one state.

Every job out there from the garbage collector to the Doctor working for a major hospital faces those so called political threats of termination.

And every job out there has due process of some kind or another for termination.

Tenure insured that a teacher could not be fired after as little as a year and a half on the job.

So after a year and a half a teach could get away with doing practically nothing and be insured a pay check for the next 30 years followed by a retirement check.

Does a really good teacher require that kind of protection or just the bad teacher?

If a teacher is terminated because of political reasons, she and her student are most likely better off if the teacher moves on.

I was fired from a job without due process, a job I enjoed very much. I've told the story before, here on this forum. I wrote a 7 page type written letter to the unemployment office and because of that letter I recieved unemployeement for 14 months. And because of that letter the Vice President of the company and two of her friends were fired. You see, what goes around, comes around.

But to provide protection for treachers in the form of tenure for the possibility that the teacher my be fired for political reasons is simply popycock.

Every job has to deal with politics on one level or another, but does every job get teure because of it?

I suppose if you were to discuss Elk County and politics and who to worry about, using such methods to fire a teacher an NGO like Elk Konnected and their elite might come to mind, huh?  We do have them sitting on our School Board, you do know that of course, dont you?

We have one of them on our County Commissioners Bot that meanard and they are attempting to get another Elk Konnected member on the board so they will have the controlling votes. You know what that means don't you?

Konnected Kontrol of the Wind Farm Monies, yeah, that's right, got it?
Although they say otherwise I believe that was the sole reason Elk Konnected came about. For Kontrol of the wind farm monies. And my bet is, is one of the first things the taxpayers lose is the small property tax break we recieve.

We all have to worry about politics don't we?
We all have to worry about NGO's such as Elk Konnected, don't we?
Especially if NGO's start's jerking us around, right?
When they want political control of our City and County Governments and our School Boards, RIGHT?

Why only protect one sector of the working class from such threats?
Or are those threats you suggest, only imaginary?
Why should teachers be the only ones that need protection called tenure?
Bullshit that's why?

Perhaps the first course for students preparing for college should be personal finance and student loans.
To include a common sense course in "Want and Need" and how to fill out a job appication.

But then, teachers would have to be educated in these features, wouldn't they, Diane?

Maybe teaching that a 2 year degree in business is only going to land you a job as a manager at a mom and pop convience store or maybe an illustrious job as mamager at McDonalds and may not be worth that $500  Scholarship that leads to a several thousands of dollars in student loans. Just maybe, that $500 Scholarship  is just not worth accepting....

Just some thought material.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 14, 2014, 01:27:31 PM
That's  just one state...I happen to agree, if their facts are accurate. In most states, teachers who just don't have it are easily found out before their tenure is even considered. Most are picked up even during student teaching, before they ever graduate. They might try another grade level or subject or give up altogether.
We have no problem eliminating teachers who are tenured, but burn out, lose interest or just can't do the job any longer for some reason. Kids should not be stuck with them. BUT tenure was also started to protect teachers from "political" influence and unreasonable expectations from parents as to the teachers' or schools' grading systems ,especially when a child was considered to be failing a grade.
As I have said many, many times, truancy was one of our worst problems. Even the best teacher can't help a child who isn't there, and/or has parents, usually just one..or a grandparent, who could care less or are so private they won't allow help, or because they are too embarrassed to take it.   Usually the real problem kids go on from year to year to year and it will be said that the teachers "always had it out for poor Johnie" even after poor Johnie had had many different teachers. Sounds a little suspicious, right?  There are actually surprisingly few ordinary two parent homes where the kids' actually biological father and mother are "normally" raising their children together and both real parents are home every night to spend time with their kids. Common on TV, not so much in real life.

Exactly, Diane.  Well said.

Of course teachers will defend even bad teachers to keep their tenure.
Why?
Because they may even become slothen and lazy and need the protection.
Well said try to protect the tenure, but you will fail  because people are wisening up.

I had a cousin who's husband was protected by tenure until he retired and he is thakful for it.

But guess what it isn't just one state.

The article may only be about one state, but tenure is being addressed in other states and it will spread.

There is justification for it.

What do you mean "of course" teachers will  defend poor teachers.That is not true. I'd like your proof please. In some schools there is even a committee that meets to try to help struggling teachers and eventually decide the fate of teachers that can't cut it.
Perhaps you should stop the generalized labeling and stick to Kansas. You just don't get it and maybe I'm being too optimistic to expect you too.
How would you feel if a parent never sent their child to school on testing days, wrote notes to "forgive" them their home work and still expected their child to receive top scores?
I really did do my very best for all my students ,even going so far as to sending a report card home on myself so the parents could comment on me every report card period. The engaged parents always filled them out and I got many good ideas from them. I never stopped learning either. Guess who never returned them? The parents of the at risk and failing students of course.  Where is your objectivity?

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 15, 2014, 12:21:25 PM
What do you mean "of course" teachers will  defend poor teachers.That is not true. I'd like your proof please. In some schools there is even a committee that meets to try to help struggling teachers and eventually decide the fate of teachers that can't cut it.

You won't fight for tenure, which protects poor teachers from being terminated?
Oh, so a committee is responsible for poor teachers? I think not, that's the wrong people to make decisions, we have elected officials for the job.
It's not a committee of teachers is it?
It is not a committee's job to should decide who should be terminated?
It is the job of Elected Officials on the School Board, who should have the best interest of those that elected them, in doing a proper job, that should determine who is terminated for cause.
The public pays the bills and the wages and votes for people to make the tough decision.
If those elected officials lack the fortitude to do their jobs --- they should step aside – they lack leadership abilities.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 15, 2014, 12:21:25 PM
Perhaps you should stop the generalized labeling and stick to Kansas. You just don't get it and maybe I'm being too optimistic to expect you too.

Perhaps you should stick to your own personal opinion and forget giving orders.
You do not yet own the internet or this forum.

And sorry lady your opinion is of no more value than mine. (Maybe a little less valuable because of your attitude, just speculating! LOL)

The generalized labeling in national, not mine.
You might google the subject and learn!

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 15, 2014, 12:21:25 PM
How would you feel if a parent never sent their child to school on testing days, wrote notes to "forgive" them their home work and still expected their child to receive top scores?

If ya lack the communication skills to talk with the parent and can't handle the stress, maybe it's an attitude problem ya have.

Ya can't handle the heat get out of the kitchen. Oh that's right you did, didn't you?

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 15, 2014, 12:21:25 PM
I really did do my very best for all my students ,even going so far as to sending a report card home on myself so the parents could comment on me every report card period.
The engaged parents always filled them out and I got many good ideas from them. I never stopped learning either. Guess who never returned them? The parents of the at risk and failing students of course.  Where is your objectivity?

A report card on the teacher so she would know what student to retaliate against, good job?

So ya got an excuse, blame the parents for the classroom.
That engaged stuff --- Konnected B.S. huh!
How about engaging all of the students in class, where you are suppose to do the job? Ab
At risk kids are kids that teachers lack the ability to teach in my opinion.
At risk kids is a term made up to use as an excuse in my opinion.
It has been proven that children from poor family's can excel in the class room.
There is no connection between learning and money, proven by so called experts.

My objectivity? You question my objectivity?

That's real rich coming from a (use to be) teacher discussing the downfall of the education in the US, as if there is any objectivity on your part. Really, get real!

Kiss tenure goodbye, it's a fact! It's happening and it's a good thing.
A good teacher does not need that kind of protection.
Perhaps the good teachers will receive better recognition?

You with all your edumaction can't keep up with this unedumacted red neck, schmuk ---  and you try to talk objectivity, look up the word dearie, look up the word.

ROFLMAO

OBJECTIVITY !

It s always a pleasure to hear from you Diane. Bye-bye!
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Best Of The WeekFeatured StoriesNews   


It appeared in a photo reportedly taken during a teacher protest.
B. Christopher Agee — June 13, 2014



Teachers unions claim their demands for continuously increasing salaries and perks are based only in their desire to better educate America's next generation. While most would agree that exceptional educators deserve compensation commensurate with their abilities, empirical evidence shows that students do not benefit when second-rate teachers receive raises.

A glaring example of this was found in the apparent massacre of the English language by organizers of Paul Robeson High School's senior prom. As evidenced by a local reporter, the Chicago school promoted the theme "This Is Are Story," which will strike anyone with a tenuous grasp of the language as a nonsensical phrase.

Of course, replacing 'our' with 'are' is not altogether uncommon. The word's misuse even appeared in a photo reportedly taken during a teacher protest.


What makes this case even more upsetting to many critics of the public school system is the fact that educators in the Chicago Public Schools system (CPS) bring home an average of $76,000 a year. Students, however, struggle to simply make it to graduation.

Statistics show that about 40 percent of students who enter a CPS high school do not leave with a diploma. Furthermore, just one in four are deemed ready for college, according to test results.

Of those who do manage to graduate and go on to college, more than nine in 10 must retake courses they should have mastered in high school.

Conservative blog Chicks on the Right pointed out that Paul Robeson High School's struggle with grammar is not limited to its prom theme. A number of glaring mistakes also appear on the school's official website.

Still, the shocking vocabulary gaffe has since become fodder for Twitter users.

Read more at http://www.westernjournalism.com/schools-prom-theme-reveals-pathetic-public-education-become/#qD5CHak4pgjkRBVv.99

National curriculum standard is crumbling, and we know who to blame
By Neal McCluskey
Friday, June 13, 2014


The reality of the Common Core national curriculum standards is finally coming out, and suddenly the Core has big parts falling off. Unfortunately, it is a contraption on which, thanks to Core supporters wielding federal power, almost the whole country has been coerced to fly — and crash.

In the past two weeks, South Carolina and Oklahoma officially chose to dump the Core. Indiana did the same in March. They join Texas, Alaska, Virginia and Nebraska, which never adopted, while Minnesota adopted only the English standards.

Oklahoma is perhaps the biggest blow to the Core, as Republican Gov. Mary Fallin is the chairwoman of the National Governors Association, which created the Core along with the Council of Chief State School Officers. The dominoes are likely to keep falling, with both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly approving Core-dumping bills last week, and the National Conference of State Legislatures reporting that 64 bills to slow or stop the Core have been introduced in state legislatures this year.

Indeed, it is in testing that the bigger exodus has occurred. Not counting states that eventually dumped the Core or never signed on, as of January, six states had left the two Common Core testing consortia selected and funded by the federal government. All of this happened before any state has officially used the Core's exams. If test scores drop significantly after full implementation, as happened in New York when it used its own Core-aligned exams, opposition is likely to go from yell to scream.

Regrettably, to shore up the Core, supporters have often resorted to calling Core opponents misinformed, while simply asserting that high standards will drive high achievement. To a lesser extent, they have argued that dropping the Core would squander time and money.

The two main arguments are hollow. Analysis from across the spectrum, including the left-leaning Brookings Institution, right-leaning Hoover Institution and my own work at the libertarian Cato Institute, has concluded that standards alone do not translate to improved achievement.

On the "misinformed" charge, while some anti-Core arguments are dubious — the Core would not impose a United Nations curriculum — most are substantive. For instance, despite Core proponents calling it "state-led" and "voluntary," Core adoption was driven by Washington, which made it crucial for states to compete for grants in the $4.35 billion Race to the Top program. Adoption was also just one of two ways to meet the "college- and career-ready standards" requirement for No Child Left Behind waivers.

On its quality, the Core has been heavily critiqued by subject-matter experts such as Stanford University's James Milgram and the University of Arkansas' Sandra Stotsky. Finally, imposing a single standard for millions of children, who learn different things at different rates, fails basic logic.

On the cost of withdrawing, though, Core supporters have a point. States have sunk significant time and money into implementation, which would be wasted if they backed out. For instance, the Core-backing Fordham Institute and Oklahoma Business Education Coalition pegged Oklahoma's cost of jumping at $125 million, and Indiana has found that quickly creating new standards is tough work.

Blame for costly withdrawal, however, lies squarely on Core supporters, who pushed adoption through Race to the Top. Indeed, the Race required that state officials promise to adopt before the final version of the Core was even published, much less robustly debated. As a result, states undertook years of implementation before the public had any idea what was happening.

Once implementation hit districts and schools about a yearthat should have been fully debated long before state adoption.

What the public has learned is that the Core is an empirically dubious creation driven by Washington. With that discovered, they have increasingly accepted that they do, indeed, have to sacrifice valuable time and money to get the education they want. For having to make that sacrifice, they have only Common Core supporters to thank.


Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jun/13/mccluskey-the-worm-in-the-teachers-apple/#ixzz34kUvnLv1
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

I give up.Your mind is so closed you apparently can't or won't listen to any other view point.
No, the school board doesn't have day to day contact with the teachers. How could they know what teacher isn't cutting it unless told by the Principal or the supervising teacher and/or committee who oversees it all. You remind me of that TV commercial with the little old lady who hasn't a clue about the web, when her friend gets up and states" But that's not how it works.""That's not how any of it works" 
Ross, you don't get it and trying to insult me doesn't change that. Kids who are supposed to go to school and don't, don't get an education. Truancy laws are different from state to state. In Maryland the teachers were not allowed to go seek out the missing children. That was the principal's job. How does a teacher get to know a child they rarely ever seeand is always weeks behind the other kids?
By the way, the term "at risk" is as old as I am and has nothing to do with EK. The parents of at risk kids, who are failing a subject or grade, have been sent warning notices about it several times a year for many, many years. You must be desperate to try and connect that to EK or anything else. I give up.Go insult some one else for awhile.
I didn't win awards and certificates and get to be the school Science Dept Chair or be third in command behind the Principal by being a bad teacher. I also don't give up easily....also the mark of a good teacher. Give it up Ross.

The only thing I can say about this is something is wrong with our education system when the USA is ranked 25th in some subjects.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 16, 2014, 01:47:43 PM
I give up.Your mind is so closed you apparently can't or won't listen to any other view point.

My mind is closed, now that's just to funny.
Because you may or may not have an up to date education does not mean you have all the answers. Your education is very limited and apparently because of it you apparently don't feel a need to keep up with current events on either the State or National Level forget about our local level of which you have no part in.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 16, 2014, 01:47:43 PM
No, the school board doesn't have day to day contact with the teachers. How could they know what teacher isn't cutting it unless told by the Principal or the supervising teacher and/or committee who oversees it all.

I do believe the average high school drop out can understand that, therefore with your advanced education you do not surprise me this minute amount of intellectual bit of information.

What you fail to understand and comprehend is that I stated that our local school board members fail to show that they know what their job really is and apparently you do not understand the job.
   
These present board members act as if the school superintendent is their boss. That is totally wrong. The School Superintendent answers to the Board as there executive of every day operations of the school.

These present School Board Members even though college educated apparently do not realize that studying and learning does not end with a College Degree.

To understand and do their job properly they should be studying the KSDE web site and then they would know it is their job to instruct the School Superintendent to do evaluations on the teachers at what ever interval they deem necessary. And the School Superintendent would be obligated to comply.

There are so many other things with this present School Board, just to numerous to go into. Especially since you do not comprehend, I'm sorry.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 16, 2014, 01:47:43 PM
You remind me of that TV commercial with the little old lady who hasn't a clue about the web, when her friend gets up and states" But that's not how it works.""That's not how any of it works" 

And you remind me of a know-it-all in Delaware that has a lack of comprehension and can only DISS what she can not comprehend and relies on TV commercials for insults. And I say that with love in the hope that your eyes may be opened and your heart my be enlightened by the light.

I'm sorry the devil made me do that! LOL

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 16, 2014, 01:47:43 PM
Ross, you don't get it and trying to insult me doesn't change that. Kids who are supposed to go to school and don't, don't get an education. Truancy laws are different from state to state. In Maryland the teachers were not allowed to go seek out the missing children. That was the principal's job. How does a teacher get to know a child they rarely ever seeand is always weeks behind the other kids?

Diane I do get it. You have an extremist's attitude about the kids and it dwells well outside of the classroom and teaching. We have administrators to attend to problems out side of the class room. But that has little to do with educational standards and the job in the class room.

The School Board along with the KSDE set the standards here in Kansas.
For family problems and tardiness we have truancy laws and Child Protective Services.
Teachers are neither one and should concentrate on teaching in the class room, that what they are paid to do. They are not paid to be the parent or the parents boss. We now have not only School Nurses but School Counselors to handle student problems. Some schools may even have psychiatrist. So what is the problem of teachers paying attention to teaching in the class room.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 16, 2014, 01:47:43 PM
By the way, the term "at risk" is as old as I am and has nothing to do with EK. The parents of at risk kids, who are failing a subject or grade, have been sent warning notices about it several times a year for many, many years. You must be desperate to try and connect that to EK or anything else. I give up.Go insult some one else for awhile.

Oh really as old as you are. Now that is really funny, you are only 31 years old! ROFLMAO. You see I never heard of the term being used  until I was well into adulthood, so here is a little wikipedia for you.

How much of that wisdom did you teach children, "the term "at risk" is as old as I am", perhaps that is why some children have learning problems, because the teacher doesn't know the truth of her statements. Just saying.

Check it out:

The term "at-risk" came into use after the 1983 article "A Nation at Risk", published by the National Commission on Excellence in Education. The article described United States society as being economically and socially endangered.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-risk_students

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 16, 2014, 01:47:43 PM
I didn't win awards and certificates and get to be the school Science Dept Chair or be third in command behind the Principal by being a bad teacher. I also don't give up easily....also the mark of a good teacher. Give it up Ross.

I do believe you didn't win wards by being a bad teacher, but by being a good follower and yes person. The third in command, wow I'm impressed. All this boasting is just so heart warming. But what does any of it have to do with improving educational standards, or teacher's tenure or Common Core?

You are so right Diane, I don't get it.

Don't for get to dust off the awards.

I got an award once, I gave it back! I felt it was an insult!

Quote from: Jane on June 16, 2014, 02:47:10 PM
The only thing I can say about this is something is wrong with our education system when the USA is ranked 25th in some subjects.

Excellent Jane!

I am not really about putting down teachers because I have known both good and bad teachers.
And in fact I have pointed out that I have teachers in my family.

One such educated family member in my  opinion would probably never made it to retirement if it wasn't for tenure.

It's about the system, it's about having lowered teaching standards over the years.

And it's certainly about Common Core and Industry and the Federal Government wanting to control teaching.

I appreciate your input Jane, thank you.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 16, 2014, 01:47:43 PM
I give up.Your mind is so closed you apparently can't or won't listen to any other view point.
No, the school board doesn't have day to day contact with the teachers. How could they know what teacher isn't cutting it unless told by the Principal or the supervising teacher and/or committee who oversees it all. You remind me of that TV commercial with the little old lady who hasn't a clue about the web, when her friend gets up and states" But that's not how it works.""That's not how any of it works" 
Ross, you don't get it and trying to insult me doesn't change that. Kids who are supposed to go to school and don't, don't get an education. Truancy laws are different from state to state. In Maryland the teachers were not allowed to go seek out the missing children. That was the principal's job. How does a teacher get to know a child they rarely ever seeand is always weeks behind the other kids?
By the way, the term "at risk" is as old as I am and has nothing to do with EK. The parents of at risk kids, who are failing a subject or grade, have been sent warning notices about it several times a year for many, many years. You must be desperate to try and connect that to EK or anything else. I give up.Go insult some one else for awhile.
I didn't win awards and certificates and get to be the school Science Dept Chair or be third in command behind the Principal by being a bad teacher. I also don't give up easily....also the mark of a good teacher. Give it up Ross.

Diane...I have to tell you...It has been muuuucccchhhhhh more peaceful since I employed the "ignore" option... ;D ;D ;D  It's fun to get to read you and everyone else with nothing else to lend any distractions!! lol  You should really try the ignore option.   ;) ;)

Cat, I agree completely. I put several one mainly on the ignore list and I enjoy the Forum much more. As of today, I am putting another on there.

Quote from: Catwoman on June 16, 2014, 05:13:06 PM
Diane...I have to tell you...It has been muuuucccchhhhhh more peaceful since I employed the "ignore" option... ;D ;D ;D  It's fun to get to read you and everyone else with nothing else to lend any distractions!! lol  You should really try the ignore option.   ;) ;)

Perhaps you should follow your own advice Catwoman since you apparently have nothing construtive to add to this thread.

But do some of you educators even understand quality education and educational standards?
Do any of you have a clue about Common Core?

Or is it just put anyone down that advocates improvement for the benefit of the children?

Did you catch that intellegent statement from Diane:

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 16, 2014, 01:47:43 PM

By the way, the term "at risk" is as old as I am and has nothing to do with EK.

Where was that college degree for that brilliant statement?

And my response:

Quote from: ROSS on June 16, 2014, 03:22:46 PM

Oh really as old as you are. Now that is really funny, you are only 31 years old! ROFLMAO. You see I never heard of the term being used  until I was well into adulthood, so here is a little wikipedia for you.

How much of that wisdom did you teach children, "the term "at risk" is as old as I am", perhaps that is why some children have learning problems, because the teacher doesn't know the truth of her statements. Just saying.

Check it out:

The term "at-risk" came into use after the 1983 article "A Nation at Risk", published by the National Commission on Excellence in Education. The article described United States society as being economically and socially endangered.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-risk_students

I sure am glad, I ain't no educated idiot.

Quote from: frawin on June 16, 2014, 05:30:50 PM
Cat, I agree completely. I put several one mainly on the ignore list and I enjoy the Forum much more. As of today, I am putting another on there.

Well, thar's another one of them thar ignore type people.
Kan't be constructive.
Oh well, forgiven.

Quote from: frawin on June 16, 2014, 05:30:50 PM
Cat, I agree completely. I put several one mainly on the ignore list and I enjoy the Forum much more. As of today, I am putting another on there.

Loving reading you again, Mr. Frank!!!  ;D ;D  Totally beyond jealous of your pics of your gardens, as usual...lol :-)  I am only now starting to bring in some cherry tomatoes.  Bet you've been harvesting tomatoes for some time now!

Quote from: frawin on June 16, 2014, 05:30:50 PM
Cat, I agree completely. I put several one mainly on the ignore list and I enjoy the Forum much more. As of today, I am putting another on there.

I really haven't had to add anyone else other than the obvious.  Been hearing from a lot of old friends...Evidently, the "ignore" option is very, very popular! lol

Quote from: Catwoman on June 16, 2014, 09:46:03 PM
I really haven't had to add anyone else other than the obvious.  Been hearing from a lot of old friends...Evidently, the "ignore" option is very, very popular! lol

Some people must lack th ability and knwledge to be able to make the personal decisions.
It's a shame to rely on a machine to think for you.a
It's a shame to continue to be ignorant enough to provide that information where you don't want to be, because you have a machine to say ignore and then lack the ability to ignore and keep returning.
It definitely shows a lack of self discipline.

It shows why Obama got re-elected and that Common Core and it's affect on children is of little consequence to some people yet Ignore is more important and not followed.

It must be a terrible thing to be college educated.

I pray that you learn from this experience because I love ya for all the great entertainment.

Have a great day and thank Obama for Common Core and ObamaCare and the dumbing down of America.

Jun. 13, 2014 3:02pm

Jennifer Ohar Scott sees Common Core from two sides: as a teacher and a parent. She says the view is bad from both.

"I'm the assistant leader of my daughter's Girl Scout troop and I've had conversations with parents who are mystified and dumbfounded that they can't help their third-graders solve a math problem," Scott told TheBlaze.

Scott, an art teacher at Medina High School, made news this week in the national education debate because of her art exhibit in Buffalo, New York, that she said was meant to show "how ridiculous and nonsensical" the Common Core State Standards are. The exhibit will be on display through June 18.

New York is a hot spot for the debate over the Obama administration-backed education standards developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers and adopted by 44 states and the District of Columbia.

Though adopted by states, Scott further said she "absolutely" believes that Common Core is a de facto federal mandate because its tied with U.S. Department of Education funding for school districts.

"They wave the carrot that they didn't have before," Scott said.

New York state Education Commissioner John B. King told WGRZ-TV the new testing is needed to assess student progress.

Nancy Zimpher, the chancellor of the State University of New York system, this week announced a national effort of college and university leaders supporting Common Core. Zimpher said too many high school graduates have to take remedial courses in college and that the higher standards will ensure they are college- and career-ready.

New York teachers unions have opposed the standards and Gov. Andrew Cuomo named a panel to review their implementation in the state. But little has changed, Scott said.
.
"He hasn't said much," Scott said of Cuomo. "He has just pointed his finger at King."

In one of Scott's paintings, King is depicted as looking through a school window as if it's a dollhouse at students made miserable by Common Core. In another, King is wearing a crown and turning his back, not listening to the concerns of the public.

She said she has gotten a uniformly positive response to her art.

"On Facebook and all social media, the response has been overwhelmingly positive," Scott said. "A student who graduated from here said 'way to go.'"

The states of Indiana, Oklahoma and South Carolina have opted out of the Common Core standards altogether. She said she hopes that other states follow regardless of their political views.

But she mostly sees first hand how badly it is affecting her school district, even outside Medina High School.

"It's too big a jump for too many kids," she said. "It's a serious problem at the younger level where children are struggling and could get left behind."

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/06/13/teacher-who-created-anti-common-core-art-exhibit-says-parents-are-dumbfounded-that-they-cant-help-their-third-graders-solve-a-math-problem/

Only 44 of 51 States signed up for Common Core for Federal Money (400 Million Dollars) without a clue as to what Common Core was.

That's 44 out of 51 leaving 7 States that did not sign on.

There are at  present time 3 states that are opting out and may have to repay the 400 Million Dollars.

Kansas may just join the opt out States.

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Mercedes Schneider 
Public school teacher, education activist, PhD

Oklahoma May Be First to
Really Dump Common Core
Updated:  06/10/2014 12:59 pm EDT   


On June 5, 2014, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed legislation repealing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Fallin told Politico that the CCSS term had become so tainted that it was time for CCSS to go:

"The words 'Common Core' in Oklahoma are now so divisive that they have become a distraction that interferes with our mission of providing the best education possible for our children," Fallin said.

Initially it seemed like Fallin might exercise a pocket veto in favor of "rebranding" CCSS as "Oklahoma standards" (see my May 24, 2014 post). After all, she is the current chair of the National Governors Association, part owner of the CCSS license.

Initial reports noted that Fallin had until June 2 to sign Oklahoma's CCSS-repeal bill into law. However, in her June 2 article, Susan Berry of Breitbart noted Fallin's deadline was June 7.

Fallin did not wait for the deadline.

In an interesting twist, Jeb-Bush Chief for Change, Oklahoma State Education Superintendent Janet Baresi said she supports Fallin's decision. As Politico reports:

Oklahoma state Superintendent Janet Barresi, also a onetime supporter of the Common Core, said that as the standards became tied to the federal government, she changed her mind.

"At one time, as it was emerging from Republican and conservative ideas from individual states, I did support Common Core," Barresi said in a statement. "As it has become entangled with federal government, however, Common Core has become too difficult and inflexible."

Jeb Bush, who continues to show outspoken support for CCSS, has foundations that have accepted millions to promote CCSS. He is even willing to sacrifice America's children's self esteem for some perceived international superiority magically achieved by an untested CCSS. As Bush told the Miami Herald in April 2014:

Bush has repeatedly explained the [Common Core] standards, implemented and controlled by the states, are designed to make the United States more competitive with the rest of the world. He said those who oppose the standards support the "status quo," oppose testing and are worried too much about children's self-esteem.

"Let me tell you something. In Asia today, they don't care about children's self esteem. They care about math, whether they can read - in English - whether they understand why science is important, whether they have the grit and determination to be successful," Bush said.

"You tell me which society is going to be the winner in this 21st Century: The one that worries about how they feel, or the one that worries about making sure the next generation has the capacity to eat everybody's lunch?" [Emphasis added.]

Here is the post I wrote detailing the legislation Oklahoma lawmakers approved on May 23, 2014, outlining the process to replace CCSS with state-based, state-decided, stakeholder-vetted English and math standards.

The Oklahoma legislation involves a careful process that legislators realize takes years. The Oklahoma process is nothing like the instant "process" Indiana exercised in supposedly "repealing" CCSS.

Until the new assessments are in place, Oklahoma will return to its former state standards. This is a major difference between Oklahoma and South Carolina, a state that supposedly dropped CCSS on May 30, 2014 -- but not until the 2015-16 school year. South Carolina is still in CCSS for another year -- which places it in a dangerous, CCSS-retaining position.

Of course, CCSS-peddling Mike Petrilli of the Fordham Institute tried to convince Oklahoma to keep CCSS. Petrilli has been travelling from state to state as a standards "expert"- whose "expertise" is in selling CCSS- even in states that had standards Fordham Institute graded as equal to or superior to CCSS.

Ironically, Petrilli told Oklahoma that repealing CCSS would "breed cynicism and distrust among educators and interrupt real progress"; that repeal would "waste money," and that Oklahoma would no longer be part of the CCSS "wave of innovation."

CCSS "wave of innovation" = Bill Gates' desired education "scale" that will "release powerful market forces" right into Pearson Education coffers.

When Oklahoma signed on for CCSS in 2010, Petrilli did not bother talking Oklahoma out of their decision despite the fact that Fordham Institute graded Oklahoma's standards in both English Language Arts and math as "too close to call" in comparison to CCSS.

Thus, according to Fordham Institute's own 2010 state standards/CCSS grading, Oklahoma's decision to adopt CCSS in the first place was a lateral move- both disruptive and unnecessary as concerns "improving" education in Sooner state.

Governor Mary Fallin is restoring some order. And wonder of all wonders, State Superintendent Janet Baresi appears to be following along.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mercedes-schneider/common-core-oklahoma_b_5460474.html

Cat, I've got Ross on ignore except for educational subjects, or if someone has said something back to him that I'm interested in.
For some reason I always think I can eventually get through to him. Typical teacher,ehh?
I've always thought my job was to take a child at whatever stage they cross my path and take them as far as I can during my time with them. Unfortunatly, I've made no head way with Ross. His only goal is to try to discredit or embarrass me for some reason. I can't even get away with turning a phrase or using a figure of speech without it being  thrown back at me because he doesn't get it. I guess I'm stuck with posting to him in third grade language...subject ,verb and boring. Better yet let him think he's got it all figured out and stop posting to him. Yes Ross, I'm only 35...sheesh!
His in depth knowledge of teaching apparently comes from a few family members and has no more depth than that. I wish he would look at some modern teachers manuals to see how teachers are meant to engage their kids in the world we live in now.
There is nothing about education that can't be improved,always and forever. But going back to slate boards and lead sticks won't cut it.  Get with it or move on. and for Jane, I happen to agree. Improvements must be made ...or eliminate the tough inner city schools from the surveys.They skew everything 'way down.
Also I don't believe every kid should try to go to college or be made to feel they must.That is fairly new. Only a small % of kids were expected to in the 50's and 60's. Most went on to business schools, trade schools, military or directly to work. Employeers didn't expect their employees to have college educations to work in a lumber mill, build airplanes or bag groceries in the family store. That is now all out of balance. I blame the colleges. Many are in the "business"of education now and are constantly selling their education as a product. Even UD has a major in hotel management.Why? They probably have a major in dog washing that I don't know about. AND I will repeat one last time....the countries that are supposedly ahead of us have Gov't provided cirrucula, period.( Why can't some people on here get that?) They learn what they are told to, no choices. In some countries, the child's major is chosen for them. They don't have choice.Even after they are finished, a job may be chosen for them. Their freedom to choose can be very limited. So are those surveys valid? Perhaps, perhaps not. On the other hand, some of today's parents won't stand for their kids to be challenged.They want their kids to have that piece of paper, but not if its inconvienent.  Oh well, so much for the big picture. Some folks will always be looking into the wrong end of the telescope.

That is so sweet of you Diane to put me on ignore, thank you.
Too bad it doesn't work.

The figure of speech that something is older than you is not a figure of speech worthy of recognition as such, concerning something as new as 1983, which is just 31 years ago and you are old and retired right? It just doesn't fly that way. It was an attempt to show imtelect that did not exist. The old remark is not an insult because I am older than dirt, so I've been told. It sure beats the alternative, doesn't it? LOL

I do believe there may be a lcak of compassion for other people on your part as well.  Due to a lack of knowledge of the world around you. Parents can mean well, but may face problems you have no knowledge of and probably (from your postings) could care less.

I.E.:

To address your attitude about children that can not make it to school everyday, you said:

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 16, 2014, 01:47:43 PM
Kids who are supposed to go to school and don't, don't get an education. Truancy laws are different from state to state. In Maryland the teachers were not allowed to go seek out the missing children. That was the principal's job. How does a teacher get to know a child they rarely ever seeand is always weeks behind the other kids?

And I responded:

Quote from: ROSS on June 16, 2014, 03:22:46 PM

Diane I do get it. You have an extremist's attitude about the kids and it dwells well outside of the classroom and teaching. We have administrators to attend to problems out side of the class room. But that has little to do with educational standards and the job in the class room.

The School Board along with the KSDE set the standards here in Kansas.
For family problems and tardiness we have truancy laws and Child Protective Services.
Teachers are neither one and should concentrate on teaching in the class room, that what they are paid to do. They are not paid to be the parent or the parents boss. We now have not only School Nurses but School Counselors to handle student problems. Some schools may even have psychiatrist. So what is the problem of teachers paying attention to teaching in the class room.

And still Diane there is more to the equation than your own self interests, as a use to be teacher. There are other circumstances that you fail to take into consideration. Here is only one example.

I.E.:

Now, we are moving further towards putting people in jail simply for being poor. We may not officially have debtor's prisons yet, but every day we are getting a step closer. This week, the Associated Press reports that a Pennsylvania mother serving a two day jail sentence has died while still in prison. Her crime? Her children hadn't always gone to school, and she had been fined $2000 in courts costs related to that fact.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/naked-holding-cells-and-debtors-prison-the-latest-injustices-for-women-in-the-prison-system.html#ixzz34uEryvTj

I do believe you may have a lack of compassion for other people, people you do not know. Possibly, Due to a lack of knowledge of the world around you. Parents can mean well, but may face problems, problems you have no knowledge of, and probably (from your postings) could care less.

Some understanding, comprehension, common sense and compassion is what is needed --- NOT COLLEGE DEGREES associated with a norrow areas of study.

Diane, I have taught, but not in the same sense as a grade school or high school teacher and I have learned but not in your typical class room. I have traveled parts of the world and learned different cultures, I have learned a great deal on day to day basis from people that new more than I knew. I have studied math you have most likely never heard of.

I have a diverse education from the US Navy to the oil transportation industry from Chicago to Huston and spots in between! 

I have trained (that is teaching) adults in accomplishing many different jobs.
I have studied and practiced leadership.
Leadershp is not taking credit for what others do, leadershp is not boasting. Leadership is allowing others to accopmiish and to take pride in their accomplishments.

I have also learned there is so much more to life than your opinion or my opinion.
One very important thing, i have learned is I am never through learning.

So please Diane teach me!

Teach me:
Teach me Comprehension
Teach me Understanding
Teach me Common Sense
Most of all Teach me Compassion for my fellow man!

Use all your college skills and teach me, perhaps others can learn from the lessons.

In the mean time where is your input about Comon Core? Do you like Obama's Common Core?

Do you believe there is always room for improvement in the educational standards?

Should the West Elk USD 282 School Board just continue to ignore the possibility of improving educational standards and continue to concentrate on Sports?

Today is the counting of the School Bond Issue Ballots to build a new gymnasium and I am going to observe, something new for me and I might just learn something. How about that Diane a learning experience. I hope to learn how badly it failed thanks to the great people of Elk County.

I am so glad you don't ignore me, because you are a learning experience, all by yourself. Thank you.

TTYL

Well, Diane, you can't expect more of a person than they are capable of doing.  As you know, there are students that you can talk to until you're blue in the face and they are no further along than they were when you first got started.  In the meantime...It is soooo nice to get to talk to all of you again!!!  ;D ;D

Quote from: Catwoman on June 17, 2014, 09:13:00 AM
Well, Diane, you can't expect more of a person than they are capable of doing.  As you know, there are students that you can talk to until you're blue in the face and they are no further along than they were when you first got started.  In the meantime...It is soooo nice to get to talk to all of you again!!!  ;D ;D

And Diane the above demonstrates how narrow minded some teachers can be and possibly lack the skills to communicate properly!

Now about improving education for children and enticing teachers to teach, is Obama's Common Core and no tenure the way to accomplish better educational standards?

Should School Board Members be involved in educational standards or sports only?

Or is it fighting anyone that suggest that thing could be improved the way to go?

I've got the questions and would enjoy some real answers to discuss.

Oh durn that ignore thing failed again or was it the user that failed ?

There is surely a lesson there! LOL

Cat, Ross just isn't wired to do anything with education except gripe and find fault. I give up. Now he will start on you. See how he is? Twists and turns and making attachments where there are none and putting in material that has nothing to do with a teacher's responsibility. Not to mention there are are state laws that cover what teachers can and cannot do and may or may not do. After all, if kids don't go to school or never even go on the first day it must be the teacher's fault, right? I remember one poor little guy I had who transferred in from Tennessee.... except he didn't show up for school. We didn't even know we were to get him until his papers showed up weeks later from his previous school. They didn't know where he went, he just stopped coming and it took some detective work to find out where he had gone. He hadn't been going anywhere. He left the old school and was never registered anywhere else. But that's all the teacher's fault, right? Later on he killed himself. Very sad.
Now Ross is boasting ...he doesn't even know what he was doing is called training, not teaching.  ;) Now I have no "compassion?" What a crock! WOW.
Excuse me now, I have to go start a lesson plan for a unit I was asked to teach for the summer school kids from the Delaware School for the Deaf.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 17, 2014, 02:16:42 PM
Cat, Ross just isn't wired to do anything with education except gripe and find fault.

Not really Cat, Ross would like to see improvements in School Attitude and School Board Attitude.

Total concentration on Sports is not what Education is all about.

We defeated the School Boards plan for a new gymnasium today.

Yes the bond issue failed just as they predicted.

Oh by the way,  what do you know about Obama's Common Core?   Nothing?

So if they are so educated why waste taxpayer and student money to hold the election?

Attitude that's why!

They had already said months ago they would do another Bond issue in November, that is their plan. No they did not put it in the minutes of the meeting just as a lot of other things don't make the minutes.

Are these supposedly elite educated officials going to set an example for the Students by bullying the voters and taxpayers by using another bond issue for the third time?

Only time will tell ?

I may be a smart ass but I ain't no dumb ass !

I am fully in favor of improvements in education and a fancy sports arena does not meet tht standard.

To bad you so called teachers fail to comprehend simple facts.

Well, starting in on someone is rather dependent upon that person actually hearing you...Which isn't happening anymore, thank God.  Let me know how the lesson plans for the School for the Deaf go.  You shouldn't have any problem turning out something that they will all greatly enjoy!!!   :) :)

just

Quote from: Catwoman on June 17, 2014, 07:13:58 PM
Well, starting in on someones is rather dependent upon that person actually hearing you...Which isn't happening anymore, thank God.  Let me know how the lesson plans for the School for the Deaf go.  You shouldn't have any problem turning out something that they will all greatly enjoy!!!   :) :)

You know what, lot's of people are reading this and i am sure it has to be for the entertainment value, LOL.
Cause ya can't seem to communicate anything sensible, Concerning the subject of thread.

Where did you go to school?
Did they teach anything about staying on subject?
Is that part of your college degree by any chance?

I enjoy you and Diane tremendously for the entertainment value myself. LOL
Just keep letting educational standards continue to slip away, right?
No improvement with that kind of thinking is there?

And apparently ya think Sports is  more important than improving Education.

The majrity of voters in Elk County don't think so.

Your Konnected buddies lost their election again, sorry - not.     LOL
Do you think they will continue on into the realm of bullying the voters and taxpayers?

But what can one expect from long distant people to Elk County? Just a bunch of bull shit!
Oop's sorry -- not!    LOL

Ya just don't have a clue about Obama's Common Core do you?

Quote from: ROSS on June 17, 2014, 09:30:12 PM
Ya just don't have a clue about Obama's Common Core do you?

Among other things.   ::)

So the back cover just joined up with the front cover...same book. Poor Cat,now it's her turn to be insulted... and she's a current teacher! tsk.tsk. It's a shame she won't see your snipe.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 18, 2014, 10:04:02 AM
So the back cover just joined up with the front cover...same book. Poor Cat,now it's her turn to be insulted... and she's a current teacher! tsk.tsk. It's a shame she won't see your snipe.

It's not a snipe !

It's a fact!

NOW it"s time for teacher to learn>

Hurry over to google and study COMMON CORE. lol

Diane, Catwoman will see this, remember education she said was not on ignore!

Besides I don't think either teacher knows how to use the ignore program.

Because you both eep showing up.

You might ask a kid hw to use it, they are real smart on computer.

More often than not smarter than their teachers and the computer techs that set the so called safety's. LOL

No insults just facts.

Bye-bye for now, until you return.

Hey Ross,
You like to discuss things publicly so let's discuss a few points from some of your recent posts.
1.  It was voters from West Elk USD 282 area that defeated the bond issue---not Elk County.  There are plenty of voters in Elk County outside West Elk's boundaries plus West Elk includes portions of Greenwood and Chautauqua County.
2.  How do you presume to know why the people voted as they did.  You lump the majority into a group opposing sports and athletics.  Was that the question on the ballot?  I didn't think so.  The question was rather there should be a bond issue created---for more things than just expanding/improving sports/athletics.
3.  It was Diane that put you on ignore, except for educational posts--not Catwoman.  You should read more carefully so you can criticize the right people.
4.  When has either Diane or Catwoman stated they put sports/athletics ahead of educational improvements?
Can you cite us a post where they did?  Or do you just feel you have the right to put your words into other people's mouths.  You must, based on the numerous times you have said that I'm KONNECTED, regardless of the explanations that I have provided to the contrary.
5.  When you can stay on the original topic of a thread, then you can criticize those that don't.  I couldn't begin to count the times you have changes topics, or 'hi-jacked' someone else's thread by inundating it with your personal, unrelated thoughts and opinions.
6.  I do not live in Elk County.  I do not live in USD 282.  I can't vote in elections for either.  I do pay taxes to both entities, so I feel perfectly justified in discussing issues involving them.  You don't necessarily have to be a resident to have a voice.
7.  You've gone on and on about how folks must think the local education system(s) can't be improved.  Can you cite me an instance where someone actually said that it can't?  I doubt it.  To your way of thinking, it appears that unless someone actually says that such-and-such can happen/change/whatever, then they must feel that it can't.  That's rather flawed logic.  You must be a homosexual, because we've never heard you say you weren't.  I know, that's an unfair example, but it gets the message across.
8.  Yes I know very little of this has anything to do with Common Core education, but most all of it has been talked about on this thread.
BTW, I numbered each point here, so it might be a little easier for you to separate, quote, and rebut each one.

 I take it I missed out on someone insulting me....????? lol  Hmmmmmm.  Ah, well, I've been called worse by better people.  Careful there, Mr. Durbin.  You are going to set yourself up for prolonged harranguing from the peanut gallery.  I have to admit, having the ignore option has greatly increased the peace and quiet.  You know, Diane, you said that you use the ignore option on everything but education.  Unlike you, once I have put someone on ignore, I don't read anything they've written.  It doesn't matter to me what the subject is...They are gone.  The mere fact that you actually care enough to try to read them when it comes to education?  Good for you...But I won't be joining you.  There is nothing they have to say that I am interested in hearing.

Well said Dan, great to see you post again.

Quote from: ddurbin on June 18, 2014, 01:36:30 PM
Hey Ross,
You like to discuss things publicly so let's discuss a few points from some of your recent posts.
1.  It was voters from West Elk USD 282 area that defeated the bond issue---not Elk County.  There are plenty of voters in Elk County outside West Elk's boundaries plus West Elk includes portions of Greenwood and Chautauqua County.
2.  How do you presume to know why the people voted as they did.  You lump the majority into a group opposing sports and athletics.  Was that the question on the ballot?  I didn't think so.  The question was rather there should be a bond issue created---for more things than just expanding/improving sports/athletics.
3.  It was Diane that put you on ignore, except for educational posts--not Catwoman.  You should read more carefully so you can criticize the right people.
4.  When has either Diane or Catwoman stated they put sports/athletics ahead of educational improvements?
Can you cite us a post where they did?  Or do you just feel you have the right to put your words into other people's mouths.  You must, based on the numerous times you have said that I'm KONNECTED, regardless of the explanations that I have provided to the contrary.
5.  When you can stay on the original topic of a thread, then you can criticize those that don't.  I couldn't begin to count the times you have changes topics, or 'hi-jacked' someone else's thread by inundating it with your personal, unrelated thoughts and opinions.
6.  I do not live in Elk County.  I do not live in USD 282.  I can't vote in elections for either.  I do pay taxes to both entities, so I feel perfectly justified in discussing issues involving them.  You don't necessarily have to be a resident to have a voice.
7.  You've gone on and on about how folks must think the local education system(s) can't be improved.  Can you cite me an instance where someone actually said that it can't?  I doubt it.  To your way of thinking, it appears that unless someone actually says that such-and-such can happen/change/whatever, then they must feel that it can't.  That's rather flawed logic.  You must be a homosexual, because we've never heard you say you weren't.  I know, that's an unfair example, but it gets the message across.
8.  Yes I know very little of this has anything to do with Common Core education, but most all of it has been talked about on this thread.
BTW, I numbered each point here, so it might be a little easier for you to separate, quote, and rebut each one.

Chivalry is not dead ddurbin will defend the educated ladies that can not communicate for themselves, Let's hear it for ddurbin hip. Hip hooray! Enuf!

Now besides all the blah, blah, blah and pick, pick, pick thank you for the laugh of the day. And I quote:

Quote from: ddurbin on June 18, 2014, 01:36:30 PM
You must be a homosexual, because we've never heard you say you weren't.  I know, that's an unfair example, but it gets the message across.

You may believe whatever you wish Mr. Durbin it won't bother me one little bit.

You take things way to serious.

I make my points as my personal opinion and I don't ask anyone to believe a word I say.
Yet it bothers you and your girls tremendously, I therefore must ass/u/me that you either believe people will believe it as gospel or that people might discuss what I post and find the real truth elsewhere. Therefore, I am inclined to feel, I am accomplishing something. Thank you for your acknowledgement of myself and my posts.

Oh, one more thing a college degree does not make a person educated in all facets of life, usually only in one occupation. It really isn't the panacea for everything. I bet you didn't think I could put them thar words together like that did ya. LOL

Oh, I understand you think I should get upset and be offended and get terribly mad at you, but I apologize I can't do that. See how a negative can be a good thing.

I'd gladly by you a cup of coffee at Q-mart in Moline someday, if you have time sometime, let me know.

Thank you for all the time you put in to above quoted post.

You have a great evening, okay.

Bye-bye !

Quote from: frawin on June 18, 2014, 02:55:41 PM
Well said Dan, great to see you post again.

Yes, a great post. Keep up the good work.

Why are you so bent on the negative comments about those of us who have college educations? My IQ would be just as high and my typing just as bad without it!
I have encouraged a number of people in my life to go back to school to get their GED.They did and never regretted it. One in particular went back to encourage his son, who was threatening to quit. His son was then so impressed with his father that he got himself turned around and finally graduated with very good grades.
Ralph worked his whole career on the line at GM, having grown up in the deep south with a severely alcoholic father who beat everyone whoever came near him.
Ralph finally ran away and did odd jobs here and there until he landed here. He married and had twins, one of which died of SIDS.  He was so impressed with how hard everyone on the ambulance worked to save the baby, and how kind they were to his family, he joined the fire company.. Some time later be took the EMT course and with a lot of tutoring from several of us, he passed on his second try. He eventually became the Ambulance Captain and was one of the best, most caring, EMTs we ever had. He was never very strong academically, but always managed to pass everything eventually I was so proud of him when he passed his GED, because those are hard courses! Even after, he took more night courses ,just because. He was always very gracious to those of us who helped,tutored and encouraged him. I'd like to have 50 more just like him. 
He didn't have a mean or jealous bone in his body, even though his early life had been tough. Unfortunately, he was a heavy smoker and had to have to have his larynx removed and a stoma created  to save his life after he developed throat cancer.( It was funny to hear him on the radio with his mechanical voice.) He then got involved with the American Cancer Society and helped new stoma patients.  BUT he was not going to give up riding just because of cancer, which eventually got him.  He was always a sweet loving person that everyone liked being around. Now I'll let you figure out why I wrote this.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 19, 2014, 11:57:21 AM
Why are you so bent on the negative comments about those of us who have college educations?

Because most of you think a degree is some subject makes you smart in all aspects of life.
That intellectual thinking makes for idiots.

And to you people think beloging to some rink dink organization makes you smarter another idiotic opinion.

I apologize for the ugliness of this response but sometimes the truth is just plain ugl.

You asked I answered.

Just skip on over to the hottest thread on the forum and read about some of those idiots.

Go ahead and slap me silly.

This thread was meant to bring awareness to those that might be unaware of the cons of Common Core nothing more.

'' Most of you"? Wow, I had no idea you had met so many of us. How you know that is our (my ) thinking is beyond me. Do we all have an extra eye or something that gives us away?  ;D  Goodness, how judgmental! I'll say it again, a number of occupations demand education and advanced degrees. It's not like people have a choice. Does your church encourage such negative behavior? A "rink dink" organization? Such as ? Anyone who wants to know about Common Core has many many ways of finding out about it.Then on the flip side are the parents who want an easy path for their kids, want the education wheels greased and will blame any thing and anyone for their problems...except the student.
Personally, I have never stopped learning. My interest in life is very deep and very real.I don't expect anthing from it, except personal satisfaction.I read constantly ,and not just puff pieces like People . I enjoy many things and love learning new things, even now. National Geographic, Natural History and others like it. They are very well written.Ya can't help but learn something.
Why tar everyone with the same brush? Of course there are educated people who are well "book learned" and still haven't a lick of sense. I don't have to attack them publicly to deal with them, just as there are business people of all kinds who are terrible at their jobs. Even self employed tradesmen can be real stinkers and not have a clue what they are doing...and for that the innocent public, who trust and shouldn't, pay through the nose. Just because a person has a one bad experience doesn't mean they should generalize that all trades men or truck drivers or mechanics are crooks!One should make individual judgements based on outcome.For people who really don't like people, it must be hard finding anyone who lives up to their impossible expectations.
You don't know nearly as much about Common Core as you think you do. Look at the objectivity of your sources. There are schools that are thriving on it as far as it goes now. If it's so terrible, why is that? Remember when computers first hit our lives? Why didn't ALL parents rear back and demand that all those expensive toys be tossed in favor of the "old ways."
Sure Common Core may fail, just as the "New Math" did. You better hope that teachers are just as flexible as they always have been and will teach what needs to be taught in public schools no matter.
You aren't old enough to remember when Kansas kids had one set of Kansas state approved Readers from which all Kansas kids learned to read...or didn't.Ya couldn't keep up, eventually out the door you went. They felt no guilt about not teaching the difficult students. I have two of my parents' Kansas Readers. It very enlightening to see what those kids were expected to read.It's a shame so few can live up to you;
whatever it is you have to offer must get lost in personality judgements. My opinions and I'm stictin' to them or ya can fu-ged-about it.

Blah, blah, blah.

You asked and you recieved an answer.
Your education is very limited that does not make any you smarter than someone without a degree.

It is a very narrow education.

Yiu were even dissing things you know nothing about except for maybe reading.
You were busy dissing parents for not getting their kids to school, well diss you and your lack of compassion associated with your high and mighty degree.

When have you ever been a struggling single mother, huh when? When have you experienced it in real life, so as you can bad mouth them for not getting their kids to school?

When have you ever expperienced homeless and joblessness, no I don't mean reading a book? I mean experience the fear and axieties that go with it.

When have you ever exerienced poverty? When?

No you have no education, but you can diss the parent that may be having those very experiences   and oh the poor, poor teacher suffers so much.

I have had much the same as those experiences.  I was raised in poverty, I have experienced joblessness and homelessness and the fears and anxieties that go with it, when I was laid off from  a very well pay paying job and had a wife that wanted to marry my best friend. Poor guy!

I have most likely had far better paying jobs than you have had and that's not boasting. I have actually been very fortunate in my life. Much more fortunate in my life than many other people and I am thankful to God for the real lessons in life that I have learned.  I don't diss the poor or the races or the religions of others. I have in fact embraced each and every one of those things. 

Oh I know of the readers of which you speak, I even remember the little chalk boards students carried to and from school.

I have had tons of experiences in my life. I also have education in more than just a trade.

As far as organizations, that's right I have no use for them and ther politics and their demands, that includes the churches and their politics and demands. I probably have a stroger belief in God than most church goers. I said probably!

I don't need someone as president of some organization with their rule book  to tell me what to do or think or when to do it. And that there right onlu sums up part of what organizations are about, in my opinion.

Just wonder over to http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,11780.0.html and refresh your self on what the educated idiots have done in and/to just Elk County. Then take at a look at how the educated idiot in the White House and all his yes men have damaged our country.

Yes. Diane I may be far better educated than you. You think your job a teacher extends to being parent of the children beyond the class room, I'm sorry Diane it does not, wake up. It's not your job to be a social worker, a nurse, a shrink or a judge and jury of the parents. Nor is it the job of any educator or Adinistration to be the parent of any child. Being a teacher in the class room and answering to the parent and the administration  who answers to the elected officials of the taxpayers and voters, that's your job. Be it the ABC's or the 123's or spelling in the class room. If you want to teach, you teach the children in the class room very simple.

If you want to argue with me about what I say or do here   Elk County be repared to be matched with what ever I feel you deserve. You live in Delaware and I live here in Elk County, Kansas and pay   taxes and vote here.I am considered an outsider here by the locals even though I live here and provide financial support to the in local ecoomy and support the local government through property taxation. So just what the hell is someone clear up in Delaware with their nose in Elk County, Kansas business called? Perhaps a busy body alien! Do you at suppose that might work?

A degree in dentistry is much good in heart surgery is it. A degree psychiatry isn't much good in constructing a septic system, or raising a crop in the field, or raising a heard of cattle, or teaching children in a school classroom, right? 

I have fired Doctors and hospitals and psychiatrists with the blessings of my insurance company. I have reamed out goverment supervisors and military officers all because of their ignorance. No, I was never reprimanded for my actions. A college degree does not insure intellegence, I have seen the ignorance of college educated idiots far to many times in my life. So if someone flashes a college degree at me it means very little, I amnot easily impressed.

Thank you and live with it.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Via ABC News:

Michelle Obama said she'll fight to prevent Congress from rolling back changes to school lunch standards across the country, telling a small group of reporters that folding now is "unacceptable."

"Of course it's hard. That we expected," the first lady said of getting school cafeterias and students on board with healthier fare.

"We expected those challenges, particularly among our oldest kids who've grown up eating junk food," she added. "But what we did not expect was for the grownups to go along with it and say, 'Well, this is too hard and it costs too much money so let's stop even though we have 90 percent compliance.'"

The House Appropriations Committee voted in May to allow schools to temporarily opt out of the school dietary requirements — a move interpreted by some as the first step toward an overhaul of the standards.

"Would you ever say, 'Let's just stop now and start over because we have 10 percent left to do?" Obama told reporters, including ABC News' chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser. "That's where we are right now and that's just unacceptable."

But some critics say the first lady's stats are inaccurate.

"The government continues to perpetuate the fiction that 90 percent of school cafeterias are successfully meeting the federal nutrition standards being debated by Congress. This is unfortunate and irresponsible," Patti Montague, chief executive officer of the School Nutrition Association, said in a statement.

Great post, Warph!  Wish schools would go back to actually cooking the meals on-site, instead of using a central kitchen.  All of the pre-processed foods are higher in salt, sugar and fat.  I remember the meals cooked by the ladies in the kitchen...Nutritious and yummy.  There was far less food thrown away then than there is these days.  There was a movement among the professional chefs some years ago to bring back real cooking in the school, proving that it was far more nutritious and more cost effective to actually cook the meals on-site...The problem with that?  You have to actually have people in the kitchen who can cook, not just warm things up.

Cat I agree too. Our cafeteria ladies aren't allowed to cook any more either...very sad.

Warning, read at your own risk.Your own personal blowhard is in the building. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D I do have to do a retort to Ross. He's giving me hives. Ross you couldn't be more wrong about what a teacher is responsible for. You ever hear of "in loco parentis? "We have to report potential abuse, etc. and yes, we are social workers and nurses too and lots of other things too.  Don't give me any crap about poor struggling single working mothers .You wouldn't believe the bend -over- backward arrangements the school had to accommodate them! Opening the school doors early so Mom wouldn't be late for work, after care programs so the Moms could come to school to get them after work. Some Principals actually called the house...if they had phones, to be sure the kids got up. Classroom teachers were left out of that, administrative staff takes/took care of it.
Compassion my big toe. Ross yer breaking Di's law again.You don't know that you don't know. You have painted a very clear picture of yourself though. Very sad.
In the Maryland school I taught in, as an EMT, I was the school nurse, so to speak. She only stopped in for a few hours one day a week to check for lice, scabies and do paperwork. Hurt kids were brought to me to bind, splint or whatever was needed beyond a band aid and a kiss from the school secretary. Then the parents were called and / or the Principal took the child to Union Hospital, which was right down the street. In serious cases the ambulance was called, which was right across the street from the school. Of course since I also had a double minor in art and music,I played instruments, was in the band and learned to draw and paint, do pottery and sculpture and more, all which was useful in the classroom. Why do I have to 'prove" any of this to you?
As far as the rest of my education... Do you have any idea how much education it takes to be a Nationally Registered EMT? I was a state instructor for EMT and I was a National Registry examiner. I was one of a group that gave the exams, both practical and written. The amount of knowledge we had to have even surprised some docs. It was/is ridiculous! So, there is a lot more to my knowledge base than you think..not to mention the never ending con ed and testing we as the instructors have/had to do too. I worked very hard for it and will not apologize for succeeding.
As for money, help yourself. It's never been the most important thing in my life. Thanks to my parents, who also took their education seriously . Plus, I married a man who did too, and went on for more degrees to help him at work.
Why does my education bother you so much? You just don't know the fun you are missing...like the old days of the forum. Lots of us had a lot of fun on here. It wasn't just one big gripe session. That was saved for Fridays.
Now I have to go work on the ambulance fund drive return coupons, which some folks refuse to fill out and then they wonder why they don't get credit for their donations. One poor fellow, who I assume is very old, is insisting it's still 2013 and he had already donated. He had..in the real  May 2013. He did enclose a check, but I have to be sure he understands he's covered, but didn't donate twice. When folk do donate to our fund drive, we don't balance bill. We accept whatever their insurance or Medicare pays.
Oh, and for more education, I also worked part time at a local bindery. I did editing, lay out and learned to run the big page cutter and staple machine.
Now,  I think I'll take a nice long break and you can be a spitting cobra and send your self appointed ignorant  hatin' venom at some other poor unsuspecting teacher. Pushin' the ignore button. Blah.

 ::) Diane...Don't waste your time or typing abilities trying to educate the uneducable.  The peanut gallery foreman has no idea what it is that we do on a daily basis...The monies spent out of our own pockets to make the room halfway decent for our students...The level of training/re-training/etc. it takes to not only keep up with the new developments in Education but also to keep fresh on what has already been learned...The level of preparedness it takes in order to maintain licensure.  You are to be commended for continuing to try to bring enlightenment on the subject of teacher/being a teacher...But give it up as a bad job and keep the <ignore> button on.  The funny thing about how that works...I have the feeling that everything we post can be seen by the persons we have on the ignore list.  It is only us who cannot see what they post (thank GOD).  I might be wrong about that but I doubt it.  I would never dream of telling a doctor how to do their job, in spite of the multitudinous hours spent in a doctor's office.  It always amazes me how many people think that, just because they have a basic high school education, they are sitting in a position to tell any and all educators how to do their job.  That would be like a landscape architect, having worked on the grounds of the Menninger Foundation, thinking that they were capable of diagnosing mental illness just because "they had been around it enough to know".   Hang in there, Diane!

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
Cat I agree too. Our cafeteria ladies aren't allowed to cook any more either...very sad.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
Warning, read at your own risk.Your own personal blowhard is in the building. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I must agree with you, although I would never have said it. You did a perfect job. See, I can be complimentary.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
I do have to do a retort to Ross. He's giving me hives. Ross you couldn't be more wrong about what a teacher is responsible for. You ever hear of "in loco parentis? "We have to report potential abuse, etc.

       Retort = say something in answer to a remark or accusation, typically in a sharp,             angry, or wittily incisive manner. say something in answer to a remark or accusation, typically in a sharp, angry, or wittily incisive manner.

No accusations so it must be remarks.
Nothing sharp or witty so it must be anger.
Doesn't anger lead to hatred?

Everyone is responsible for reporting abuse, so what is new there? It is not just a teacher's responsibility. A little common sense, please.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
and yes, we are social workers and nurses too and lots of other things too. 

No teachers are teachers not social workers.
Merriam Webster -  any of various professional activities or methods concretely concerned with providing social services and especially with the investigation, treatment, and material aid of the economically, physically, mentally, or socially disadvantaged

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
Don't give me any crap about poor struggling single working mothers .You wouldn't believe the bend -over- backward arrangements the school had to accommodate them! Opening the school doors early so Mom wouldn't be late for work, after care programs so the Moms could come to school to get them after work. Some Principals actually called the house...if they had phones, to be sure the kids got up. Classroom teachers were left out of that, administrative staff takes/took care of it.

I never gave you a bit of crap about the underprivileged of our society, I said you lacked compassion for them because you lack any life experience concerning real problems of the real people of the world. Even some well to do and even highly educated have ended up jobless and homeless. And my position on that is that I have experienced joblessness and homelessness and as for my present situation, I believe only that only by the grace of God I was able to pull myself up to the standard of life that I have.

The school bends over backwards not for the purpose of education, but because they
lose money for every child that misses school and that is for every day they miss school. That my dear is about money.

And though, I am not a shrink that attitude you have posted most assuredly is passed to the children of those people you appear to hold in such distain. It doesn't take a shrink to understand that.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
Compassion my big toe. Ross yer breaking Di's law again.You don't know that you don't know. You have painted a very clear picture of yourself though. Very sad.

Di's laws do not exist through out the universe, only in your mind and in your posting.
Attempting to tell people how and what and when to post is a real fault of yours, you really have no say on this forum or on this internet. Would you care to borrow my tinfoil hat?

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
In the Maryland school I taught in, as an EMT, I was the school nurse, so to speak.

So to speak --- what crap. See paragraph #2 above.

Were you hired as a teacher or as an EMT?  Oh Schools do not hire EMT's do they?

I personally have known youngsters in their very early 20's that were EMT's. Why do you suppose that is?

EMT Requirements
All states require EMTs to be licensed; however, licensing requirements vary by state and EMT level. Becoming licensed entails formal training at the EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate or EMT-Paramedic level. Training programs vary from 2-6 month and are available at emergency medical service academies, community colleges, technical schools and universities.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
She only stopped in for a few hours one day a week to check for lice, scabies and do paperwork. Hurt kids were brought to me to bind, splint or whatever was needed beyond a band aid and a kiss from the school secretary.

Give me a break! Please refer to your statement above in paragraph #2.

School nurses can be assigned to several school buildings and called at anytime and must respond.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
Then the parents were called and / or the Principal took the child to Union Hospital, which was right down the street. In serious cases the ambulance was called, which was right across the street from the school. Of course since I also had a double minor in art and music,I played instruments, was in the band and learned to draw and paint, do pottery and sculpture and more, all which was useful in the classroom. Why do I have to 'prove" any of this to you?

Again Diane it is an administrative problem not a teacher problem.
You don't have to prove anything to me.
I too in my professions and various employment positions have had various studies, so what?

I have studied electrical, mechanical and electronics and many other things, but they do not make me any smarter or dumber than any other human being. The same holds true of a silly diploma.
   

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
As far as the rest of my education... Do you have any idea how much education it takes to be a Nationally Registered EMT? I was a state instructor for EMT and I was a National Registry examiner. I was one of a group that gave the exams, both practical and written. The amount of knowledge we had to have even surprised some docs. It was/is ridiculous! So, there is a lot more to my knowledge base than you think..not to mention the never ending con ed and testing we as the instructors have/had to do too. I worked very hard for it and will not apologize for succeeding.

EMT Requirements
All states require EMTs to be licensed; however, licensing requirements vary by state and EMT level. Becoming licensed entails formal training at the EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate or EMT-Paramedic level. Training programs vary from 2-6 month and are available at emergency medical service academies, community colleges, technical schools and universities.

An instructor is not necessarily required to be an EMT. And the key word is was. I was many things when I was working as well. I was a teacher of sorts, I was a leader, I was a worker, I was a mentor, I was.

So what is the point of was? Today I still have compassion for others that have and face hardships.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
As for money, help yourself. It's never been the most important thing in my life. Thanks to my parents, who also took their education seriously . Plus, I married a man who did too, and went on for more degrees to help him at work.

This is not about money, this is about respect for people and compassion for people.
I've told you, I have had friends that were multi-millionaires that were down to earth people and not of the uppity variety. I also knew of people that were jealous of them and their money, which I felt was ridiculous.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
Why does my education bother you so much? You just don't know the fun you are missing...like the old days of the forum. Lots of us had a lot of fun on here. It wasn't just one big gripe session. That was saved for Fridays.

Your education does not bother me, it's you attitude about it that bothers me.
Attitude is everything. The lack of compassion for the underprivileged no matter if it is their fault or the fault of the greatest bank robbery of our nation history that caused a lot of people to loose their homes and jobs makes no difference. They were seriously hurt and many have not been able to recoup.

You do not control the forum do you?

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
Now I have to go work on the ambulance fund drive return coupons, which some folks refuse to fill out and then they wonder why they don't get credit for their donations. One poor fellow, who I assume is very old, is insisting it's still 2013 and he had already donated. He had..in the real  May 2013. He did enclose a check, but I have to be sure he understands he's covered, but didn't donate twice. When folk do donate to our fund drive, we don't balance bill. We accept whatever their insurance or Medicare pays.

It just isn't out of compassion is it, it is out of self importance provided by the public and possibly a picture in the local newspaper isn't it?

I do have a brother that retired as a fireman and an EMT. So I do know a few things.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
Oh, and for more education, I also worked part time at a local bindery. I did editing, lay out and learned to run the big page cutter and staple machine.

Yea for you!
Did they teach compassion and humility with that?

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 20, 2014, 06:19:03 PM
Now,  I think I'll take a nice long break and you can be a spitting cobra and send your self appointed ignorant  hatin' venom at some other poor unsuspecting teacher. Pushin' the ignore button. Blah.

In closing:

Diane it's about your carrying on, because you have an education with a degree, but that lacks compassion and humility.

Hell, I've known people with Phd's that are not much brighter than a 50 what light bulb.

I sat on a Board of Governors with Doctors and other such people of the so called upper crust and elite who could not solve the simplest of problems.  And up pops this old redneck with a simple solution.

You asked, I told you. And you call it hate because you can not handle the truth which causes you to elicit my pity and sympathy by calling it hate.

I hate absolutely no one or nothing. So based on your limited education you apparently don't know the difference between hate and disagreement.

Hate is a very terrible emotion, one emotion I have experienced only once in my life time many, many years ago. Also, it is an emotion, I never wish to experience again. I have told you that before.   Hate is an extremely strong word often used to fend off disagreements and often used as an insult. I am not insulted or intimidated by a person using such tactics out of ignorance and or arrogance.  I'm sorry, I do not make your problems mine and that is your problem, not mine.

Try to be nice to yourself and have a great weekend.

Oh and Diane please listen to Catwomans advice, you are both of the like minds, as your Elk Konnected friends like to say.

The Narrow mindedness that there is no room for improvement in educating our children.
And apparently have no clue about Obama's Common Core.
I've asked and never recieved even a wisper about Common Core so it is apparent!

Goodnight and sweet dreams.

Cat,once again you are correct.For some reason Ross needs to find flaws in me even though he only knows of me superficially, except for his all powerful and never failing crystal ball. Apparently he learned "compassion" as a new vocabulary word and now needs to prove that some of us don't have any. ;D   If teachers aren't social workers in the educational and school sense, why did we have to take all those classes? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
I hate to admit defeat, but I finally give up. He is unreacheable and will stay in the center if his own little world taking pot shots at whatever he disagrees with and anyone who holds a different opinion or has a different center. He just can't disagree without rudely attacking. So be it. I learned to not to put up with it and attack back, but it gets me nowhere and isn't the real me. So he can go on being the burr under the local saddles and wonder why he doesn't get appreciated very much.
Thanks Cat. I quit, except for the  threads he has nothing to do with.  When will we get to read more of your great poetry?

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 21, 2014, 09:05:50 AM
Cat,once again you are correct.For some reason Ross needs to find flaws in me even though he only knows of me superficially, except for his all powerful and never failing crystal ball. Apparently he learned "compassion" as a new vocabulary word and now needs to prove that some of us don't have any. ;D   If teachers aren't social workers in the educational and school sense, why did we have to take all those classes? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
I hate to admit defeat, but I finally give up. He is unreacheable and will stay in the center if his own little world taking pot shots at whatever he disagrees with and anyone who holds a different opinion or has a different center. He just can't disagree without rudely attacking. So be it. I learned to not to put up with it and attack back, but it gets me nowhere and isn't the real me. So he can go on being the burr under the local saddles and wonder why he doesn't get appreciated very much.
Thanks Cat. I quit, except for the  threads he has nothing to do with.  When will we get to read more of your great poetry?

I have told you many times of your lack of comprehensiom and then you started dissing parents of of disadvantaged children still using the lack of comprehension which show a lack of compassion.
Niether the word or the action of the word are new to me but your lack of comprehension of it is.

Outstanding news.
Stick to pottery, poetry and painting.
When you paint a picaso let us know!
I will sorely miss you Diane.

Bye, bye again! Because you have said that before!
Remember the ignore program that failed you.

Please educate us on that one!

oh and by the way it may just behoove you to study the niational issue often refered to as Obama Common Core. That is if you really care about children, rather than just using them as a tool in arguments.

And consider the fact that education in K-12 can and should be improved from the lowered standards of the past couple of decades.

Oh, Bye-bye again my little figment.

I'll have to post some more on the Poetry board...I recently threw out about a shoebox full of the stuff.  You are adept at poetry, if I recall??  ;)  Perhaps a haiku about hopeless causes??? lol

Quote from: Catwoman on June 21, 2014, 08:26:25 PM
I'll have to post some more on the Poetry board...I recently threw out about a shoebox full of the stuff.  You are adept at poetry, if I recall??  ;)  Perhaps a haiku about hopeless causes??? lol

How's this for a start on poetry:


Now about improving educational standards for the children of Kansas, what is your position on that?

And Obama Commo Core, do ou as a teacher have a clue?

Or is it just poetry and clay and junk that matter and not the children's education?

Is there a poetry thread? Can you find it teacher?

ROFLMAO! Higher education failing right here as pointed out by an unedumacated redneck.

Thank you ladies for proving a point about degrees.
Keep up the good work.

My personal view is:
There is a very good video that is slanted towards Common Core but still says Common Core isn't workable. I still believe it is about industry making Billions of Dollars and Federal Control. If you have seenany of the childrens papers posted by parents you can't help to believe it is about Dumbing Down of America. And the special needs children got and get left out the video says. Personhally I believe the states and local School Boards should wise up. Some teachers as well!

By  Kyle Olson
·Published June 21, 2014

When Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed a bill repealing Common Core national standards from her state's schools, it was perhaps the most ironic moment in the fight over the initiative.

Fallin is chairwoman of the National Governors Association, one of the private groups that hold the copyright of Common Core. (Yes, this marks the first time in history a private group has owned school standards.)

While Fallin wasn't governor at the time the standards were created and adopted, she nonetheless rejected her own organization's initiative.

In the same week, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley signed a bill to repeal Common Core and require the state to design its own standards for the 2015-2016 school year.

Indiana has repealed Common Core, too, though the replacement standards are largely seen as a disappointment because they virtually mirror the national standards.

Legislation is also making its way through the North Carolina legislature that would repeal Common Core there, as well.

"We want high standards. If there are pieces or components of Common Core that you think are age appropriate, they can take those individual pieces, but as a whole ... we want more rigorous standards," bill sponsor Rep. Bryan Holloway said.

In Oklahoma, after signing the bill, Fallin said, "Common Core was created with that well-intentioned goal in mind. ... It was originally designed as a state-led – not federal – initiative that each state could choose to voluntarily adopt.

"Unfortunately, federal overreach has tainted Common Core. President Obama and Washington bureaucrats have usurped Common Core in an attempt to influence state education standards. The results are predictable. What should have been a bipartisan policy is now widely regarded as the president's plan to establish federal control of curricula, testing and teaching strategies."

Fallin's 180-degree turn on Common Core was four years in the making, and was the result of valiant, persistent efforts from parents like Jenni White.

The parents started with "one legislator who wrote a bill for us to simply repeal Common Core from law," White, the leader of Restore Oklahoma Public Education tells me.

"It wasn't heard by the committee chairmen in either the Senate or the House in 2011 or 2012. In 2013, we had a bill for a task force to simply study the costs of the standards that made it through the rules committee, but was not brought to the House floor for a vote.

"This year we had several rallies, including one where 350 people came to the capitol at 9 a.m. to sit in an early Senate education committee meeting. There were people in the halls and standing room only in the Senate committee room and that seemed to turn the tide in our direction," she says.

But to hear Common Core advocates, none of this is happening.

The once credible Fordham Institute has been a virtual Baghdad Bob of Common Core proponents, denying there's a strong, reasoned anti-Common Core movement afoot just as Saddam Hussein's spokesman denied American troops were in Iraq while news footage showed them tearing across the desert.

Fordham's Michael Brickman jetted to Oklahoma to plead with the governor to veto the bill.

"Governor Fallin now faces a consequential crossroad of whether to stand up for strong education standards or to bend to vocal political critics," Brickman wrote in a last-minute analysis.

Despite how Brickman framed it, Fallin sided with states' rights and against the federal creep into American schools. And she dismissed the absurd notion that the Common Core national standards are the only way to raise the bar in schools. Only DC education elites could believe that.

Action in Oklahoma, South Carolina and North Carolina indicates the Common Core dam may be breaking.

In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal signed an executive order that requires his state to develop its own standards, and drops it out of the two main federally-funded testing consortia.

Missouri legislators have passed HB 1490, which would repeal Common Core in their state. It now sits on the desk of Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

In Ohio, activists are attempting to seize on the energy from the other states and recently held a rally at the statehouse. Some 300 people showed up.

At the rally, Rep. John Adams announced he is circulating a discharge petition to force a floor vote on repeal legislation.

"Why do we choose to use federal standards? Money. Politics. Failed leadership," Adams said.

By the way, all of these states have something in common: Republican governors and Republican-dominated legislatures.

Fallin's analysis of the situation is poignant and causes one to wonder why other states aren't responding as her state did, unless they're so hooked on federal money or so fearful of (or comfortable with) their Washington overlords that they wouldn't dare raise a hackle.

When the final analysis of the Common Core debacle is done, it will likely be concluded states shouldn't adopt substantial policy changes willy-nilly, all in the name of attracting federal cash. Because it always ends precisely how Fallin describes it.

The only ones left defending it will be the Baghdad Bobs insisting it is the "critics" – read: parents – to blame, not the incompetent power-grabbers in Washington.

Kyle Olson is founder of Education Action Group and EAGnews.org, a news service dedicated to education reform and school spending research, reporting, analysis and commentary.

I think this explains a lot about Teachers, Obama and Obama Common Core and how they are all tied together. Shouldn't teachers control their Unions or are they as cornfussed as every other organization in this nation?
Don't teachers elect their leaders?
They must be electing piss poor leaders?
I guess teachers need educated in how their union works? LOL


FROM WATCHDOG WIRE - PENNSYLVANIA


Disagreed with PA State Ed Association
June 19, 2014
by Bill Frye

I taught science full-time for more than two decades and enjoyed a rewarding career educating a generation of public school students in Westmoreland County. I retired from teaching earlier than I wanted, though, and I'd like to tell you why.

As a union member for most of my teaching career, I never disguised the fact that I disagreed with much of the Pennsylvania State Education Association's political dogma. The union promoted values and ideals that I not only disagreed with, but also routinely had no relevance to education.

Before you jump to conclusions, let me assure you that I'm not anti-union. I've been generally happy with the local union in my old school district. I've also been a member of the farmers' union all my life. Unions have an important place in society.

It is the state and national teachers' unions—the PSEA and the National Education Association—that I grew to resent. Their use of my union dues to support political causes I disagreed with ultimately led me to leave education.

Case in point: A school year's first teacher in-service day usually consists of the administration welcoming teachers, introducing new staff and outlining goals for the year. But in the fall of 2012, PSEA sponsored a pep rally and played a video for the entire school staff to encourage us to help re-elect President Barack Obama. Normally, events like this happen after the school workday—when attendance is voluntary, not when teachers are a captive audience.

What's more, the PSEA's magazine The Voice—which is sent to 180,000 members and paid for with our dues—regularly featured ads praising President Obama while denigrating and lampooning his opponents. Teachers paid for this political activity no matter which candidate we personally supported—and every other taxpayer paid for it as well.

How? Pennsylvania allows government unions to use taxpayer-funded payroll systems to collect their members' dues—as well as optional political action committee contributions that can be sent directly to politicians.

But aren't unions prohibited from using members' dues for politics? Take it from the PSEA itself: Last year, their magazine featured a notice that 12 percent (which amounts to $7 million) of teachers' dues would be used for political activity and lobbying. That's in addition to millions in PAC money.

Unions use teachers' money to advocate for policies that will leave teachers, students and all of us poorer. The main example is how the PSEA is advocating against reforming our deeply indebted public pension system.

One incentive for me to continue in public education was the pay and working conditions for educators. I looked forward to what, at least in my opinion, is a very generous retirement—which I will credit the unions for helping to achieve. But I'm also a landowner and property tax payer.
I feel sorry for people on fixed incomes—like some of my teacher colleagues who retired years ago—who will have to struggle to pay these rising taxes.

Everyone agrees the pension system, as it currently exists, is not sustainable. There are solutions to bring economic viability to the system. But the PSEA, using members' dues money, is one of the main roadblocks to reasonable reform. In a recent "alert" email to members, the union called the latest compromise proposal a "pension attack" that "targets women and new employees" while offering no solutions except to raise taxes.

I couldn't take any more of PSEA's fear-mongering and divisiveness on political issues, so I spoke out. As a result, the personal attacks I received (from union members) made me choose to retire and focus on my farm business.

But, as a taxpayer, there's no escape: I'm still forced to help PSEA collect its political money.

Legislation called paycheck protection would stop PSEA and other government unions from using public payroll systems to siphon their political money from teachers' pay.

I think if legislators truly support teachers, they should give teachers a bigger say over how their money is spent in the political world. Government unions might then engage in productive negotiation instead of political lobbying.

Bill Frye is a retired public school science teacher from Westmoreland County.

http://watchdogwire.com/pennsylvania/2014/06/19/opinion-retired-public-school-teacher-confesses-why-he-left-teaching/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sunday_25

Well Diane here it is just like I said, Word for Word, see:

I'll be carrying this back to the Political thread "Common Core Education And More About Federal Government Control" at http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,15765.160.html  where it belongs. Just because you choose to twist word about lacking compassion concerning poor people and their children attending school to something else changes nothing. Diane, don't you realize that twisting or omtting words is simply the same as lying? And it is not nice!

And Diane there is a difference between
Sympathy and Compassion!

Sympathy is a feeling or expression of pity or sorrow about someone's situation. Sympathy might indicate a genuine concern about the distress of another. Sympathy is a feeling ONLY. There is no action to solve the situation.

Compassion goes beyond merely having a feeling or expressing pity. Compassion is sharing the suffering. It is more than words and lip service. A compassionate person not only recognizes the needs of others, but also acts upon that need.


But fear not
I don't believe you will be accused
of either as an EMT.

Does that qualify as a Japanese Haiku ? LOL

Oh I like that, Boss Ross idea of yours Diane, but I retired from that and don't plan to do it again, Thank You.
I have told you about a boss's poem about me, in a previous post I do believe, but since you like poetry so much, I'll repeat it for just for you.

He use to love to say:

Here come Ross
The Boss
On the
Fautin' Hoss.

He had a college education too! Ain't that sweet!

Don't forget to visit the thread "Common Core Education And More About Federal Government Control" at http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,15765.160.html  where it belongs. Do it later today or possibly Tomorrow. This post of yours actually belongs there in an untwisted form.
I will definitely try to put some truth to it, Okay ---Ok.

Just to give you peace of mind Diane, don't worry about getting confused with being an elite, I doubt that will ever happen.

Now to get to your post paragraph by paragraph or sentence by sentence, my choice. LOL

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 22, 2014, 10:35:33 AM
I just took a break from clearing out the upstairs bathroom for the workmen tomorrow. I guess nobody can call me an elite snob after waiting 25 years to do a change up.  ;) Even at that it's very simple, nothing fancy at all.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 22, 2014, 10:35:33 AM
Hey Cat, I did write a new Haiku over in the poem section that Boss Ross had to say something hurtful about. He never misses a chance. ...a shame....suggesting we couldn't find the poetry section. HA!

Did I do that? Wow, I don't recall suggesting anything of the sort!
I asked a simple question. Gee you are sensitive! See here it is and I quote myself, word for word:

Quote from: ROSS on June 21, 2014, 09:15:49 PM
Is there a poetry thread? Can you find it teacher?

And you didn't even appreciate my poem, here it is again just for you Diane:

Quote from: ROSS on June 21, 2014, 09:15:49 PM
How's this for a start on poetry:

Ladies and Gentlemen
Hobo and Tramps
Crosseyed Misquitos
And Bowl Legged Ant's.

They are here to tell you a story
They know nothing about.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 22, 2014, 10:35:33 AM
    I went back for entertainment value and reread his latest flailing around. He is genuinely troubled.

I said that before you did Diane, check it out:

Quote from: ROSS on June 17, 2014, 09:30:12 PM
You know what, lot's of people are reading this and i am sure it has to be for the entertainment value, LOL.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 22, 2014, 10:35:33 AM
He is genuinely troubled.

Yes Princess Diane, I am genuinely troubled by idiot progressive liberals with supposedly educations and degrees ruining our country. The Obama kiss asses and such. And School Board Members wanting to tax the hell out of us, so they can build a brand new gymnasium for their dear poor little children.

Yes Diane, I am genuinely troubled by idiots from Delaware that have no clue about what goes on in Elk County except from some cowardly spy er informant, and has you spouting off for them. We experienced the very same activity when we had Elk Konnected Kounty Kommissioners.

Why are you letting your self be someone from Elk County, Kansas - patsy?
Why do you allow yourself to be USED in such a fashion?
Yes, Diane that kind of politics troubles me greatly.
You have my sincerest sympathy.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 22, 2014, 10:35:33 AM
He would be lousy on the ambulance, where  life threatning emergencies can be complicated by the overdoing of sympathy. It can cause loss of concentration and consequent loss of the ability to function properly and do ones job.

You have no way of knowing that, Diane?
I served aboard Navy Air Craft Carriers and my main job during actual and drill casualties was to take control and I was a very proud sailor who worked hard and drilled hard and dealt with casualties with precision. But Diane that has absolutely nothing to do with politics. Stop cornfusing the real subject, please.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 22, 2014, 10:35:33 AM
There is a lot of difference between caring for a child's broken wrist or caring for a person who just lost both legs from being hit by a car, or taking a SIDS baby from a parent's arms. Sometimes one has to turn off the sympathy and be objective or the person could die. We must also never let our own history enter into the situation. Bypass the compassion for now and start the CPR!

I dare say, I don't think we have to worry about any kind of compassion or understanding from you Diane.

Because the attitude and lack of compassion for and about the underprivileged children's parents, which is what I was referring to care to remember! Not the twisted wording and omission of other words. You do understand Diane that twisting words and changing statements by omission of words is a form of lying, don't you?

Lets review the remark you made that I was referring to and you turn it to EMT work, Okay, OK!

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 16, 2014, 01:47:43 PM
Kids who are supposed to go to school and don't, don't get an education. Truancy laws are different from state to state. In Maryland the teachers were not allowed to go seek out the missing children. That was the principal's job. How does a teacher get to know a child they rarely ever seeand is always weeks behind the other kids?
By the way, the term "at risk" is as old as I am and has nothing to do with EK. The parents of at risk kids, who are failing a subject or grade, have been sent warning notices about it several times a year for many, many years. You must be desperate to try and connect that to EK or anything else. I give up.Go insult some one else for awhile.

No compassion, no comprehension, no understanding about the poor and struggling parents. The parent might lose their low paying job and then not be able to feed their child, or the parent might suffer from serious medical problems. But tough shit, huh?

How does this help a parent or a child? :

Quote from: ROSS on June 17, 2014, 09:05:31 AM

Naked Holding Cells and Debtor's Prison:
The Latest Injustices For Women
in the Prison System
by Robin Marty
June 16, 2014

Now, we are moving further towards putting people in jail simply for being poor. We may not officially have debtor's prisons yet, but every day we are getting a step closer. This week, the Associated Press reports that a Pennsylvania mother serving a two day jail sentence has died while still in prison. Her crime? Her children hadn't always gone to school, and she had been fined $2000 in courts costs related to that fact.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/naked-holding-cells-and-debtors-prison-the-latest-injustices-for-women-in-the-prison-system.html#ixzz34uEryvTj

And Diane this solution for all of the children in the inner-city schools that you have:

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 17, 2014, 07:49:53 AM
Improvements must be made ...or eliminate the tough inner city schools from the surveys.They skew everything 'way down.

That is just amazing compassion for the children that want to learn. I applaud you. Amazing!

See the conversation had absolutely nothing about your lack of compassion in the meat wagon.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 22, 2014, 10:35:33 AM
Oh, by the way Ross, since I'm sure you will read this.

Of course darling because you are so much fun and I love communicating with you. You are my inspiration.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 22, 2014, 10:35:33 AM
Delaware State EMT instructors must be either Nationally Certified EMTs, Paramedics, Emergency Nurses, or Medical Doctors. 

Oh, let me repeat, I don't care? I don't live in Delaware, I live in Kansas?
And Delaware State EMT is not a political subject to my knowledge.

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 22, 2014, 10:35:33 AM
But of course, since Ross knows "something" he knows all. I still don't know what "organizations", he was frantic about, nor what it had to do with me.

Oh /Diane it was you that said you were a member of some rinky dink organization and you were raising funds and how important you are.

Where do you get off saying I was frantic?
Were you offended, that I said, I did not need to be a member of some organization?
Were you offended, that I said, some people have a need to belong,
I believe some people need the structure of an organization and their rules to be able to survive. And I am entitled to my opinion, ain't I? LOL

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 22, 2014, 10:35:33 AM
He is apparently one unhappy dude with no sunshine in his life.

How dumb and belligerent can you be Diane!
Is that a degree in stupidity that you possess?
Please keep reading.

I may be crazy, but I'm not insane.
But you are as looney as you can be, when it comes to politics especially in Elk County, Kansas from way up there in Delaware. (almost poetry in action isn't it?) From way up there in Delaware! Almost lyrics of a song, kinda catchy ain't it?

Your spy er informant in Elk County is too cowardly to partake personally and openly which does make them a coward. I am sorry but someone had to let you know. You are not privy to all the information. I doubt you have even followed the posted links to my Box.com site with tons of documentation and information posted. Moving on!

I'm high and it's not on drugs, but high on life.

What are you smokin' these days, have you visited Colorado lately? LOL

I enjoy the greatest of lifestyles and it ain't in no heavily populated suburb in Delaware.
Delaware with a population density of 442.6 people per square mile
Kansas with a population per sq mile is 192.6 sweet!!!!!
And Elk County, Kansas with a population density of 4.5 people per sq mile.
My home has a population of 1 person per 20 acres. The very best Quality of life, though some people do not comprehend the meaning of the term.

It is great and I am very happy which has nothing to do with the politics of overtaxation and ignorant people of the progressive liberal mind set of deeper in debt and have college degrees to back it up.
Do you comprehend the difference?
Get a grip and come down to earth!

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 22, 2014, 10:35:33 AM
Ross, why don't you sign up for a local CERT class. I think you would enjoy it and it really has redeeming qualities. Back to the upstairs.

Really ! Not an interest of mine, simple. I have numerous training classes in first aid and CPR and Firefighting. But what has that to do with politics or educational standards?

Quote from: Diane Amberg on June 19, 2014, 06:30:11 PM
Of course there are educated people who are well "book learned" and still haven't a lick of sense.

Oh Diane my heart pups purple panther piss over the above statement by you.
How sweet of you, no kidding!

See what I mean, about you being so much fun?

I suppose, I could apologize for being so truthful and honest, but I won't because that is who I am.
Although I do apologize for angering you.

Until next time Diane bye-bye.

Life
Education & Schools
Public Schools


June 29, 2014


Teachers are rebelling against testing and against the tracking of students.

Teachers are rebelling against test scores being the main part of their evaluations.

Parents are also rebelling and opting out of testing.

Teachers are rebelling because there is no time for review or mastery of the skills.

Teachers are rebelling because testing takes time—oh so much time—from instruction.

LAUSD teachers and parents should be rebelling because senior teachers are being put in teacher jails. When they are close to retirement, near or at the top of the payroll, and if they stand up and fight especially against their schools' administration, teachers are candidates for incarceration.

They are told to report to jail, not told the reasons, and are forced to sit there while their classes are taught by low paid, inexperienced teachers, who many times are substitutes.

The whole idea is to make the teachers' lives so miserable that they give up and quit therefore saving LAUSD retirement benefits.

Every teacher, student, and parent in LAUSD should be rebelling against the district, the school board, the superintendent and his masters. 
Every single day LAUSD teachers are forced to do things that are unconscionable to them:

Proceeding to the next skill when the students have not mastered the current one.

Socially promoting students who are not ready for the next grade.

Graduating students from high school who are on elementary levels.

Giving test after test knowing it is a gross waste of time and money.

Not being able to teach all the subjects that they are supposed to teach since the only ones considered important are those tested.

Not having time for remediation, review, enrichment or challenge.

Using textbooks that do not have enough practice and that teach the skills improperly.

No longer being able to inoculate the love of learning and the joy of reading into the students.

Not making education fun as it was in so many ways before they had to teach to the test.

Being forced to accept disruptive secondary students back into the classroom as the school's administration will not provide assistance.

Going along with decisions made by downtown bureaucrats, superintendents, school board members, state bureaucrats, and publishers, while teachers are never consulted.

Allowing the wealthiest people in the country and their foundations to influence public education in ways that are totally wrong. (Don't they mean the so-called elite?)


http://www.examiner.com/article/teachers-are-rebelling-all-over-the-u-s-why-not-los-angeles

by Beth Buczynski
June 29, 2014
5:00 am


My brother is about to enter his last year of college, and I'm terrified for him. Today's job market is a wild and unpredictable place (a lesson I learned the hard way). Gone are the 40-year jobs with good pensions that gave our parents and grandparents so much security. Permanent jobs with benefits are hard to come by, and even if you're lucky enough to land one, there's a good chance you won't stay longer than a few years.

What triggered this change? Well, a crappy economy brought on by predatory lenders, greedy corporations and devil-may-care Wall Street jockeys, for starters. An equally crappy education system didn't help.

See, a strong, well-prepared workforce starts long before little Johnny or Jan submits that college application. The foundation for success (or failure) is laid in grade school. These early years are when tomorrow's workers begin preparations for their eventual career, not only learning "reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic," but also the basics of how to learn–something that is vital for life in a world powered by rapidly changing technology.

Unfortunately, schools at every level are failing kids on both accounts.

Half of the employers surveyed in a 2013 study by The Chronicle and American Public Media's Marketplace "said they had trouble finding recent graduates qualified to fill positions at their company or organization. Nearly a third gave colleges just fair to poor marks for producing successful employees. And they dinged bachelor's-degree holders for lacking basic workplace proficiencies, like adaptability, communication skills, and the ability to solve complex problems."

"Woefully unprepared" is how the owner of one Northern Virginia technology consulting company put it.

In a 2014 survey by Gallup just 14 percent of Americans—and only 11 percent of business leaders—strongly agreed that graduates have the necessary skills and competencies to succeed in the workplace.

So, not only are we doing a bad job of teaching children the basics, we're also failing to provide the other skills they need to land the jobs of the future. And what are those skills, you ask? Scroll through the infographic below for a list of the top 10 (hint: they're not things that can be assessed with a standardized test).

Tell us: What are you doing to make sure your child gains these skills?


http://www.care2.com/causes/are-schools-teaching-kids-the-right-skills.html

by Phyllis Schlafly
July 9, 2014

Americans are waking up to how bad Common Core really is for education, but its nightmare does not go away quickly. Liberal education bureaucrats ("educrats") are now trying to enforce Common Core through the courts, with one lawsuit already filed in Oklahoma, and another likely in Louisiana.

In both states the governors tried to get rid of Common Core, but parents are shocked that it may return by court order as unelected educrats claim they have more power than the state legislature and the governor combined. The Oklahoma legislature approved a law to repeal Common Core and the governor signed it, but now its state board of education has filed a lawsuit to bring it back.

The Washington Post has revealed how Bill Gates used his non-profit foundation to spend hundreds of millions of dollars behind the scenes to force this disaster on the American people. The Gates Foundation doled out a fortune to various education groups, to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and to teachers unions to force Common Core on all students.

A group that received nearly $2 million from the Gates Foundation to help implement Common Core, the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), is the same organization behind the lawsuit to reinstate Common Core in Oklahoma. Joining this effort is a member of the state board of education, which is not elected by the people.

The NASBE is a private group, unaccountable to the public, which received $1,077,960 from the Gates Foundation in 2011 "to build the capacity of State Boards of Education to better position them to achieve full implementation of the Common Core standards." About two years later the NASBE received another $800,000 "to provide training and information to implement Common Core State Standards" and to help develop it, too.

The lawsuit, which claims that the state constitution does not permit the legislature and governor to repeal Common Core, was filed directly in the Oklahoma supreme court, and there will be no appeal from whatever that court decides. The people of Oklahoma are apparently at the mercy of an unelected state board and its liberal state supreme court, and the U.S. Supreme Court will not get involved in this issue of state law.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed the bill to repeal Common Core a few weeks before her primary, which she then won in a landslide. But why isn't she or the legislature doing anything to remove from office the members of the state board of education who refuse to implement the repeal of Common Core?

A similar fiasco is shaping up in Louisiana, where Governor Bobby Jindal has courageously stopped Common Core. Or at least so everyone thought, until the educrats there began planning a lawsuit to defy the governor and impose it anyway.

The Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted 6-3 to "lawyer up," as Breitbart.com put it, in order to sue its own governor for withdrawing Louisiana from both Common Core and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), which controls the testing to implement Common Core.

Governor Jindal pointed out that the state board did not seek competitive bids on the expensive tests for the schools, as is generally required by state law on most contracts in order to save the state as much money as possible. Both the Louisiana state superintendent and the president of its state board of education defiantly predicted that Louisiana would remain in Common Core and its testing for the 2014-2015 school year.

The Obama Administration has reportedly already poured $370 million into developing tests to be forced on the states. But many of the biggest states, including heavily Democratic states such as New York, are reconsidering their participation in the federally funded tests.

New Jersey is now considering pulling out of Common Core, with Governor Chris Christie facing a dilemma that may determine whether he is a viable presidential candidate. Does he stand up for local control over education by stopping Common Core in his state, as Governor Jindal has done in Louisiana, or does Christie try to play both sides of the issue?

Meanwhile, parents in areas already implementing Common Core are discovering that they are unable to help their children solve elementary arithmetic problems. Bizarre, tedious and convoluted methods of teaching children basic arithmetic are causing parents to search on the internet for answers, and some of these parents are turning to homeschooling to escape the madness.

But even homeschooling may not help, if colleges all convert to the new testing standards based on Common Core guidelines. The tests are what drive curricula, and homeschool curricula will need to adapt to the new tests in order for the students to be admitted to college.

http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/column/common-core-becomes-a-nightmare.html

Listen how this guy explains entrepreneurship, what it really is and the morales behind it.

But more importantly listen to hear him say that only 18% of the children in the eight grade in our Nations capital read at grade level. Then tell me the teachers and the educational system doesn't need improvement, that they can not accept there is room for improvement.

I seriously don't believe Federal Government and Corporate control through Common Core is the answer.
Do you?

http://youtu.be/OPOnzzB3OZs

     By Caroline Schaeffer 


We (should have) learned it in school: The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We should all know how the words go, right?

We know the 2nd Amendment reads: A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Well, not according to this textbook, which our friends at Young Cons caught.


Its explanation reads (emphasis added): "This amendment states that people have the right to certain weapons, providing that they register them and have not been in prison."

At least it explains that Americans didn't want to be like the gun-confiscating British. But then it makes up a passage that isn't there about gun registration. Let's take the actual Second Amendment apart:



"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state [dependent clause], the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed [independent clause]."

In case that isn't clear enough, there are many quotes clarifying the Second Amendment. Here is one from James Madison, key drafter of the Constitution:


"The right of the people to keep and bear ... arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country ..."

The Constitution and the Bill of Rights should be read and taught as they are written. Deviating from the original wording and understanding of the Second Amendment has consequences.

If the Congress wants to pass a Constitutional Amendment to put sensible limitations on weapons that are designed for warfare, then that is a different matter. But let's start with the truth, and then proceed from there.

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/07/156943-school-textbooks-explanation-2nd-amendment-laughably-tragic/

My name is Alma Ohene-Opare, an alumnus of Brigham Young University (BYU) and a native of Accra, Ghana. Over the past few months, I have followed with much amusement, the nationwide debate for and against the adoption and implementation of the Common Core standards. The arguments have been fierce and passionate on both sides and seem to stem from a universal desire to raise the quality of education in America. The desire is noble. However, this noble desire will not compensate for or mitigate the empirically documentable effects of the failed policy being proposed.

Rotton to the coreCommon Core may be new to America, but to me and the thousands who have migrated to the United States to seek better educational opportunities, it is in large part the reason we came here. If you are wondering what qualifies me to make the assertions I will make in this article, know this; I am one of the few victims of a standardized national education system in Ghana who was lucky enough to escape its impact. I am also a member of the Board of Directors of a private K-12 institution in Accra, Ghana. Golden Sunbeam Montessori School was founded by my mother in 1989 and is currently leading the fight to rid our country of an educational system that has led to the systematic degradation and deterioration of our human capital.

Let's get to the core of my argument; pun intended. What Americans are calling Common Core is eerily similar to my educational experience growing up in Ghana. In Ghana, K-12th grade education was tightly controlled by the Ghana Education Service, an organization similar to the U.S. Department of Education. From curricula to syllabi to standardized testing, the government controlled everything.

Trapped by Standardized Tests

In 9th grade, all students, in order to progress to high school are required to take a standardized exam known as the B.E.C.E, which stands for Basic Education Certification Examination. Depending on the results of the test, each student is assigned by a computer program to a public high school without regard to his or her interests, passions, or ambitions. Each student is then assigned an area of focus for the next three years. Some of the focus areas are General Science, Business Management, General Arts, Visual Arts, Home Economics, Agriculture, etc.

Although things may have changed slightly since I graduated, most students generally did not have a choice as to which area of focus they were assigned. The only way to get a choice was to ace the standardized exam or to call in a favor either through bribery or some other type of corruption. The students who failed miserably were usually those who attended public schools; many of whom dropped out of school entirely.

The process was then repeated at the end of high school with another standardized exam called the W.A.S.S.S.C.E. This exam tested your readiness for college and ultimately determined which course of study you were assigned by the government in college. I did not ace that exam and did not get permission to enter the state run college of my choice. Instead, I went to a private university founded by a former Microsoft employee and was found smart enough to be admitted to BYU a year later as a transfer student, to graduate with a Bachelor degree in Information Technology, and to be hired right out of college as a Program Manager at Microsoft Corporation.

Although the education system in Ghana is not similar in all aspects to Common Core as it is being proposed today, some of the basic tenets are the same. The curriculum was controlled by an external body without input from or accountability to teachers, individual schools, or parents. Some argue that teachers and parents have control in Common Core. It pains me to witness such naivety. That myth has always been an inevitable play by proponents of any centralized system. The goal is to make people think they are in control while nudging them blindly towards a perceived public interest. The truth is simple; the institution that controls the exams, controls the curriculum.

By controlling the standardized exams, each school in Ghana was forced to make passing the exam its primary focus, rather than actual teaching and learning. Hence anything that was deemed outside the purview of the test was cast aside and treated as unimportant. Extra-curricular activities were cut if not totally eliminated and the school day was lengthened to ensure that students had even more time to prepare for the test.

In my case, school started at 6:00 am and ended as late as 6:00 pm. We attended school on Saturdays. Even when school was out, we still attended school half day. Our lives were consumed with preparation for the standardized test. We all had booklets of past tests going back 15 years. Those who anticipated failing the test registered in advance to retake the test. The value of teachers was measured solely on the performance of their students on the standardized tests. Scammers who purported to know what would appear on the tests duped schools, parents, and teachers alike by selling bogus test questions. Schools with political connections always unanimously aced the tests.

You may wonder why nobody ever tried to change the system. The answer is simple. The government made it impossible by requiring all students who wanted to go to high school or college to take the test. Hence, any time spent trying to change the system meant time taken away from preparing for the test. Parents became completely beholden to the system and would threaten to take the kids to other schools if administrators spent any time not preparing their kids for the test.

A Dearth of Ingenuity and Creativity

Now that you have a sense of how an education system can become trapped in the death spiral of standardized tests, let me interest you with the impact of this system on actual student outcomes. In Ghana, we had a phrase to describe how we felt about standardized tests. We called it "chew and pour, pass and forget." Translated, it means memorize, regurgitate, pass the exam, and forget everything.

Unfortunately that has become reality for many graduates of our educational system. As my father put it in a recent petition to the Ghana Education Service, "the education system in Ghana is akin to an assembly line setup by the government to create employees for an economy largely devoid of innovation, entrepreneurship, originality, or risk taking." Because students never learn to solve problems or think critically for themselves and are largely discouraged from challenging their teachers or the status quo, they are inevitably groomed to maintain the failed traditions of the past while believing they are completely powerless to change anything. The result is that even with an abundance of natural resources, the country in general continues to suffer in the doldrums of socio-economic development without any clear path out of it.

Recently my brother left a well-paying job in the U.S. to return to Ghana to take over my parent's school. He had dreams of changing the system. He imagined students groomed to become innovators and entrepreneurs. He soon learned it was impossible to achieve any of those dreams if the school was to remain subject to the rules, restrictions, and common standards the government had set. The only solution was to completely abandon the system, which he fears would cause parents to withdraw their children from the school. He is now stuck in the limbo of a catch-22 but continues to fight to win students, teachers, and parents over to a new beginning for the education of their children.

In December 2012, I returned to Ghana with my family and had the opportunity to speak to 10th grade students at the school. I gave what I thought was an inspiring speech. I proposed to start an innovation and entrepreneurship club which would employ students to identify and propose solutions to some of the problems facing the country. I promised to provide the capital and resources necessary to support these kids in this new challenge. I ended by asking the kids who were interested to write their names on a piece of paper or email me. It's been more than 18 months since I returned. I have received nothing and I don't blame them. Their parents have paid a large sum of money because they believed our school would help their kids pass the standardized exam. I was not about to distract them from that goal. What a tragedy.

I have personally wondered what makes Africa so uniquely challenged in its attempts at economic development, especially when all the innovations needed to do so are readily available to us. I came to a personal conclusion, which admittedly is not scientific, but captures what I believe to be the elusive culprit. It is contentment with mediocrity and a lack of curiosity to change the status quo. The problem is not inherent in the nature of Africans but rather the imposition of an educational system that burned out the light of innovation and made us content to live on the spoils of the countries brave enough to venture into the glory of the unknown.

America's Mistake

When I came here, many people would ask what the difference was between America and Ghana. I responded that in Ghana, I could dream. In America, I can do.

In writing this article, I am by no means endorsing the current state of public education in the United States. The problem with the system today is that the U.S. government, aided by self-interested unions, has spent decades and billions of dollars trying to return to a system of education that America abandoned a long time ago; a system that has proven a failure in many parts of the world. Common Core is just the latest iteration of the failed system. Like a wise man once said, oh that I were an angel and could have the wish of my heart; to stand on the mountain top to warn against the path you are choosing to take. As an outsider looking in, I recognize one thing that most Americans don't. Because America has been free for so long, many have no sense of what tyranny looks like and how quickly physical and intellectual freedom can be lost on the path paved with good intentions.

I plead with all you well-intentioned but definitely misguided administrators, teachers, and politicians. Raise your heads out of the dust and realize that America is great because America bucked against the status quo. Thinking a standardized and common core curriculum is innovative is like discovering water in the ocean and patting yourself on the back for it. This system is not new. Its greatest success was to create a conforming working class for the industrial revolution. It is not fit for a dynamic 21st century that needs constant innovation and the confidence to create new solutions to the problems that continue to beset and confound the smartest minds in the world.

America is desperate to find a solution to a problem that you solved decades ago. Return to originality. Put teachers and parents in charge of the education of their children. Encourage critical thinking that rejects conformity for the sake of some perceived societal benefit. Teach children to solve problems and not just to regurgitate the solutions of generations past. I have been silent too long and have now seized this opportunity to stand up for what I believe, which ironically is something I have learned from my experience in America.

America, I urge you to learn from the mistakes of those around because, like the plaque in my former bishop's office read, "you may not live long enough to make all those mistakes yourself."


Alma Ohene-Opare was born and reared in Ghana, the child of educators who ran a school for 25 years. After graduating from Brigham Young University, Ohene-Opare worked for Microsoft. He is currently a solutions engineer at Hyland Software in Utah and is pursuing an MBA at Western Governor's University.

http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/educate/july14/common-core-a-failed-idea-newly-cloaked-in-the-robes-of-good-intentions.html

In June, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation that permanently halts the use of Common Core standards, requires the state to temporarily use previous standards, and directs that new standards to be developed will be subject to legislative review. The legislation she signed was overwhelmingly passed in the state's House and Senate on the final day of the 2014 legislative session. Gov. Fallin's action is particularly relevant because she previously supported Common Core and is the Chair of the National Governors Association, one of the two private lobbying organizations at the center of the effort to create Common Core.

Common Core (CC) standards were hastily created in closed meetings and subject to no legislative or public review. Parents, teachers, and citizens must be part of the effort to create improved standards. Fallin said, "We are very capable as Oklahomans of developing our own Oklahoma standards to make sure that our children receive the highest quality education possible in our state." Fallin called Common Core "tainted" and "divisive." She admitted that the state may lose some money because the Obama administration ties federal funding to certain Common Core criteria.

State Superintendent of Education Janet Barresi, a former Common Core proponent, praised the repeal, saying that due to entanglement with the federal government, "Common Core has become too difficult and inflexible."

 

 
The CEO of the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce criticized the legislators and the governor for ditching CC, accusing them of "bending to political hysteria." (AP, 6-6-14) The National Chamber of Commerce has received millions of dollars from the Gates Foundation to promote Common Core.

South Carolina Reviews Common Core

On May 30, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley signed a law that will allow the state to review Common Core, but the standards remain in place for the 2014-15 school year; any changes will be implemented the following year. Critics worry that South Carolina won't get rid of enough of what is wrong with Common Core.

The South Carolina General Assembly must approve any future standards that are not created by the state Dept. of Education, which may guard against a rewrite of Common Core. The state has also withdrawn from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), one of two federally financed standardized testing organizations.

Louisiana's Struggle

Since the state legislature failed to overturn the use of Common Core in Louisiana schools, Gov. Bobby Jindal is trying to do it on his own. He has called on the state Board of Education to create "Louisiana standards and a Louisiana test." Jindal says use of CC aligned tests supplied by the federally supported Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is illegal because their use was not put out for bid as required by state law. But state education officials have no intention of creating new standards and have vowed to keep CC standards and testing; they question the governor's authority to put a halt to CC in Louisiana.

How States Can Make Changes

Announcing she signed the bill to halt Common Core in Oklahoma, Gov. Fallin stated: "We cannot ignore the widespread concerns of citizens, parents, educators, and legislators who have expressed fear that adopting Common Core gives up local control of Oklahoma's public schools." (Washington Post, 6-5-14) But those concerns are being ignored in the majority of states. Legislative attempts to halt Common Core have failed in several states. Although Indiana dropped Common Core, the revised standards developed closely follow the rejected standards.

A survey conducted by the Times Union and Siena College found that 82% of New Yorkers want to stop Common Core in their state. Yet, citizens seem powerless to halt it because their government is unresponsive and New York Commissioner of Education John King is unwilling to even consider their concerns.

Amidst seemingly insurmountable obstacles, there is hope for success. Dr. Sandra Stotsky, who was the chief developer of Massachusetts' excellent standards, has outlined ways that Common Core can be dumped by localities, with or without the support of state government. Her complete suggestions are available in her article "Legislative Common Core Remedy No Panacea," posted at the Pioneer Institute website (5-28-14).

Stotsky was a member of the Common Core validation committee and refused to sign off on the standards, which she deems to be seriously flawed. She is also a former member of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel.

Dr. Stotsky offers two plans. One can be used when legislators refuse to act by offering localities the means to replace Common Core. The second plan will work for states where there is legislative support to do away with Common Core. In that case the state legislature would "develop and pass a bill to eliminate the state board and department of education." In both cases, new and improved standards would follow.

To develop new English Language Arts standards, Stotsky suggests states or localities use as blueprints either the pre-Common Core California standards or her own ELA standards that are based on the former, excellent Massachusetts ELA standards (that were dropped in favor of Common Core). Stotsky recommends new math standards should be chosen in consultation with high school mathematics teachers and based on the standards of either Minnesota, California 1997, Indiana 2006, or Massachusetts 2000. (Minnesota never adopted CC math standards, although they accepted those for ELA).

Refusal to administer any Common Core-aligned state tests, like SBAC and PARCC, on the grounds that they are incompatible with locally adopted standards, is a critical component of Stotsky's proposals. She claims that state or federal money can't be withheld "because there is no state statute in any state requiring local districts to take tests that are incompatible with locally adopted, official standards and curriculum."

Stotsky says that even when states reject the federally supported national standards, "it is crucial for local school boards to also vote to eliminate Common Core's standards and any curriculum developed to address them." She maintains that "this will prevent the imposition of a federally imposed Common Core-aligned test at the local level — another possible end-run around state legislatures."

Sandra Stotsky's plan offers hope that more states and localities can replace the controversial and flawed Common Core with new standards that are as good as schoolchildren deserve.

http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/educate/july14/common-core-rejected-by-states.html

28 May 2014

The next phase of the Great Game to control the minds of the next generation of Americans has just begun. Oklahoma is the most recent state to try to eliminate the academic malignancies entailed by Common Core.  Many Oklahomans deserve credit for the bill Governor Fallin may sign this week, especially Jenni White, an energetic mother of six. But there will be no end to the Gates Foundation's effort to impose weak secondary school standards on this country in the name of ending "white privilege" (the motivation acknowledged by New Hampshire teacher David Pook at a Cornerstone Institute debate two weeks ago), rather than to strengthen secondary school coursework for all students with academically rigorous and internationally benchmarked standards.

The following steps could be taken at the local level to make sure that state boards of education, commissioners, or departments of education don't select people for drafting a new set of state standards who are committed to Common Core. Despite any legislative oversight that may be built into bills to eliminate Common Core, states trying to extricate themselves from Common Core may yet experience a version of Governor Pence's strategy in Indiana.

The Pence strategy was designed to ensure that committee members selected by his education policy advisor (Claire Fiddian-Green), the Indiana Board of Education, Commissioner of Education Glenda Ritz, and the Indiana Department of Education replaced the existing version of Common Core's standards with a dumbed-down version of them (yes, that is possible), instead of with internationally benchmarked and rigorous academic standards similar to the standards Indiana had in 2006.

To avoid that possibility, here are possible steps for local school boards to take, depending on existing state law and what the legislature has passed:

1. Local school boards vote to eliminate Common Core's standards in their school district. This is as far as Oklahoma needs to go right now.  In other states, parents and others may need to petition their local school boards to do this.

2.  Local school boards then need to vote to adopt/develop new and stronger standards in ELA and math for their district. For this to happen, school boards must authorize their superintendent and teaching staff in ELA and math to use as working blueprints the old California or my (free) ELA standards (based on the former Massachusetts ELA standards) and a set of math standards chosen by their high school mathematics staff (they could come from Minnesota, California 1997, Indiana 2006, or Massachusetts 2000). It is crucial to start with a non-Common Core blueprint or organizational outline in order to prevent development of a version of Common Core (as in Indiana or Manchester, New Hampshire) called "the floor" or the "Common Core floor." There is apt to be nothing above the floor to be taught.  Even if there is, it won't be tested.

3.  Local school boards then need to vote to direct their superintendent, all school administrators, and all teachers to adjust their K-12 curriculum to address the new standards.  (New standards development and curriculum re-adjustment needs to be done in a matter of months, not years.)

4.  THEN, local school boards can refuse to administer any Common Core-aligned state tests on the grounds that they are incompatible with their locally adopted, approved, official standards and curriculum. No state or federal money can be legally withheld because there is NO state statute in any state requiring local districts to take tests that are incompatible with locally adopted, official standards and curriculum. Local school boards can do whatever state law does not explicitly require or forbid.

If there is disagreement on the matter by a state commissioner or department of education, let the matter head to the State Supreme Court for hearings.  Parents must argue for the right to have their own legally elected school board members and state legislators decide on policies for their local schools.

5. Plan B: The state legislature develops and passes a bill to eliminate the state board and department of education. It may need to keep the chief state school officer to satisfy ESEA requirements.  Let USED send Congressionally-appropriated Title I funds directly to local school districts after a re-authorization of NCLB that allows this possibility.

While Oklahoma's bill wisely requires a return to the state's previous standards and tests during the interim, it is crucial for local school boards to also vote to eliminate Common Core's standards and any curriculum developed to address them.  This will prevent the imposition of a federally-imposed Common Core-aligned test at the local level—another possible end-run around state legislatures.

A different version of this article appeared at Breitbart News under the title of "Local School Districts Should Eliminate Common Core and Adopt Stronger Standards."

http://pioneerinstitute.org/blog/legislative-common-core-remedy-no-panacea/


A little learning, indeed, may be a dangerous thing, but the want of learning is a calamity to any people. 
- Frederick Douglass

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. 
- Emma Lazarus

Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy. 
- Margaret Thatcher

Millions of individuals making their own decisions in the marketplace will always allocate resources better than any centralized government planning process.
- Ronald Reagan

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
- Benjamin Franklin

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.
- Winston Churchill

The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.
- George Eliot

Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of husbands. Remember all men would be tyrants if they could. 
- Abigail Adams

I am proudest of Pioneer's success helping to create so many charter schools and of our annual Better Government Competition, which has been copied by think tanks in eight other states as well as Canada, Great Britain, and Argentina.
- Lovett C. 'Pete' Peters, Founder of Pioneer Institute

Kaitlyn Schallhorn
Reporter

Jul 24, 2014 at 11:37 AM EDT

•Psychology 1100 is a general education requirement class.

•The question was part of an online homework quiz.

•Quizzes are oftentimes created by a teacher's assistant, according to an OSU employee.


An Ohio State University (OSU) class has apparently determined another fundamental difference between Christians and atheists: their IQ points.

An online quiz from the school's Psychology 1100 class, provided to Campus Reform via tip, asked students to pick which scenario they found most likely given that "Theo has an IQ of 100 and Aine has an IQ of 125."

The correct answer? "Aine is an atheist, while Theo is a Christian."

According to a student in the class who wished to remain anonymous, the question was a part of an online homework quiz. Students were required to complete a certain amount of quizzes throughout the course but were encouraged to finish all of them in order to prep for the final exam.

"I understand that colleges have a liberal spin on things so it didn't surprise me to see the question, which is a sad thing," the student told Campus Reform in a phone interview. "But how can you really measure which religion has a higher IQ?"

Psychology 1100 is a general education requirement class which can primarily be taught by an undergraduate teacher's assistant.

While the student said the quizzes were based on the textbook used in class, an OSU employee in the psychology department who wished to remain nameless said quizzes are oftentimes created by the teacher's assistant.

The employee added that the psychology department is "very open to talking with students" if they are worried about grading or a question on an exam.

OSU explicitly prohibits discrimination on campus against any individual based on "age, ancestry, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, military status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, HIV status, or veteran status," according to the university's policy.

"Colleges will tolerate pretty much any religion other than Christianity," the OSU student said. "If colleges really want to give everyone a fair shot, they should stay away from making comments about any religion."

Dr. Mike Adams, an outspoken conservative Christian professor at the University of North Carolina, said "every group is protected from offensive speech on campus except for conservative Christians."

Adams also added that applying this principle to other types of groups would be taboo on college campuses.

"So would it be permissible to force blacks to take a class teaching that blacks would have a lower IQ than white people?" he said in an interview with Campus Reform.

This isn't the first time a researcher has used psychology to suggest those with more social conservative or even religious values have lower IQ scores. A 2011 study published in Psychological Science claimed that "lower general intelligence...in childhood predicts greater racism in adulthood, and this effect was largely mediated via conservative ideology."

"When science arose, it arose in the West and it did so in Christian nations. It did so because Christianity—with its assumptions about an orderly universe and its emphasis on obtaining knowledge as a cultural value—[was] necessary for science to develop and to flourish," Adams said. "That anti-Christian bigots use science to attack Christianity is more than Pharisaic hypocrisy. It is deeply ingrained institutional bigotry."

OSU declined to comment to Campus Reform for this story.

http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=5789

Published August 03, 2014

FILE: Jan. 27, 2014: California public school students suing the state to abolish its teacher tenure laws, at a press conference in Los Angeles.AP

Teacher tenure looms as a likely hot-button issue in the 2016 presidential races, with several potential GOP candidates in clear opposition to the policy and Democrats largely silent as they try to balance calls for reform and much-needed teachers union support.

Former Florida GOP Gov. Jeb Bush, a favorite among the Republican establishment for the White House job, recently voiced his support for a class-action lawsuit in New York against teacher tenure that was filed Monday. Weeks earlier, a California judge, in a similar case, struck down tenure for the state's public school teachers, ruling in favor of the plaintiffs.

"There will be no equality in education until we transition to a system that prioritizes academic achievement for children over job security for adults," Bush, chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, said after the New York suit was filed.

The suit essentially challenges the three big concerns about tenure: school districts having to lay off the most senior teachers last, tenure eligibility after only three years and a system that makes firing a teacher nearly impossible.

"When ineffective teachers are allowed to remain in the classroom because of union protections and antiquated laws, it is not only a disservice to students but also to the many wonderful teachers dedicated to excellence in education," Bush said.

Jessica Levinson, a political analyst and professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, argues that tenure could at the very least be part of the 2016 debate, considering the country's public education system in general is "always a talking point."

Moreover, she argues, Americans continue to wrestle with the difficult question: "How do we give our kids a good education while retaining the best people and getting rid of the bad ones?"

Two top-tier, potential Democratic candidates for the White House -- former first lady Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden -- have made no public statements on the tenure issue, based on research by Fox News of the past 15 years. However, Biden, who is married to a teacher, has spoken often about the importance of teachers.

Besides Bush, two Republican governors in 2012 signed legislation to limit tenure.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's legislation in large part made it harder for teachers to achieve tenure and reworked the appeals process for firings. In February, a judge ruled the tenure-review process was unconstitutional.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another potential GOP White House 2016 candidate, signed legislation that made it more difficult for public school teachers to achieving tenure and easier to fire under-performing ones.

The new law essentially makes teachers work under a mentor for a year; work four years, not three, to become eligible for tenure; and get high evaluation marks in two consecutive years.

However, Christie failed to achieve what the California suit did and the most recent New York suit attempts to do -- end the "last in, first out" policy in which school districts are required to lay off teachers by seniority, not merit.

The governor's office did not respond to a request for comment.

The bill arrived on Christie's desk with unanimous support from a Democrat-controlled legislature -- largely unusual considering Democrats have in recent decades relied to winning elections with the influence, money and grassroots efforts of teachers unions.

Still, they face a sizable electorate -- particularly in older, larger cities – unhappy about the quality of public education and looking at alternatives such as charter schools.

"Liberals and Democrats typically understand that teachers unions will support them," Levinson said earlier this week. "But it's definitely a difficult situation for them. They have to thread the needle... Republicans never thought they would get that support."

The Obama administration issued a carefully worded response to the California judge's June 10 ruling in which he agreed with the plaintiffs that low-income students are disproportionately impacted by tenure.

"Equal opportunities for learning must include the equal opportunity to be taught by a great teacher," said Education Secretary Arne Duncan. "The students who brought this lawsuit are, unfortunately, just nine out of millions of young people in America who are disadvantaged by laws, practices and systems that fail to identify and support our best teachers and match them with our neediest students."

Duncan also said the court decision was a "mandate to fix these problems" but never mentioned tenure.

Still, he drew the ire of the American Federation of Teachers, a major teachers union.

"We needed your leadership," union President Randi Weingarten told Duncan in a July 10 letter. "But instead, you added to the polarization. And teachers across the country are wondering why the secretary of education thinks that stripping them of their due process is the way to help all children succeed."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/08/03/on-heels-big-lawsuits-teacher-tenure-looms-key-2016-presidential-issue/?intcmp=trending

Education /commentary


Lindsey Burke 


The Buckeye State could become the next state to buck Common Core. Leadership in the Ohio House announced hearings on the national standards and tests are slated to begin Aug. 12, and the state could consider a potential withdrawal from Common Core later this year.

Rep. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, told the Columbus Dispatch the August hearings would focus on efforts to exit Common Core and develop new Ohio-driven standards that incorporate proven, high-quality standards such as those established in Massachusetts.

If Ohio withdraws, it would become the fifth state to exit Common Core, following Indiana, Louisiana, South Carolina and Oklahoma. Other states have downgraded their involvement in the standards or the associated national test, and four states abstained from adopting the standards from the beginning. If Ohio exits, nearly one fifth of states would be non-participants in Common Core.

University of Arkansas professor emerita Sandra Stotsky recently detailed exactly how states and local school districts can reclaim their standards-setting autonomy. She suggests, among other recommendations, states that want to leave Common Core establish steering committees that include university-level content-matter experts, allow for a public comment period, include feedback from teachers and provide for an external review of the new standards.

Ohio can do better than Common Core. Although its prior state standards had significant room for improvement, it could re-adopt those standards and improve on them by taking from the best of other states, such as Massachusetts and California, and learning from classical curriculum schools such as the Great Hearts charter academies in Arizona.

As it reclaims control of the content taught in local schools, Ohio should look at growing school choice options to create the kind of flexibility that enables individual talent to flourish.

Home to five school choice programs, Ohio is no stranger to choice in education. Ohio families currently have access to a scholarship program for income-eligible kindergarten children to attend a private school of choice, a voucher option for children with special needs, the Autism Scholarship Program, the Ohio Ed Choice program, which offers private-school scholarships to children in chronically underperforming public schools, and the Cleveland Scholarship Program. Talk to the families participating in these options, and you're likely to hear stories of how the type of educational customization they're able to provide for their children through school choice has been life-changing. It's the type of customization and choice one-size-fits-all national standards and tests will never foster.

School choice has seen tremendous growth over the past decade, as Heritage recently detailed in the newly released 2014 Index of Culture and Opportunity. Over the past ten years, charter school enrollment increased by 1.2 million students, and the number of students utilizing private school choice options like vouchers and tax credit scholarships increased by 218,000 over the same time period.

This growth holds the promise of connecting more students with learning options that match their unique needs. As students head back to school this fall, choice—not standardization—should greet them.

http://dailysignal.com/2014/08/06/ohio-next-state-buck-common-core/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningbell&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonuK%2FPZKXonjHpfsX56O4kWqa%2BlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4AScRjI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFQrLBMa1ozrgOWxU%3D

 


May 2014 A Pioneer Institute White Paper by Emmett McGroarty, Joy Pullmann, and Jane Robbins New technology allows advocates for education as workforce development to accomplish what has long been out of their reach: the collection of data on every child, beginning with preschool or even earlier, and using that data to track the child throughout his/her academic career and his/her progression through the workforce. This paper explores the many initiatives that the federal government has worked with private entities to design and encourage states to participate in, in order to increase the collection and sharing of student data, while relaxing privacy protections. The authors offer recommendations to protect student privacy, including urging parents to ask what kinds of information are being collected on digital-learning platforms and whether the software will record data about their children's behaviors and attitudes rather than just academic knowledge. If parents object to such data-collection, they should opt out. The authors also urge state lawmakers to pass student privacy laws, and they recommend that Congress correct the 2013 relaxation of FERPA.

http://pioneerinstitute.org/download/cogs-in-the-machine-big-data-common-core-and-national-testing/

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As state legislatures begin to pick up steam in their efforts to get rid of the Common Core octopus, with its many hidden tentacles reaching into the entire curriculum (under the guise of "literacy" standards), Common Core advocates have come up with a new ploy to ward off efforts to repeal Common Core and put first-rate standards in their place. It takes too long and costs too much money, Common Core advocates are now saying, to come up with another set of standards for ELA and math.  Here is what was in a newsletter put out by the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas.

States that drop Common Core standards under the gun for replacing them: States that drop the Common Core State Standards face the prospect of less time to create new academic standards, and under intense political pressure. Generally, states have years to review content standards and make major changes if state school board members, those usually charged with ultimate approval of content standards, and others feel it's necessary. The process usually involves lengthy discussions, drafts, and revisions overseen by teachers at each grade level, as well as content-area experts and others who try to ensure the standards connect across grade levels.   (OEP Web Links, July 16, 2014).

This is a bogus claim, since nothing like this process took place with the excessively speedy development of Common Core's standards, violating every civic procedure in place for a state's own standards but with no complaints by any state board of education or governor.  Any state or local school district can come up with a first-class set of college and career-ready standards in ELA and math in a matter of minutes.  Many states already had them: MA, CA, Indiana in 2006, Georgia, for example. They weren't perfect, but they were far better than what Common Core has offered the 45 plus states now stuck with its low expectations and Common Core's hidden strings.

All a state or local district has to do (and it takes only a matter of weeks, not years) is adopt wholesale once highly-rated standards and ask high school English teachers to tweak the high school literature standards to reflect state or regional authors and works. Good math standards should be similar across states (to paraphrase Tolstoy, all happy marriages are similar), and there is no need for any appointed group to diddle with good math standards right now.

A state board of education could immediately post the standards proposed by a revision committee for a two-week public comment period (the same two-week period allowed for Common Core's standards) and adopt them in less than a month, at little or no cost to the taxpayers in the state.

Local districts are already beginning to do this since they have had the legal authority for hundreds of years to adopt and implement whatever standards they wish.  That is what plucky little Wakefield, New Hampshire's school board did last spring.  Its board decided to adopt the old Massachusetts ELA and math standards (after all, they had an empirical record of effectiveness, unlike Common Core's) and is already implementing them.  The Wakefield school board, school administrators, teachers, and parents all seem to be working together to implement a far more demanding academic curriculum than will be in place in most other New Hampshire communities this coming year, as suggested by our two and one/half hour discussion on July 15, 2014.   Their kids will become better readers and writers even if state-sponsored Common Core-based tests use test items that won't show it.



But Wakefield will face a new hurdle next year. What happens when an appointed state board of education, backed by a commissioner of education, tells a district that it must use a Common Core-based test?  And the local board refuses to do so, on the grounds that a Common Core-based test is incompatible with its locally supported and legally approved school curriculum, based on locally adopted standards that are far superior to Common Core's? And that the local board has more trust in local teacher-made tests than in the unknown quality of a Common Core-based test that scores students' Open Responses elsewhere, possibly by a computer? We don't know.

The statutory issue may have to be adjudicated by a state court. Let such a case proceed.  There are pro bono lawyers in the country to help local parents make the case that they should decide what they want their kids taught by means of their elected school boards, not Bill Gates and his minions on a state board of education.

Pioneer Institute Statement on Senate Charter School Cap Lift Vote


The Senate Turns Back the Clock

Today, the Massachusetts State Senate voted against S2262, a bill to lift the cap on charter school enrollment in the state's lowest-performing public school districts.

The Senate bill would have tied charter school expansion to full funding of reimbursement to sending districts. Under the bill, charter schools would have been responsible for 50 percent of extended day and extended year transportation costs. The Senate also filed dozens of amendments to the bill, which, with few exceptions, would have imposed unrealistic, harmful, and petty regulations on charter schools.

The Senate gets a low grade for the quality of the debate and a failing grade for the misrepresentations made about charter schools. Senator Barry Finegold said it best when he noted that we know what works, what's working in Lawrence and around the state to bridge the achievement gaps, and it is charter public schools.

Massachusetts charters are the most successful public schools in the country at closing achievement gaps among low-income and minority students, largely because they have flexibility from state regulations in exchange for more school autonomy.

A 2013 Stanford University study found that Massachusetts charter students gain an additional month and a half of learning in English and two and a half months in math each year compared with traditional public schools.
Massachusetts charter schools enroll over 32,000 students, while over 40,000 are on waiting lists. In Boston, 7,000 students attend charters, while 15,000 are waitlisted.

A recent vote by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to change the way school district performance is calculated will impact which districts are considered to be in the bottom 10 percent, reducing the number of students eligible to attend charter schools.

The 2014 Senate seems bent on returning education debates back to 1992. Massachusetts has benefitted too much from the 1993 Education Reform Act to turn back the clock.

http://pioneerinstitute.org/schoolhouse/

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Boy, 12, Wants To Bring Cursive Handwriting Back Into School Systems
Posted: Aug 11, 2014 9:00 AM CDT
Updated: Aug 11, 2014 9:08 AM CDT

Cursive writing may be making a comeback.

A young Nashville boy is joining a movement to bring it back to the school systems.

12-year-old John Boyle began his cursive writing crusade after a teacher corrected his school work in cursive.

He did not recognize the handwriting so he asked his mom and she began to teach him cursive.

"Right now, I think it's way too premature to eliminate cursive from the public schools," said John's mom, Kem Schmalzer.

State Rep. Sheila Butt, of Columbia, has since gotten involved and wants cursive writing to be returned to schools.

"Turned out to be a great thing, and I think of lot of people got on board and realized this was a good thing for the kids in Tennessee," said Rep. Butt

With the use of computers in schools, many school districts have eliminated it as part of their curriculum, but some Tennessee lawmakers say it's still an important skill.

Tennessee's state board of education has received preliminary approval to implement cursive writing into the state's new curriculum for second grade.

A final vote will come this fall.

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/26248078/boy-12-wants-to-bring-cursive-handwriting-back-into-school-systems

A number of U.S. school districts are opting out of the federal school lunch program serving meals that comply with the nutritional standards championed by first lady Michelle Obama.

The reason: Students are choosing not to eat the healthier meals mandated by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act that was passed in 2010.

One district opting out of the program is Fort Thomas Independent Schools in Campbell County, Ohio.

"The calorie limitation and types of foods that have to be provided have resulted in the kids just saying, 'I'm not going to eat that,'" Fort Thomas Superintendent Gene Kirchner told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

In many cases, students who are required to take fruit and vegetables with their meals are simply throwing them away.

In Kirchner's district, 166 fewer students bought lunch every day last year and instead brought lunch from home, went to nearby restaurants, or skipped lunch altogether.

That is costing school districts money. If students don't buy lunch, the district loses funds that could pay for textbooks and technology.

Nationwide, 1 million fewer students are choosing a school lunch each day that complies with the nutritional standards, and last year 47 percent of school meal programs reported that their revenues had declined.

"We've seen a lot more schools pop up," said Diane Pratt-Heavner, spokeswomen for the School Nutrition Association. "I've seen stories out of New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania."

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, considered a key in Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" campaign to reduce childhood obesity, calls for reduced sodium and fat, and more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

"They got rid of all the good food, and it doesn't taste good," one student told an Enquirer reporter on a day when students were required to take green beans or applesauce with their chicken sandwiches.

Most of the green beans were thrown away.

As the Insider Report disclosed last week, the new standards are also having the effect of banning many of the bake sales schools have traditionally relied on to raise funds.

And some schools have banned students from selling Girl Scout cookies during the day.

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Gary DeMar

For all their talk about diversity, liberals hate people who believe and act in a way that is different from liberal "values." They hate any competing worldview they can't control, define, and manipulate.

So it's not surprising that many liberals hate homeschooling, charter schools, vouchers, and school choice.

Some countries outlaw homeschooling. Two countries have taken decisive action against homeschoolers that have made the news:

"Among major democratic nations, homeschooling already is banned in Germany, under a Hitler-era law, and in Sweden, where authorities have taken offspring out of their family's arms to crack down on the educational method."

The Romeike family fled Germany in 2008 so they could practice their faith and educate their children in the United States. The Obama administration wanted to deport them while allowing tens of thousands of illegal aliens into the country.

In 2012 a Swedish appeals court terminated the parental rights of a Swedish family for homeschooling their son. Their son was taken from them and the State was granted full custody rights. In 2009, Swedish authorities stopped the Johansson family from leaving the country.

Stalin and Hitler would be proud that their policies live on.

While homeschooling isn't the exclusive domain of evangelical Christians, it is dominated by that group. Homeschool conventions take place all across America with thousands attending.

"North Carolina officials say there has been a huge increase over the past two years in the number of Tar Heel families who have pulled their kids out of public schools and begun educating them at home. The number of homeschools has jumped 27 percent since the 2011-12 school year, NewsObserver.com reports."

So it's not surprising that some disgruntled liberals would go on the attack to discredit homeschooling. Every child pulled out of a government school is one less child that can be indoctrinated in the ways of liberalism.

Somebody at Dictionary.com thought he or she would undermine homeschooling by taking potshots at it through rewriting some definitions and sentence examples with the word "homeschool."
◾"If you want to keep your kids from reality and turn them into mindless automaton copies of yourself," the site declares, "homeschool them."
◾"If you wish to teach your children such nonsense," another of the sentences declares, "then homeschool where lame propaganda can remain unchallenged."
◾"If she can't find anyone willing to validate her helicopter parenting," lists a third, "she'll homeschool.


Consider government education and the newfangled Common Core. Statist education is one size and one type fits all. Students sit at desks for about 6 hours every day with almost no interaction with teachers and fellow students. In fact, students are to sit still and be quiet. The curriculum must be slavishly followed.

Some topics are forbidden to be discussed in government schools.

Homeschooling is tailored to a child's needs and learning style. There is much more "socialization" going on since most homeschooling families get together with other homeschooling families on a regular basis. Some of the "socialization" that takes place in government schools is less than ideal.

Homeschoolers have no trouble getting into college, even the so-called prestigious colleges and universities, as long as they meet the academic standards.

Do some parents do a poor job homeschooling? Probably. The same is true of governing schooling with its less than stellar graduation rate of around 65 percent.

There's enough information on the internet that will dispel any critic of homeschooling.

The real issue is control. Liberals want people to think like them, and it bugs them when millions of parents say, "Not in our home."

http://godfatherpolitics.com/16685/homeschool-haters-hijack-dictionary-com-website/

August 19, 2014
Kyle Olson
Kyle founded Education Action Group in 2007.


AIKEN, S.C. – Secular progressives continue chipping away at the foundation of American exceptionalism. It's not a mistake these sorts of stories continue happening in "conservative" places like South Carolina and Texas.

Fox News reports mother-of-six Jessica Andrews learned her daughter would be reciting the Pledge of Allegiance each day, but when Andrews saw the flyer, words were missing.

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

"It was like an 'Oh my gosh' type of feeling," Andrews tells Todd Starnes.

"Under God" was gone.

Andrews' daughter is a fourth grader at Chukker Creek Elementary School in the Aiken County School District.

"It's outrageous, to be honest," she tells Starnes. "It seems like the government is doing everything they can to take God out of everything."

The school district reports to Starnes, "This was a single mistake by a very embarrassed and apologetic teacher."

"The teacher failed to proof the paper," the district contends.

Really? What else is the teacher or district officials failing to proofread?
 



After all, there are numerous examples of God – and specifically Christianity – being banned from government schools.

Earlier this year, a Florida teacher told a 12-year-old student to stop reading his Bible during free time.

"I noticed that he has a book – a religious book – in the classroom," the teacher said in a voicemail, tattling to the boy's parents. "He's not permitted to read those books in my classroom."

A Texas teacher ordered a student – this one a second grader – to stop reading her Bible during "read to myself" time.

The school district later clarified the policy to ensure students could read the Bible in school after it was embarrassed in the national media.

But are these just innocent mistakes or something more? And how many "innocent mistakes" aren't caught and continue to be normal practice?

One of two things are happening, as evidenced in the South Carolina case: either there is an intention to omit God from the public square or there is a lack of attentiveness to ensure students are being taught the truth, resulting from human incompetence. It's hard to say which one is worse.

http://eagnews.org/teacher-omits-under-god-from-daily-pledge-of-allegiance/

Before opening a new bank account, filling up your tank, shopping for groceries, purchasing a computer, booking a flight or visiting a drug store, you can now find out how those companies are spending on political causes.

Thanks to a free online app called 2nd Vote, consumers have this information at their fingertips for America's most popular brands.

The app, which is available on Google Play and Apple's iTunes, allows instantaneous access to a database that includes more than 400 companies. It's the brainchild of a nonprofit based in Nashville, Tenn., which seeks to help consumers make more informed decisions.

"Conservatives need to have this information so they can hold companies accountable," Chris Walker, executive director of 2ndVote, told The Daily Signal.  "Companies will listen, and listen very quickly and act in a meaningful way if as customers they redirect how their money is spent. The status quo is that conservatives have not engaged on this, so we can't be surprised when all the corporate activity goes toward the left."

With a new school year starting in many states this week, 2nd Vote just rolled out an additional feature that allows parents, teachers and other concerned citizens to identify companies that support Common Core national education standards.

Education experts, including The Heritage Foundation's Lindsey Burke, have argued Common Core is advancing a "top-down" approach to education that empowers federal bureaucrats with the ability to dictate standards while marginalizing the role of parents, teachers and taxpayers at the local level.

There is also a growing body of evidence that suggests Common Core's instructional methods and learning techniques are less than effective. A study from the Pioneer Institute, for example, found that Common Core's mathematics curriculum left American students two grade levels behind their international counterparts.

"What we want to do is connect the dots for conservatives in terms of how their money is being spent and to show which companies are promoting something they don't support," Walker said, adding:


Education was a natural next step for us and that's why we decided to take a look at Common Core. We want high standards, but local control is better. We are in global economy and have a lot of competition from companies that are trying to beat us so we need high standards. But when you federalize and centralize education, you diminish the importance of the 50 states as laboratories. This is where the best ideas come from.

2nd Vote, which launched last October, is built around a team of "old campaign opposition researchers" who pour through tax filings, public statements and financial records of political contributions as a way of tracking corporate activity, Walker explained.

Companies are then ranked on a scale of one to five, with one being the most liberal and five being the most conservative. 2nd Vote describes each of the ranked positions as follows:
1.Liberal: Direct donations to liberal organizations, such as pro-abortion groups or gun control groups. Having liberal values in the company's main business platform.
2.Lean Liberal: Third-party donations to groups that support or fund liberal organizations causes, matching gifts to liberal organizations or causes, or any indirect support to liberal organizations or causes.
3.Neutral: Absence of any support of liberal organizations or causes. A company can also score neutral if they equally support liberal and conservative causes.
4.Lean Conservative: Third-party donations to groups that support conservative organizations or causes, matching gifts to conservative causes or groups, or any indirect support for conservative organizations or causes.
5.Conservative: Direct funding to conservative groups, such as pro-life groups and pro-2nd Amendment groups. Having conservative values in the company's main business platform.

So far, 2nd Vote has identified more than two dozen corporations supporting Common Core, either directly or indirectly. They include major banks, energy companies, technology companies, multinational retail stores, office supply stores, drug stores and at least one major airline. Among the companies identified by 2nd Vote are:
•Apple
•Bank of America
•Coca-Cola
•ConocoPhillips
•CVS Caremark
•Dell
•ExxonMobile
•General Electric
•Intel
•Microsoft
•Pfizer
•State Farm
•United Airlines
•Verizon
•Walmart
•Walgreens
•Xerox

Walker sees an opportunity for conservatives to break through on education policy. There's a certain "inconsistency" in the corporate position that could be exploited, he suggests.

Bank of America, for example, belongs to the Business Roundtable, which supports both Common Core and school choice initiatives. Bank of America also donates to the Center for American Progress, which issued a report in favor of Common Core standards and described school vouchers as a "weapon" conservatives are using to destroy the public school system.

"These positions are in conflict," Walker said.

Bank of America spokesman T.J. Crawford denied the bank had taken a position on Common Core when reached by The Daily Signal.

In addition to Common Core, 2nd Vote provides conservatives with insight into corporate funding on five other issues: life, marriage, Second Amendment, corporate welfare and environmentalism.

Walker said:


We want to provide information and help people to make informed decisions and to have it be profitable for companies to be engaged with conservatives. We want to provide a positive incentive not a negative force. By operating together in large numbers, and using the app, we can affect meaningful changes and help our ideas get the attention they deserve

http://dailysignal.com/2014/08/25/bank-supporting-common-core-theres-now-app-thatll-tell/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningbell&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonvqvIZKXonjHpfsX56O4kWqa%2BlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4ARcZnI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFQrLBMa1ozrgOWxU%3D

Many kids are heading back to public school this week, and so begins fall and spring semesters. You have entrusted the government to give your child a good curriculum and a teaching staff you can count on. But what happens when the school staff is equipped with a big list of employees, but not necessarily a big crop of teachers focused on your child?

Even though the Obama Administration proposes spending $25 billion specifically to "provide support for hundreds of thousands of education jobs" in order to "keep teachers in the classroom," research by both Heritage and The Fordham Institute reveal alarming numbers: only half of education jobs belong to teachers.

Heritage's education policy expert Lindsey Burke says "school districts should trim bureaucracy and work on long-term reform options for better targeting taxpayer resources," instead of putting taxpayers on the hook for more federal spending.

Check out the numbers in the four charts below.

1. The charts proving only half of education jobs are teachers:

2. The chart that proves how much education staffing has outpaced student enrollment:

3. The chart showing the farther a school is from a city, the more non-teaching staff it has:

http://dailysignal.com/2014/08/25/4-charts-every-mom-kids-going-back-school-see/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningbell&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonvqvIZKXonjHpfsX56O4kWqa%2BlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4ARcZnI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFQrLBMa1ozrgOWxU%3D

August 25, 2014


FERGUSON, Mo. – Activist teachers are already spinning yarns in their classrooms to score political points in the shooting death of Ferguson, Missouri teen Michael Brown.

The unidentified Selma, Alabama teacher who was suspended for having students reenact the shooting isn't the only one.

Mike Kaechele, a Grand Rapids, Michigan teacher says the incident, as well as resulting looting and rioting, are a good reminder that "institutional racism has always been" in America.

He writes on his "Concrete Classroom" blog:

The tragic event of the killing of MIchael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri have led to protests and rioting against police brutality. It brings to the surface (again) the institutional racism that has always been in our country. I think white privilege causes some to look at Ferguson as an excuse for criminal activity rather than a political protest. William Chamberlain tweeted a comment about the looting comparing it to the Boston Tea Party.

So "white privilege" causes people to look at the looting as "criminal activity" as opposed to a "political protest"?

Kaechele created this image and posted it on his website.
 



The teacher offered several questions to be asked, including:

*What are the similarities between the events?
*Why did the people in Boston dress up as Native Americans?
*What stereotypes does that show?
*What is institutional racism and how should it be addressed?
*Why is the image on the right called a "party"?
*The event on the right has been mythologized and treated as action by heroes. Do you think the event on the left will be?

Innocent small business owners – who have nothing to do with the police nor the incident – themselves were victimized by criminals who saw the teen's death as an excuse to steal and destroy.

"John Zisser of Zisser Tire and Auto Services told the Business Journal that damage and inventory loss could top $100,000. He was able to open his doors after replacing broken windows with plywood board and hanging up a 'Now Open' banner," the Washington Times reports.

It's unclear whether Kaechele's desired conclusion by students is that the events are, indeed, nothing like each other. But given his rhetoric about "white privilege" and "institutional racism," he probably sees some moral equivalence.

http://eagnews.org/teacher-compares-ferguson-looting-to-the-boston-tea-party/

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) filed a lawsuit in federal court yesterday against the Obama Administration over its use of federal funding and waivers from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to incentivize states to adopt Common Core national standards and tests.

Jindal contends that these actions put states on "a path toward a national curriculum." The lawsuit charges that


through regulatory and rule making authority, Defendants have constructed a scheme that effectively forces States down a path toward a national curriculum by requiring, as a condition of funding under the President's Race to the Top [RTTT] programs, that States join "consortia of states" and agree to adopt a common set of content standards and to implement the assessment protocols and policies created by that consortium, all under the direction of the United States Department of Education [DOE]. It is impossible to square the executive actions at issue with settled Congressional authority or the Tenth Amendment.

The complaint also notes that the DOE "has tethered NCLB waivers and other ESEA [Elementary and Secondary Education Act] [grant] conditions to the RTTT program objectives of Common Core standards and assessments, thus coercing States to participate in the objectionable RTTT conditions under the threat of more onerous conditions and/or the loss of funding under ESEA and NCLB."

Analysis conducted in 2012 by former DOE officials came to a similar conclusion: "The Department has simply paid others to do that which it is forbidden to do. This tactic should not inoculate the Department against the curriculum prohibitions imposed by Congress" (emphasis added).

The DOE granted ESEA waivers to states such as Louisiana under the condition that they meet a variety of new requirements concocted by the DOE. And, pursuant to Section 9401 of the law, codified at 20 U.S. Code § 7861, the Secretary of Education is to waive "any statutory or regulatory requirement" of the ESEA (now known as No Child Left Behind) when a state requests a waiver.

The problem is that rather than wait for states to request waivers if they were unable to meet certain requirements, the Obama Administration actively encouraged non-compliance by developing an ESEA Flexibility program, the details of which were announced in September 2011. This program represented what the Congressional Research Service (CRS) described as "a fundamental redesign of key elements of the ESEA." The program encouraged states to apply for waivers, insulating them from NCLB sanctions for failure to meet achievement benchmarks.

In order to receive a waiver, however, states were required to adopt standards common to a "significant number" of states (as the CRS report says, "presumably the Common Core State Standards") or college-and-career readiness standards approved by a state's Institute of Higher Education network.

Critics of Common Core have long argued that Common Core national standards and tests will inevitably strengthen federal power over education while weakening schools' direct accountability to parents and taxpayers. They're also more likely to result in standardizing mediocrity rather than establishing standards of excellence—something that has become more evident as states compare Common Core to the previously excellent standards in place in states such as Massachusetts and Indiana.

Moreover, this might not be legal—something the Governor's lawsuit highlights. The waiver scheme might violate a number of statutes. The waiver program appears to encourage noncompliance. Furthermore, there are provisions in three federal laws that explicitly prohibit federal direction of curriculum: the General Education Provisions Act, the Department of Education Organization Act, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

The federal government will likely argue that it is simply directing "standards" and not "curricula," but this is something for a federal court to decide. The government will also likely argue that it is barely involved at all, because it is only directing compliance with those standards set up by a "significant number of states." Yet the federal government has been quite involved in this process, not least by facilitating state development of Common Core and then essentially conditioning waivers on adopting Common Core. The extent of federal involvement is also something for a federal court to decide.

There are also serious constitutional questions. In Jindal's view, even if (and it's a big "if") one presumes that federal law authorizes the President the waiver authority he claims, that federal law might be invalid under the Tenth Amendment to the extent it authorizes the "commandeering" of state law in the field of education. In the 2012 Obamacare case, Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, struck down the Medicaid expansion component of the law because, in the Court's opinion, the "retroactive" imposition of onerous new conditions on federal grants in that case was tantamount to holding a "gun to the head" of states. Such a "gun to the head" might be unconstitutional.

Kudos to Governor Jindal for pushing back against this misguided federal overreach.

http://dailysignal.com/2014/08/28/jindal-challenges-obamas-unlawful-coercion-common-core/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningbell&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonva7NZKXonjHpfsX56O4kWqa%2BlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4DTMdmI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFQrLBMa1ozrgOWxU%3D