No Federal Role In Education? Really?
Government officials like to promise the voters everything because it looks good on paper and sounds good around election time. But are these guys ever going to think about the logistics of how these promises would have to be handled to come true? If you listen to what Charlie Rangle and President Obama said this week regarding education I think the answer must be a solid no. On Martin Bashir's
YESTERDAY
Story Hour In Rockwood
Last night I attended a district sponsored meeting about Common Core. They announced it in advance to the high school parents and planned it for the hour before the Open House began, thus ensuring that the meeting had a limited time frame. Parents were treated to about 40 minutes of a lovely fable about where Common Core standards came from and what they would do for our children. It went somethin
AUG 22
Children Are Invited to Create "Affordable" Health Care Videos by HHS and Young Invincibles
Is the Affordable Health Care Act really about affordability and healthcare or is it about controlling the lives of people and the insurance industry? These questions would be a start for a student research paper and a good critical thinking exercise, don't you think? Wouldn't this type of question fit into a Common Core standard somewhere? Shouldn't students should be encouraged to study
AUG 21
MO Legislators - Here's The Follow Up You Need to Ask
The following email was sent to all Missouri legislators from DESE. Will any of them ask the follow up questions that need to be asked? Dear Legislator, You may have heard about Missouri’s state assessments for English language arts and literacy and mathematics changing in 2014-15 to reflect school districts moving to the Common Core State Standards. We wanted to tell you more about these asses
AUG 20
Common Core Graphic Seen in School. Unattainable Goals and Free Stuff.
I've heard from many parents who are horrified at what they have seen and heard on the first day of school. This was seen on the first day of school somewhere in the United States (the teacher's face was cropped to protect her identity): Sounds like utopia. Let's examine this teacher's graphic: All students will be college ready: this claim is for a 2 year college according to Jason Zim
AUG 19
My Common Core Conversation with KHQA in Quincy, Illinois
Maggie's Notebook published an article about an interview I did in Quincy, Illinois where Anne and I appeared at a Common Core presentation. Maggie did an excellent job with the transcription and we want to thank her for spreading the word about CCSS. From Common Core: Mandated Not Law, Not Funded, Not Evidence-Based, Not Field-Tested, No Pilot Program: ***********************************
My Common Core Conversation with Phyllis Schlafly
I was invited to speak with Phyllis Schlafly on her radio show yesterday and we had a great conversation. Many thanks to Phyllis for her invitation to talk about Common Core. Thanks to the listeners for their call in questions, particularly the teacher who questioned the need for standards for music instruction! He believes music is a creative process and I agree. I hope you enjoy the int
The EPA and its Support/Development/Direction of Environmental Education in Public Schools
Will environmental education be administered through the Next Generation Science Standards? From the Federal Register comes a notice of teleconference calls on Environmental Education: Under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, EPA gives notice of a series of teleconference meetings of the National Environmental Education Advisory Council (NEEAC). The NEEAC was created by Congres
NY Superintendent Hates Common Core
Is this where the Common Core implosion began with a brave superintendent? Below is a voice message you must listen to from an exasperated and concerned superintendent. He is relaying the news to parents with children from the 3rd through 8th grades that only 30% of the students passed the new assessments. This is a significant change from 90% of students being ranked proficient the earlier
What Happens if the System Knows Everything About Your Child
At a hearing this spring on Common Core, Representative Margo McNeil (D-MO69) asked what opponents of data gathering were so worried about with the schools collecting and sharing data. Her question demonstrates the left's lack of imagination, and frankly lack of historical knowledge, about what could go wrong with data collected and held by the government. The Freedom Outpost recently exposed a l
Smart Girl Politics Is All Over Common Core - So Over
From Smart Girl Politics Diane Durdaller led a panel discussion with Marcia Chambliss of Smart Girl Politics, Joy Pullmann of the Heartland Institute, and Rosa Leonetti. The panel discussed the topic: "Common Core - What's Happening to Our Schools?" The panelists reviewed the recent history of America's top-down education policy from the 70s through No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and now
Practice Close Reading on Tuffy The Rodeo Clown
Finally, we have found a 21st century skill! Let's practice our close reading skills, as described in Common Core, on the reports about Tuffy the rodeo clown who donned a President Obama mask at the Missouri state fair. Close reading is described by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) "Close, analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient co
Common Core Reformers Call on Pearson Funded Public Relations Campaign to Sell Their Message
We stumbled upon a public relations pamphlet being passed out in Missouri by the National School Public Relations Association to counter the arguments of those against Common Core standards. From Common Core Needs More Local Communication Now!: Communicating Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is becoming a major issue in most school systems across the U.S. NSPRA launched our Common Core Comm