State Led. Voluntary Adoption. No Federal Role. Riiiiight.
Can I take off my tinfoil hat now? One of the biggest talking points for the proponents of common core, used to smear the opponents, was that there was no federal role in promoting the standards. The states could adopt them voluntarily. At worst, the federal government would provide incentives for states in the form of grants to help the implementation (RTTT). It’s all voluntary, said the professional choice architects.
Oklahoma found out the US Dept of Education didn’t really mean it when they said they would allow states to control education when Secretary Duncan denied their request for an NCLB waiver extension this week. The grounds for denial of the waiver was that by dropping Common Core as they did in their legislation, they no longer had the certified college ready standards required in order to get a waiver.
Even Mike Petrilli of Fordham who has been out there singing common core’s praises is aghast at Duncan’s move. In a Politico article he is quoted as saying, “While Bobby Jindal doesn’t have a case against Arne Duncan, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin sure as heck does. I hope she sues. Nothing in ESEA gives the secretary of education the authority to push states around when it comes to their standards.”
Frederick Hess of the conservative American Enterprise Institute put it this way. “They’re now stuck in this place where they’re [states] told if you move off the Common Core, you’re supposed to come up with new assessments and standards in a matter of weeks … it’s a somewhat unreasonable expectation.” Somewhat unreasonable? The refusal to grant Oklahoma a waiver extension to allow their division of higher education to certify that the previous state standards were “college ready” is nothing more than bullying by the feds. They can take immediate action Missouri Education Watchdog | I believe in standardizing automobiles. I do not believe in standardizing human beings. Standardization is a great peril which threatens American culture. – Albert Einstein:
State Led. Voluntary Adoption. No Federal Role. Riiiiight.
Can I take off my tinfoil hat now? One of the biggest talking points for the proponents of common core, used to smear the opponents, was that there was no federal role in promoting the standards. The states could adopt them voluntarily. At worst, the federal government would provide incentives for states in the form […]
YESTERDAY
‘Common’ Core Fails This ‘Uncommon’ Child
I received the following message from a mom on her son expressing concern on why Common Core would not be appropriate for him. What happens to ‘uncommon’ children (gifted and/or special needs) under a ‘common’ system? Who decides how ‘common’ is defined? Watch this incredible child and think about those questions. ************** This is […]
AUG 28
Why Are You Silenced When You Oppose Common Core?
The above was tweeted on August 27, 2014 and references Orwell’s writings on the threats to freedom. Do you find it astounding that Common Core proponents are extremely vitriolic in their marginalization of parents who speak out (or even ask questions) about the Initiative? We’ve been called: Agents of ‘misinformation’ Right Wing nutjobs […]
AUG 27
Is Smart the New Gangsta?
My daughter has left the nest and been safely delivered to University. Modern communication technology makes this parting not as difficult as it might have been even 5 years ago. Thanks to smart phones we can Facetime any time we want (make that any time she wants) which means we can have more frequent conversations […]
AUG 26
#Truthy and Common Core Data Sets. Just WHY is the US Government Tracking Us?
Data mining of student information via The Common Core States Initiative and the State Stabilization Funding has been a big concern at Missouri Education Watchdog for many years. We’ve thought from the beginning the the standards were necessary not for educational reasons, but they served as the vehicle for data gathering: the common core […]
Why Be Concerned About Common Core Data Mining? Orwell, Kafka and the CCSSO (Updated)
The following is an updated post originally appearing on the Blogger Missouri Education Watchdog site in June 2013. ********************************************************************************** If Common Core reading lists truly want to create “critical thinkers”, maybe Orwell’s 1984 and Kafka’s The Digital Person should be required reading. Students could compare/contrast the two authors’ vi
AUG 25
APUSH Authors Revealed. Read This Before Webinar Tonight.
Stanley Kurtz revealed this morning important information on the writers of the 2015 Advanced Placement US History test, recently realigned by The College Board. There is concern on the left and the right about David Coleman’s version of AP History being taught to students. From How the College Board Politicized American History: […]
Petrilli’s New PR Common Core Campaign. How’s That Working?
Michael Petrilli recently announced the Common Core advocates needed to change their marketing push for the privately owned/copyrighted standards for public schools and be more ‘emotional’. From Politico and Moms winning the Common Core war: …backed with fresh funding from philanthropic supporters, including a $10.3 million grant awarded in May from the Bill & Melinda […]
AUG 24
#CommonCore Tweet of the Day. August 24, 2014
No further commentary needed. Other than that we are in deep trouble.
Upcoming Webinar: AP History Standards Written by The College Board Delivering FACTS That David Coleman Won’t Divulge.
From the video: Without state push-back, this new APUSH Curriculum Framework will go into effect this fall (2014). Without state push-back, APUSH teachers may have to ignore their own state’s U.S. History standards if they hope to prepare their students for success on the new APUSH exam – which will NOT cover material outside the […]
AUG 23
Looking For Homeschool Curriculum Not Aligned to Common Core?
The threat to home schooling from common core is that the new national-think being promoted through the standards will infect all textbooks, curriculum and assessments. The further we get down the road of implementation the more real that threat is becoming. Because home schooling does not rely on the public school calendar for when it […]