Karen Braun is a writer and conference speaker on issues related education and family life. Her work has appeared in the American Thinker, Crosswalk, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, WatchDog Wire, and various other websites and magazines. She has also appeared on TV and radio venues. Along with blogging, Karen also enjoys homeschooling, running marathons, and spending time with her husband, their six children, and two grand children. For more information please contact Karen at spunkyhomeschool at gmail dot com
We’re making progress but more work needs to be done. Please continue calling and emailing. As of today, House Concurrent Resolution 11 (HCR 11) sits in the Senator Government Operations Committee chaired by Senate Majority Leader Richardville. There was no meeting this week. There is a meeting scheduled for October 15, 2013 but HCR 11 […]
A common lie spread by those who support the common core is that this is a standard and not a curriculum which they say will be left up to the local districts. Kyle Olsen at EAG News has it exactly right about how local districts will purchase curriculum under Common Core. “One might argue […]
The calls and emails are working. House Concurrent Resolution 11 (HCR 11) is in the Senate Government Operations Committee chaired by Senate Majority Leader Richardville. He is feeling the heat and rightly so. HCR 11 should NOT be in Government Operations but in Education or Appropriations. In a statement to MIRS News Service, […]
Yesterday, I spoke with a Senate aide regarding Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBAC) to go with the Common Core standards. He challenged my assertion that the federal government is developing the tests with SBAC and not just funding them. I referred him to the technical review announced by the Federal Department of Education last March. From […]
Yesterday, Senator Richardville oddly and abruptly moved House Concurrent Resolution (HCR 11) out of Appropriations to the Government Operations Committee. Why a Common Core resolution would be referred to the Government Operations Committee was confusing to me especially after a joint committee heard over three hours of testimony the previous day. I made various calls […]
Action Item: Call the Government Operations Committee members (names and numbers below) and let them know you want them to “do their job” and hold public hearings to discuss the serious issues with Common Core and HCR 11 and that you want an amendment to REMOVE Michigan from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortia. Legislative Recap […]
UPDATE: Lori Higgins at The Detroit Free Press has rewritten the original article to say that the website can stay up. Kurt Weiss, spokesman for the technology, management and budget department said. Not only will the site remain up, Weiss said, but there is also no need to remove any Common Core materials. However, the […]
Liberal Republicans and Progressives are continuing to try and shove Common Core down our throats! In a vote last Thursday, September 26th, 2013, the radical progressives voted to pass House Concurrent Resolution No. 11 which approves funding “to expend resources to implement the use of the Common Core State Standards so long as the conditions […]
As you may know a Common Core resolution passed the House last Thursday. Their affirmative action moves us another step closer to refunding the Common Core in Michigan. You can see who voted how here. Yes, only 21 Republicans voted against Common Core. They believe the big business Roundtable and their education establishment rather than […]
Last week, the Michigan House voted FOR a resolution that continues the funding for Common Core. It now goes to the Senate which could vote on the resolution this week. Before the Senate vote, I encourage lawmakers to watch this video from Bonnie Fisher who testified against Common Core in Indiana. Fisher has decades of […]