It is time to kill Common Core with extreme prejudice.Its Harming Our Children

We Must Immediately Kill That Which Is Harming Our Children

For our children, Common Core, is rotten to the core.

The title implies that I am advocating for unbridled violence against some perceived threat against our children. The reader may rest easy, I am only advocating violence against an idea, a concept, but the manifestation of something that is universally dangerous to our children. That something, goes by the name of Common Core. America needs to have a collective bonfire in which we engage in the only book burning exercise that I would approve of, the destruction of all the manifestations of Common Core and return to the educating of our children to state and local school boards.

Dumbing down is a catch phrase that we hear all too often when it comes to today’s educational system, dumbing down, deliberate or not, is occurring and the following paragraphs speak clearly to this point with evidence which must now seriously contemplate.

Illegal and Unconstitutional Creation and Imposition of Common Core Standards

As was documented in Part One, the Common Core State Standards were not created by any state legislators or teachers, instead, they were created by private organizations which derived their financial backing from known globalist organizations such as the Gates Foundation.

Because states that adopt the Standards must accept them word for word and will have no ability to modify or to add curriculum content, the states forfeit their constitutionally mandated authority over public education, which is also resulting in the denigration of parents’ rights.http://www.eagleforum.org/column/2010/sept10/10-09-17.html

It is very disturbing that it remains unclear what governance structure will be created in the future to address issues related to the Common Core Standards. What is clear is that the Standards are owned and copyrighted by nongovernmental (NGO) entities unaccountable to parents and students in individual states.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/why-common-core-standards-will-fail/2012/02/23/gIQATLgbUR_blog.html

Of all the teachers who have dramatically raised student achievement. Not one of them has ever said that their success in the classroom was the result of superior state learning standards. Good teaching raises standards of performance, not untested, anecdotal testimonials about vaguely written standards which don’t have one shred of evidence to support their validity.http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/why-common-core-standards-will-fail/2012/02/23/gIQATLgbUR_blog.html

Common Core Standards More Dumbing down

I laugh at the Common Core advocates who say the program is designed to get students ready for college. After reading this article, the reader will, no doubt, share in my concerns. And isn’t it interesting that our government says that is their goal to get students ready for college while at the same time overseeing an increase in college tuition which is eight times greater than the inflation rate as well as running a corrupt student loan program which is making debt slaves out of college students.

The Common Core standards, whose stated purpose is to prepare students for nondescript community colleges, as opposed to traditional universities, have created standards which are inferior to current state standards, and let’s not forget that these existing state standards have been deemed to be substandard in their respective rigor.

Common Core’s English language arts standards consist of empty skill sets that, once implemented, might not require reading skills any higher than middle-school level. There is a decided de-emphasis of the study of classic literature in favor of informational texts which will result in the abandonment of the legitimate goal of truly educating students, focusing instead on training them for concrete jobs. To paraphrase George Carlin, the globalists just want us smart enough to do our job, but too dumb to become aware of how Americans are being exploited.

Common Core and Math Rigor

The educational mantra of the federal government is that they wish for our students to lead the world in math and science. Let’s take a brief look at the Common Core academic rigor in the math domain to see if the federal Department of Education is making good on their commitment to America’s children.

The mathematics standards place Algebra I in ninth grade, rather than in grade 8 where it has traditionally been taught. This fact guarantees that the majority of students will not reach calculus in high school.

The standards require the teaching of  geometry to follow an experimental method, which has never been used successfully anywhere in the world. And  despite the claims made by Common Core advocates, the Common Core standards are not internationally bench-marked.

Common Core excludes certain Algebra II and Geometry content that is currently a prerequisite at almost every four-year state college.

In fact, exclusion of key math concepts is commonplace under Common Core. The Pioneer Institutes examination of Common Core revealed the following deficiencies:http://truthinamericaneducation.com/tag/pioneer-institute/


“Common Core fails to teach prime factorization and consequently does not include teaching about least common denominators or greatest common factors.
Common Core fails to include conversions among fractions, decimals, and percents, identified as a key skill by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Common Core de-emphasizes algebraic manipulation, which is a prerequisite for advanced mathematics, and instead effectively redefines algebra as “functional algebra”, which does not prepare students for STEM careers.

Common Core does not require proficiency with addition and subtraction until grade 4, a grade behind the expectations of the high-performing states and our international competitors.

Common Core does not require proficiency with multiplication using the standard algorithm (step-by-step procedure for calculations) until grade 5, a grade behind the expectations of the high-performing states and our international competitors.

Common Core does not require proficiency with division using the standard algorithm until grade 6, a grade behind the expectations of the high-performing states and our international competitors.
Common Core starts teaching decimals only in grade 4, about two years behind the more rigorous state standards, and fails to use money as a natural introduction to this concept.

Common Core fails to teach in K-8 about key geometrical concepts such as the area of a triangle, sum of angles in a triangle, isosceles and equilateral triangles, or constructions with a straightedge and compass that good state standards include.”

If Common Core standards are actually going to be responsible for lowering standards, what then is the true intent of this blind leap of faith beyond the intent to dumb down America’s next generation?  I know that Arizona Senator, John McCain, has said that he has never heard of Agenda 21, however, if you care about your child’s education, you may wish to click on the hyper link below and you will see how dangerous Agenda 21 is to your child’s future. Agenda 21 documents provide more information on the true intent of Common Core. Chapter 25 states that to “Ensure access for all youth to all types of education… ensure that education… incorporates the concepts of environmental awareness and sustainable development throughout the curricula…”

http://www.un-documents.net/a21-25.htm

Throughout curricula simply means that in every single class and subject (i.e. spelling, grammar, science, English, math, history, technology, art, languages, all sports, student government, National Honor Society, debate team, home economics, et al), students are required to be taught environmental awareness and sustainable development? Along these lines, Agenda 21 espouses depopulation, forced sterilization and publicly funded abortions. And soon, to paraphrase an old saying, we soon may be asking another question, why can’t Johnny read?http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/spec/aress19-2.htm

As if the above is not disturbing enough, I have also discovered that there is no check and balance on the Common Core system. The Department of Education has not even set up a monitoring system to ensure quality control for standards that they are already mandating.

Skyrocketing Costs of Administering Education Under Common Core

The only national study done of the potential costs of implementing the Standards and assessments estimates nationwide was estimated at $16 billion over seven years. Education officials are already complaining that the costs of training teachers and administrators are overwhelming their district budgets. When the Common Core is expected to be fully implemented and teachers are held accountable for student results, many/most teachers will not have been adequately trained. The technology upgrades and maintenance needed are not in play.
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/What-price-for-the-Common-Core-4094400.php

At a time when the Washington state government is facing annual increase of another $2 trillion dollar deficit, the Common Core standards will cost the state $300 million. Just the cost of new textbooks alone is expected to exceed $122 million.http://www.eagleforum.org/educate/2012/jan12/common-core-standards.html

The continuing costs on implementation and maintenance of the Common Core will be substantial, especially with respect to professional development and technology maintenance and upgrades.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2013/01/06/20130106arizonas-public-schools-facing-tougher-standards.html

Student and Family Privacy Are Imperiled by Common Core

There is a distinct and clearly identifiable end run around the Fourth Amendment protections in the Constitution. The unconstitutional federal Department of Education is using both the Standards and the PARCC assessments as vehicles to require the construction of highly intrusive state student databases.

The Department of Education has obliterated federal student-privacy laws (e.g. FERPA) to allow other federal agencies access to previously guarded student data. Most disturbingly, we are witnessing the sharing of student data with other government agencies and private entities. Partnering with the Department of Labor, the federal government is seeking to illegally construct a data system that allows tracking of individual students from preschool through the workforce. These actions not only constitute privacy violations for students and families, but these actions espouse a philosophy which is more commonly associated with totalitarian dictatorships than reflecting the values of a constitutional republic.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/93067101/Controlling-Education-From-the-Top-Why-the-Common-Core-is-Bad-for-America


Why would the government be so interested in tracking every move related education and employment for our youngest citizens? I believe the answer to that question lies in the following paragraphs.

There are still some who believe that the government still respects and obeys the Constitution.  To these individuals, these observations will, no doubt, seem outlandish. However, when we look at the path of Common Core and how it seeks to brainwash children as to the scientific legitimacy of  climate change and need for sustainable development, the groundwork is being laid to coerce our children into accepting the Agenda 21 precepts of accepting less individual living space, dramatically less energy usage, complete control of resources by governmental entities and NGO’s, and the loss of political and personal freedom. Common Core is programming our children to accept a brand of neo-feudalistic fascism on a global scale and it is intended that our kids will play the role of the serfs.

The fact also remains that Common Core is based upon a faulty premise which states that if we only have the right standards, the right standardized tests, and then and only then will our students achieve. This philosophy also sees students as products to be developed and that if the standards are raised, then so will student achievement. The Common Core advocates cannot produce any body of knowledge which supports the worldview, that simply raising standards, results in increased student achievement. This viewpoint is wishful thinking at best. Simply saying something, does not make it so. Again, there is not one shred of proof to support this blind leap into insanity other than simple anecdotal accounts.

The Truth About Educational Achievement

The number one fact associated with excellent educational achievement is socioeconomic status. Presented as a representative case in point, a 1999 study  by Capron and Duyme of French children adopted between the ages of four and six examined the influence of socioeconomic status (SES). The children’s IQs initially averaged 77, putting them near the designation, mental retardation. Most were abused or neglected as infants, then moved from one foster home or institution to the next. Nine years later after adoption, when they were an average of 14 years of age, they retook the IQ tests, and all of them did better. The amount they improved was directly related to the adopting family’s socioeconomic status. “Children adopted by farmers and laborers had average IQ scores of 85.5; those placed with middle-class families had average scores of 92. The average IQ scores of youngsters placed in well-to-do homes climbed more than 20 points, to 98. IQ predicts school success. Further, family SES is the single and only predictor of educational success.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_class

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061205161703AAKkCTM

The United States has the second highest child poverty rate in the industrialized world.  The United States is one of the lowest scoring nations on standardized educational testing in the industrialized world. The correlation between these two facts combined combined with the fact that SES is the top predictor of educational success cannot be overstated.http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2012/05/29/US-Second-highest-child-poverty-level/UPI-67641338349787/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/23/us-students-still-lag-beh_n_1695516.html

The undeniable conclusion is that if the powers-that-be truly wanted to improve the educational performance of its American students, we would be seeking to raise our national SES. Easier said than done, you say? Not really. If the federal bailout money had been applied to home mortgages, all American homes would have been paid off. If America returned to what supported the economy before the introduction of the 16th (income tax) Amendment, our collective SES would skyrocket. I am talking about the re-institution of tariffs on foreign goods and the elimination of all free trade agreements. This would force WalMart and all the other multinational corporations to choose between using foreign slave labor or losing its American consumer base. However, as long as the corporations are able to buy Congress through insider trading and campaign contributions, enacting this change, anytime soon, is an unrealistic dream.

What Are Parents to Do About the Quality of Their Children?

It is apparent that the goal of Common Core is not to improve education, but rather it will hasten the rate of the dumbing down of America. Under Common Core, our students will become math and English deficient in the long term as compared to past and present standards.  The proven fraud and fallacy of climate change and the acceptance a third world life-style will be the mission of Common Core. So what is a parent to do? Oh, and before you scoff at the statement which refers to global warming (i.e. now called climate change after the discovered fraud), please Google the phrase climate gate, East Anglia University (England) and fraudulent data. Read several of the references and we will let the evolution of a new perspective begin to take hold . Yes, there is some climate change, but  only a microscopic part of it is man-made and man can do not anything about this phenomena even if we entirely deindustrialized the entire planet!

Many parents are awakening to the fact that they should not allow their child to attend a school which uses Common Core as the basis of of the school’s curriculum. If parents cannot practically escape this monstrosity, then home schooling should become the option. Parents should seek to network with other parents in order that they can create a consortium or expertise which will provide a framework for quality education. However, it is probably not going to come to that.

All across the nation, local politicians are campaigning, in the 2014 election cycle, to do away with Common Core. However, we must not become complacent and we must all work to destroy this impediment to our children’s education.
Yet, if the government legislates against parent choice and uses the power of the federal purse strings to force Common Core down the throats of our children, the next step is civil disobedience on behalf of your children who are not the property of the faceless and unaccountable demagogues behind Common Core.

Finally, if you doubt the veracity of what is written here, even after fact checking the hypertext links, then take a listen to a short 20 minute lecture from this university professor.





Still not convinced? That is OK, because in a future installment, I will follow the money and demonstrate that the infrastructure of Common Core is designed to maximize profits for certain individuals and their respective corporations at the expense of the American taxpayer. One final thought, if the Common Core standards are such a panacea, then why isn’t the rest of the world falling over themselves in an attempt to implement the same unproven standards?

It is time to kill Common Core with extreme prejudice.

by Dave Hodges