I received a note from a parent after she had a conversation with her local charter school principal over Common Core and how it is impacted her child. She wrote,
I had the opportunity to discuss my Common Core concerns with the principal, alone, after the meeting. I had a full page of reasons why I’m opposed to Common Core for him to read. He made it seem as if he’s rather uniformed as to what all the opposition is saying. I told him that it’s all readily available on the internet & that he ought to research for himself. He told me he could, but that he’s not going to go against the mandates. What the state, & Mr. Devos say they want, they’re going to get. (Emphasis added)
So much for the argument that school-choice and charters will give the parents MORE control in education! “What the state, & Mr. Devos say they want, they’re going to get.” Money is driving the Common Core and P-20 education reforms.
The resignation letter by the Eagle Crest Charter School board president posted last week echos the same concern.
This copy-written, corporate-driven education model has been developed by non-teachers and edu-crats from Washington to Lansing to the detriment of students, parents, taxpayers and local school boards. Without control of curriculum and a limited control of budgets, CC has effectively removed local control from parents and put it the hands of ESPs, the Dept. of Ed and state boards.
As a logical conclusion to this hokum, ECCA has fallen victim to this Soviet-style education.
The message is clear, Common Core is a centralized P-20 “Soviet-style system” eliminates local/parent control and innovation in education. But you wouldn’t know that when you listen to the promoters of Common Core. From the get go, David Coleman and his cronies sold both billionaires and Governors on the idea that the Common Core Standards will increase innovation and choice. In a lengthy expose’ Lyndsey Layton at the Washington Post records how they convinced Bill Gates and “pulled off the swift Common Core revolution.”
The pair also argued that a fragmented education system stifled innovation because textbook publishers and software developers were catering to a large number of small markets instead of exploring breakthrough products.
In essence they argued that there were too many consumers with different needs and thus there was no incentive to innovate. So in their wisdom they persuaded Gates to fund ONE standard so innovation could thrive. That is an illogical argument. Innovatio is stifled because developers are all catering to ONE standard with no incentive to go beyond it because few can afford to compete with the Common Core. Gates admitted it in the Washington Post article,
“There’s a lot of work that’s gone into making these [standards] good,” Gates continued. “I wish there was a lot of competition, in terms of [other] people who put tens of millions of dollars into how reading and writing could be improved, how math could be improved.”
Free-market innovation and choice are replaced by mediocrity and complacency thanks to Bill Gates and their unholy alliance with the federal Department of Education. Bill Gates and the feds bought off state governments and organizations on the left and the right killing opposition and any incentive to challenge the common core on its merits. Quoting the Washington Post, “Gates-backed groups built such strong support for the Common Core that critics, few and far between, were overwhelmed.”
Michigan and several other states, have the added bonus of the pro-Common Core DeVos family influencing education policy and reform all while promoting school choice. Betsy DeVos sits on the Board of Directors for the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP) which advocates for common core, third grade reading assessments, and teacher evaluations. All of which, are integral components to the P-20w education reform scheme that will track children from cradle to career.
What the state, Gates, and DeVos want they are NOT going to get!
It’s time for parents to speak up and silence the money machine pushing Common Core and the cradle-to-career pathway that meets their demands but leaves our children’s dreams behind.
The state, Gates, and DeVos may control the purse strings but parents control the shoe strings.
Opting out of Common Core and the aligned assessments will bring this reform to a halt. And put the power back in the hands of the parents and teachers where it rightfully belongs.
Make Common Core the litmus test for the November election. We have started a 2014 Roll Call to keep track of where the candidates stand. It’s time our elected officials listen to ordinary parents again and Stop Common Core.
I will be speaking on Common core TONIGHT (Monday) at 6:30 PM at the Lyon Township library. 27005 S. Milford Rd. South Lyon 48178. See you then!