Common Core is a series of educational standards created and copyrighted by two Washington, D.C., lobbying organizations, without any input from state legislators, local school boards, teachers or parents.
It will prescribe a new curriculum that all publicly funded schools must follow; however, at this time, there is no curriculum for educators or legislators to judge. It is entirely a federal program and violates the U.S. Constitution and three federal laws limiting the U.S. government’s role in education.
There are two main objections to Common Core.
One, this program strips parents, teachers, school districts and even the state of the ability to shape the future of a child based on the child’s unique abilities and needs. Most governors were bought and paid for by promises of big stimulus money and threats of withholding funds for not signing on. They sold local districts and their children into the equivalent of educational slavery.
Citizens should be aware of some of Common Core’s changes. Math progression will be delayed a year; for example, algebra drops back to 10th grade. Cursive will no longer be taught; children will be told to do everything on their computers. Literature will no longer emphasize the great books that excited children’s imaginations and creativity; instead, the focus will be on technical matters such as how to read computer manuals.
The federal government and their political cronies will control education, and thus the futures of children. They will reduce most students to human drones.
The second major issue is cost. The federal government is providing about half the cost of starting the program. After that, states and school districts are responsible for most continuing costs.
Since every child is expected to have a computer, schools will have to buy them – a major expense. More money will have to be spent on training – children on the use of computers and teachers on how to handle the new standards. Common Core does not allow for classroom initiative and creativity; so teachers become facilitators – making sure students grasp the material on their computer screens – rather than teaching in the traditional sense. Then there is a new group – master teachers – who will coach, monitor and assess classroom teachers – another cost.
These unfunded costs are estimated to be huge. No one knows how large these expenses will be; but the taxpayers will pay them.
Another worrisome fact is that many educators are in denial about what Common Core will do to American education. Common Core standards are fixed and rigid. One size fits all. Tests and assessments will be rigidly structured to measure children’s and teachers’ performance to those dummied-down standards.
Teachers must “teach to the test” because their jobs depend on it. Administrators who say, “No matter what the standards are, we will continue to teach the same excellent program we have always done,” are just fooling themselves. With both ACT and SAT tests adjusted to reflect Common Core standards, they must teach to the standards.
For a complete description of Common Core, its origins, objectives and consequences, read Orlean Koehle’s small book, “Common Core, a Trojan Horse for Education Reform.” An excellent two-page summary can be found on the Web by searching the book title.
George Guynn Jr. is president of the Central Solano Citizen/Taxpayer Group. Reach him by email at georgejr@hotmail.com.
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Jason KnowlesAugust 04, 2013 - 11:27 am
George would you like to provide us with evidence of your claims? Another Tea Party ignoramus with no idea what he is talking about.
Reply |mike kirchubelAugust 04, 2013 - 12:15 pm
Ideas produced by corporations, for corporations, and voted on by politiciansbbeing funded by corporations. Sounds like every bill written by ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. How do you feel about ALEC bills, George?
Reply |History of Common CoreAugust 04, 2013 - 3:01 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGGVhqVr5Lw
Reply |Depopulation: Bill Gates And His Eugenics LieAugust 04, 2013 - 3:15 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2UhS4k5FhE
Reply |Rich GiddensAugust 04, 2013 - 3:12 pm
Central planning of education is a destructive Communist idea much like central economic planning and the Feds are tyrants who need to get out of the way. This is their latest in a whole line of phoney-baloney liberty and education destroying programs like ''no child left behind'' and ''race to the top''. This latest Fed scam is designed for the likes of Rachel Jeantel. It waters down and dilutes even mediocre standards to accommodate and kowtow to the lowest most common denominator.
Reply |FibberAugust 04, 2013 - 7:04 pm
How amusing: The first two commenters are the Portly Pompous Pedant and the Paraphrasing Pismire. Neither chose to address the issues but instead blew smoke. Rave on, PP'rs
Reply |The SugarJarAugust 04, 2013 - 7:30 pm
@Fibber, and how would you charcterize your comments?
Reply |mike kirchubelAugust 04, 2013 - 8:28 pm
Crutchfield, i simply drew a comparison and asked a question. .
Reply |Vincent PitzuloAugust 06, 2013 - 4:24 am
Mr.Guynn, I appreciate you bringing the common core standards to our attention. There are some legitimate concerns and a healthy debate should be had, but for us to have a serious conversation it is important we understand the facts. The questionable legality of Common Core is based on the idea that these standards establish a National curriculum. That is incorrect. Common core simply delineate what children should know at each grade level and describe the skills that they must acquire to stay on course toward college or career readiness. They are not a curriculum; it’s up to school districts to choose curricula that comply with the standards. The Fordham Institute has carefully examined Common Core and compared it with existing state standards: It found that for most states, Common Core is a great improvement with regard to rigor and cohesiveness. In fact, some states that have rejected common core (Texas to name one example) have standards significantly below common core suggestions. It is important to remember standards establish a “bottom floor” for educational curricula, not a ceiling. It is true that CC does not require or include the instruction of cursive writing, but that does not mean a school is prohibited from implementing such coursework. Yes, it is true that some corporate interests had a hand in funding some of the institutions that contributed to the development of Common Core, specifically the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. However, the process was started in 2009 and also included scholarly research, surveys on what skills are required of students entering college and workforce training programs, assessment data identifying college- and career-ready performance, comparisons to standards from high-performing states and nations National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) frameworks in reading and writing for English language arts; and findings from Trends in International Mathematics and Science (TIMSS) and other studies concluding that the traditional US mathematics curriculum must become substantially more coherent and focused in order to improve student achievement. The common core standards have been approved by CCSSO, the NGA Center, Achieve, Inc., ACT, the College Board, the National Association of State Boards of Education, the Alliance for Excellent Education, the Hunt Institute, the National Parent Teacher Association, the State Higher Education Executive Officers, the American Association of School Administrators, and the Business Roundtable.
Reply |mike kirchubelAugust 06, 2013 - 6:56 am
Vincent, could you send your comments to the DR in a letter to the editor or as a "guest commentator"? We readers could use some clear thinking on this to help counter the rabid attacks by the Fox hounds and those who only think in slogans. Thanks.
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