By Marianne Mauti
If you haven't heard a lot of discussion about the 'Common Core Initiative' until recently there is a good reason! The federal government wasn't wanting one. What they do want is for you to fall in line with this new government backed, educational initiative. So for those of you want really don't understand what all the fuss is about, we here at Today's Top Story want to help!
So what is 'Common Core'?
* The Common Core States Initiative on the surface is an education initiative that details what K-12 students should know in English, language arts and mathematics at each age.
* What 'Common Core' does is, basically eliminate local control over K-12 in math and English. Instead it imposes a one-size fits all, top down curriculum that will also apply to private schools and home schoolers!
While on the surface, 'Common Core' may sound like a good idea, many parents and others alike have expressed real concern. The proponents of Common Care believe that it creates universal standards that educate and prepare children for college. Along with the universal standards, however, come other issues and problems. At the top of the list of concerns, is the federal mandate behind common core!
Common Core proponents claim there is no federal mandate, instead referring to it as, "state led" and "voluntary." Even their website asserts, "The Federal Government was not involved in the development of the standards". They further declare that it is not a national curriculum, but as they say,"It is a clear set of goals and expectations for what knowledge and skills will help our students succeed.
Diane Ravich, a former assistant U.S. secretary of education vehemently disagrees. She said this in a recent article in the Washington Post,"They were developed by an organization called 'Achieve' and the 'National Governors Association' (both generously funded by the Gates foundation).There was minimal public engagement in the development of the Common Core. It was not a grassroots endeavor and it did not emanate from the states, instead it is being driven by policymakers in D.C."
Those opposed to the new initiative want the public to understand that Common Core can hardly be called voluntary! The Obama administration offers educational grant's which come from stimulus funds to states that adopt the Common Core. This kind of coercion has led some states not to adopt the new national standards program. Many states simply do not believe their is enough evidence the program will work! Ravich also had this to say," We have become a nation of guinea pigs, trying a new program all at the same time….would the Federal Drug Administration approve the use of a drug with no trials,no concerns for possible harm or unintended consequences?" We have been asked as parents to support a curriculum that has never been piloted anywhere. Where is the common sense in that?????
Abeka Books (a Christian education curriculum), had this to say about the Common Core on their official web page, "Standards in education are often useful when they inform content in an effort to ensure that subject matter is age appropriate, sequentially meaningful and academically rigorous. Unfortunately,some of Common Core goes beyond content and moves into the realm of teaching methodology.Since many of these techniques do not align with our traditional Christian approach, we have purposefully chosen not to add them,but rather to leave it up to the school or individual to make decisions for implementation in keeping with their philosophy and principles of teaching and learning."
Maureen Van Den Berg, legislative analyst for the American Association of Christian Schools, a conservative group with more than 100,000 students and teachers in its member schools, also opposes the standards. At a recent Common Core panel hosted by the conservative Family Research Council,Van Den Berg said,"Federal involvement undermines parental responsibility for their children's education."
Lindsey Burke, education policy fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington based think tank,said that Common Core is,"unprecedented federal intervention into education. You have all of these federal fingerprints on the Common Core, which is why we see it as a federal push to create national standards and tests to define what every child in public schools across the country will learn," Burke then said, "If you just look at an abridged history of federal involvement in education, it's been growing rapidly over the past few decades…We have not seen improvements in student outcomes because of that."
For some in the academic field,'Common Core' is a bit of an ignigma. Dr. Sandra Stotsky of the University of Arkansas had this to say, "No material was ever provided to the Validation Committee or to the public on the specific college readiness expectations of other leading nations in mathematics." He refused to sign off on the standards.
For others, it as a step down from our current standard system and even a possible disaster. Stanford University professor James Milgram (the only mathematician on the validation panel) concluded that the Common Core math scheme would place American students two years behind their peers in other high-achieving countries. Milgram also refused to sign off on the standards.
Ze'ev Wurman, a prominent software archetect,electrical engineer and math advisor for California and Washington D.C. had this to say about Common Core,
"I believe the Common Core marks the cessation of educational standards improvement in the United States. No state has any reason left to aspire for first-rate standards, as all states will be judged by the same mediocre national benchmark enforced by the federal government."
He then made a comment I found quite revealing, "There are organizations that have reasons to work for lower and less-demanding standards, specifically teachers unions and professional teacher organizations. While they may not admit it, they have a vested interest in lowering the accountability bar for their members….this will be done in the name of 'critical thinking' and '21st century' skills, and in faraway Washington, D.C., well beyond the reach of parents and most states and employers."
Stephanie Bell, a member of the Alabama State Board of Education, has also been speaking up against the standards.She said they were founded on a flawed idea which has every child across America "on the same page at the same time." She goes on to say,"Every child is created differently. Sadly school superintendents and administrators are only being given one-sided information from the promoters of Common Core.The curriculum replaces the classics with government propaganda." She then added,"The Common core website uses Orwellian language to deny that the curriculum tells teachers what to teach."
The site claims that is a myth,"These standards will establish what students need to learn, but they will not dictate how teachers should teach." In other words, it is telling teachers what to teach (sex education, evolution, etc.) , but telling them they can choose how to teach it,( using assignments, movies, class discussion or reading)!
Here is what every American need to really grasp; Common Core amasses large amounts of personal information about students. A report by the Department of Education reveals that Common Core's data mining includes, "using cameras to judge facial expressions, an electronic seat that judges posture, a pressure sensative computer mouse and a biometric wrap on kid's wrists." What is clear is the 'Common Core' agenda is a cookie cutter solution to a population that is different and diversified. Federal education mandates don't work because everyone is unique. When those in favor of Common Core resort to Orwellian language to hide the truth, you know it can't be good for America!
Today's Top Story's will continue to report on 'Common Core' as new information becomes available. For now I think it would be a good idea for all parents to become as informed as they possibly can. As Bible believing Christians, we have a responsibility to train up our children in the knowledge of God and His word. We also have a responsibility to protect them from any educational initiative or system (government or otherwise) devised to adversely indoctrinate our children.
Now more than ever, it is time to question the veracity of our current public education system and what role it should have in our children's lives, while we still can!
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ARTICLE RESOURCES: The Washington Post, michellemalkin.com, abeka.com, Rachel Alexander/ intellectualconservative.com
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