From the Political Insider The Obama Administration issued a threat directed at parents through Arne Duncan, the Secretary of Education. Concerned with many parents allowing their children to opt out of Common Core (PARCC) testing, Duncan is pushing back against their parental authority. At a Q&A in Chicago, Duncan addressed his concern with states failing to force children to take the tests against the will of their parents. “If states don’t do that, then we [the federal government] have an obligation to step in.” The Opt Out movement continues to grow. In New York, 184,000 students opted out of testing. No Child Left Behind mandates that 95% of students in grades 3-8 take … [Read more...]
Common Core’s Leviathan: Bill Gates and (Mis)Adventures within American Public Education
A well written article that walk through the background on Common Core by: Prof. Craig Sower is a Professor of English at Shujitsu University, Okayama, Japan, where he has taught writing and teacher education at graduate and undergraduate levels since 1998. Link: http://magazine.iafor.org/2015/10/14/common-cores-leviathan-bill-gates-and-misadventures-within-american-public-education/ ___________________________________________________________ The debate over the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) is not politics as usual. At first blush it may appear to be just another round in the 100-years’ war between progressive and traditional educators, but on closer inspection … [Read more...]
Common Core – Follow the money and manipulation
Common Core was foisted on the United States by a small group of progressives who believe that education is in need of massive reform and that the only way to do it is to lead the decision makers (and in the end parents) by the nose. Their path is money. Here are four (4) articles that pull some of the pieces together. Rather than asking you to believe me I suggest that you read the words of others for yourself and make your own judgement. I'll offer some thoughts in association with each article link (you should be able to click the title of each article and a new window should open to that piece): Feds admit U.S. Department of Education “forced” states to accept Common Core from the … [Read more...]