The Common Core of State Mind Control over Children

[dldelancey]

Carol,

I know you didn't ask me, but for the record, I disapprove of a curriculum that takes autonomy from teachers, places an unnecessary amount of administrative overhead on teachers, is not clear in its expectations or is contradictory in its expectations, and does not take into account the individuality of each student. I believe Common Core to be guilty of all of the above. I believe the curriculum that has been in place in the state of LA for a number of years to also be guilty of all of the above. That's one of the reasons I chose to put my son in private school because it is not bound by the state mandated curriculum. Now it has chosen to adopt Common Core, I want to know why and in what ways specifically it will implement the standards. It may be that I'm okay with their plan, but I don't know yet.

Marotta,

I agree that there are those who are throwing daggers at Common Core without understanding what it is. I also agree that there are those who are against it simply because of its origination within the "left." However, there are a great many of us who are basing our conclusions on research and rational thought, not media hype and political agendas. In fact, I'm not even sure the political agenda is as clearcut as you make it. Bobby Jindal, my governor, is a Republican but is a strong supporter of Common Core. My son attends a Catholic school. The Archdiocese is about as right-wing as you can get, and yet, we're getting Common Core.

Edited to add: MM, looks like we cross-posted. I see now that I probably misunderstood your prior point re: the political agenda.

[Brant Gaede]

We can count on public education to continue to implode common core or no common core. Even without it the stupid and ignorant get more and more so.

--Brant

it's even worse in Great Britain--as are most things associated with government

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

So Common Core is not a Federal program?

Wow.

As if this were news.

States only get oodles of Federal money and perks out the gigi if they implant Common Core.

There's a difference between being a conceptual thinker and a nitpicker over words.

Just because the Federal government is using a ruse to cover its intentions and involvement, that means we have to believe the ruse so a nitpicker can pretend he is more intelligent than the other posters here on OL.

Yeah, right...

But let's leave the concept, since that is not in too much favor with the nitpicker, and go right to the words to nitpick. So what do we find?

Dayamm!

Lookee there!

All anyone needs to do is read the opening post and they already know that Common Core is not a Federal program. Here, for the vanity addict, read it and weep.

(. . .)

Is the ‘Common Core’ Initiative Dumbing Down America’s Students?
by Tiffany Gabbay
TheBlaze
March 14, 2013

From the article: (. . .)

. . .
The Common Core State Standards initiative is, according to its official website, a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), developed “in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce.”

. . .

I am disturbed that input into a child's education is being hidden from the parents and the federal government is strongly pressuring the states to adopt this.

The extent some people will go to so they can keep telling themselves the myth that they are superior to the dummies they interact with--and the extent of their blindness to obvious stuff right under their nose--is truly awe-inspiring.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

I may sound a little harsh, but I'm getting tired of the insinuation that those who oppose Common Core no nothing about it because they are ignorant hillbillies brainwashed by Glenn Beck.

Marotta is prejudiced against Glenn Beck. It's a thing. A quirk. A massive inner blank-out.

In the very beginning, he was bashing Glenn with all kinds of "facts" until I pushed him to the wall (by showing him proof of the contrary of his "facts") and he admitted he had not seen a single show. He was getting all his "facts" from the mainstream press.

So he saw one on YouTube and interrupted it to bash Glenn before he even got 10 minutes into the show or something like that. He sure was in a critical thinking, identify-before-judge, frame of mind when he did that, huh?

Right...

This is a forum of ideas, not petty vanities, nor a crusade to scapegoat religious people on a kneejerk basis.

I don't like bigotry. I don't like peer pressure. And I really don't like misrepresentation.

MIchael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

btw - This does not mean people have to agree with me.

If someone wants to defend Common Core, I have no problem with it. In fact, we could all probably use intelligent debate about it. I know if I want to oppose it, my reasons have to stand up to strong opposition if they are going to be valid for the long haul. And if a supporter convinces me I am wrong, that's a hell of a good win since I am led out of error.

I just get tired of certain subtexts when I know what they are and I know they are petty. And I don't like people denigrating the intelligence of OL members, not even by insinuation.

OL is a place full of some of the most intelligent people I have ever interacted with in my life. And I am proud of every one of you. Hell, I'm delightedly proud to know you all. Including MM (when he is not out on a vanity crusade).

Michael

[caroljane]

??? If Mike's agenda here was cutting down Beck, it was way too subtle for me to notice. It looked to me like a discussion about public education and the American dislike of uniformity.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Carol,

You see it in every other post of his, not against Beck, but against anyone who professes interest in religion and in Objectivist and/or libertarian values. Even pro-liberty luminaries like Chief Justice Scalia.

He has personal mission to keep the party-line pure for atheists only. And by God, he will be the executioner of apostates when the revolution comes.

Sometimes I think he forgets that there is no party-line here on OL. If he wants to state his opinion, OK. He's entitled. But the constant insinuations about OL posters who think differently is irritating.

If you think I'm the only one who sees this, look above at Deanna's post. She was defending people who criticize Common Core and know what it is, as if this were something odd or not normal here on OL. An easy insinuation to gather from this is that the normal situation on OL is for people who don't have a clue to criticize Common Core.

Obviously, that's not her opinion (at least I don't think so), but notice how misrepresentation and veiled attacks of a peer pressure sort lead people to defensiveness, even when there is no need for such. And further even if the attack is against a group of people like those here on OL instead of just an individual.

So I expose the bullshit. Some may agree with me and some may disagree, but I have found that exposure is a good way to keep a lot of bullshit contained. Am I right 100% of the time? Probably not. But I'm willing to be wrong at times to keep the good stuff and the good vibes rolling on OL.

People who do this crap generally don't like exposure. They often cry victimhood when exposed, too.

Michael

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Carol,

Here's another way to say it in terms I have no doubt you will understand.

I'm complicated.

Michael

[Brant Gaede]

Carol,

Here's another way to say it in terms I have no doubt you will understand.

I'm complicated.

Michael

That's simple.

--Brant

even I can understand it

[Brant Gaede]

Common Core is NOT a Federal initiative. It was created by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. That is why 45 states (Republican and Democrat), four territories, and the US DoD have adopted these standards.

Texas chose not to. It was their privilege. However, note that Texas does have a unified state school system. (Lee Harvey Oswald did not shoot President Kennedy from the roof of the Dallas Book Depository because that one building was where all the Dallas area school books were kept. The State of Texas buys all the books for all the public schools, so everyone gets the same education. Thus, the top 10% of all kids at all school have guaranteed admission to the University of Texas,)

Also not in are Minnesota, Nebraska, Virginia, and Alaska. Again, it was their choice. This is not a Federal mandate.

Common Core is a "drop back and punt" conservative strategy in response to the years and years of conservatives wringing their hands because kids in the USA score lower than their peers in Estonia, Singapore, and 17 other industrialized nations. Those nations all have integrated (national) educational systems. In most of them, private schools exist only by permission and must follow government curricula. Last year, on my blog, I wrote:

The greatest strength in the American system of education is that there is no system. The pluralism of our society allows choices, options, and alternatives at every level. The USA has more than 14,000 school districts (for primary and secondary education) and over 5,700 institutions of higher education (two-year and four-year colleges and universities). These all serve 81 million client learners. About 10% (5 million plus) attend private schools K-12. Also, about 2 million are home schooled. Peculiar to the USA, annually, about 65,000 unauthorized immigrants graduate from high school.

American Education: At Least Two Cheers

Moreover, as everyone knows, with some exceptions such as Singapore, in those other nations, not everyone goes to the same high schools and not everyone can go to college. In those other nations, your future is decided by the secondary school you enter. In Japan (at least through the 90s when I was active in the culture), the university you entered determined the corporation you would work for. In addition, those other nations are not multi-cultural continent-sized federations. Singapore is an exception, but if you look at Hong Kong, Estonia, Finland, The Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, ... you find a lot of little monochromatic places. So, for them, nationalized, unified systems might make sense.

Common Core is an attempt to regain the high quality basic education that everyone seems to think we once had when American led the world. That mythical world of "Leave it to Beaver" or the previous "Greatest Generation" was very much like our own: troubled about the lack of education. Thus, America copied the German "gynmasium" and British "publc school" (i.e. private school), with our own High School movement of the early 1900s. It was needed to keep feeding students into the new land grant colleges such as Michigan State, Texas A&M, etc., etc. because an eighth grade education was no longer enough. Americans either studied on their own with tutors or went to a finishing school or prep school. To solve the "crisis" we launched secondary schools or "high" schools. It seemed to work... for a while...

Myself, I think that the lack of a system worked best. But Common Core is not a creation of Comrade Mullah Barack Obama (who only exists when he is perceived).

State or states. What's the difference? It's top down. It is the evil conjoined twin of public education. There was a common core, so to say, when I was in grade school back in the 1950s. Obedience to authority. Schools are jejune prisons. Teachers are guards and the principal is the warden. Common Core just means the commonality of all prisons.

--Brant

nice font size; I prefer a little smaller

[Selene]

State or states. What's the difference? It's top down. It is the evil conjoined twin of public education. There was a common core, so to say, when I was in grade school back in the 1950s. Obedience to authority. Schools are jejune prisons. Teachers are guards and the principal is the warden. Common Core just means the commonality of all prisons.

--Brant

nice font size; I prefer a little smaller

Brant:

He tends tio shout with his inept arguments...I think it is possibly a "dick" issue...

A...

[caroljane]

Brant,

Doesn't every state require persons under sixteen to attend the prisons , or house arrest/ home schooling? Where in the Constitution does it say children should be universally constrained in this way?

Maybe there should be another Liberty Amendment about this.

[Brant Gaede]

State or states. What's the difference? It's top down. It is the evil conjoined twin of public education. There was a common core, so to say, when I was in grade school back in the 1950s. Obedience to authority. Schools are jejune prisons. Teachers are guards and the principal is the warden. Common Core just means the commonality of all prisons.

--Brant

nice font size; I prefer a little smaller

Brant:

He tends tio shout with his inept arguments...I think it is possibly a "dick" issue...

A...

Do you really think so?

--Brant

damn, this is as big as I can get, but after four hours I'll have to call my health care provider

[Selene]

State or states. What's the difference? It's top down. It is the evil conjoined twin of public education. There was a common core, so to say, when I was in grade school back in the 1950s. Obedience to authority. Schools are jejune prisons. Teachers are guards and the principal is the warden. Common Core just means the commonality of all prisons.

--Brant

nice font size; I prefer a little smaller

Brant:

He tends tio shout with his inept arguments...I think it is possibly a "dick" issue...

A...

Do you really think so?

--Brant

damn, this is as big as I can get, but after four hours I'll have to call my health care provider

Its not the size of the wand, it is the skill in the hands of the magician that gets the rabbit out of the hat...and other magical tricks...

[Brant Gaede]

Whew! I thought I was going to the emergency room.

--Brant

back to normal

[Selene]

Whew! I thought I was going to the emergency room.

--Brant

back to normal

You are exceptionally hilarious Brant....

Glad that I have met you...

[syrakusos]

Brant and Selene - I had to track that back and then decide that you meant my Post #100, not MSK's Post #103. I did not intend to shout but was back and forth between the PC and the Mac and did not see the usual 14-point displayed as expected. So, I bumped it to 18 because I could not enter 16. I also tend to work without my glasses and at about 3 feet from the screen on the PC at my desk, but half of that on the couch with my Mac in my lap.

MSK - Just because I happen to take a position different from Glenn Beck does not mean that I am bashing him for his religion. That boat sailed a long time ago. And I think you sank it. Justice Scalia's religious views are a different topic entirely. The Justice made the statements. But that is not this discussion.

Brant and MSK - When the government decides to give a tax credit to cattle ranches, that is a political decision. When a Dept of Agriculture veterinarian makes a determination, we hope that is science, not politics. So, too, here. The Common Core was developed by professional educators based on their best understanding. You can argue the facts, by addressing the standards. So far, you have only declaimed against "top-down" learning.

I agree that ultimately, each of us, even children, has a basic responsibility to ourselves to determine what is in our best interests, including classroom learning. But we pay teachers - public, private - to make that "top-down" determination. School departments, schools, school boards... Usually, as with any organization, the higher the stratum, the more abstract and conceptual the decisions, but sometimes not.

If you have a problem with Common Core, then address the topic.

Brant - as for schools as prisons... We were living in Marysville, Ohio, close to the village square, and across the street from our house was the old Junior High. Union County decided to upgrade the sheriff's department and jail; and in the mean time, during construction, they took over the old Junior High. Sitting on the front steps of our house with my daughter, I was reminded of the opening to The Fountainhead. From the high steps flanked with stations for guards (with halberds, I suppose) to the crenelated towers (for archers), it was pretty clear that the old Junior High was modeled on a medieval fortress. Schools are prisons, all right.

[caroljane]

Fortresses were built as places of safety from which to withstand attack; few were ever used primarily as prisons.

Many served as prisons of course, in which some notable poetry was composed.

[Brant Gaede]

Brant and Selene - I had to track that back and then decide that you meant my Post #100, not MSK's Post #103. I did not intend to shout but was back and forth between the PC and the Mac and did not see the usual 14-point displayed as expected. So, I bumped it to 18 because I could not enter 16. I also tend to work without my glasses and at about 3 feet from the screen on the PC at my desk, but half of that on the couch with my Mac in my lap.

MSK - Just because I happen to take a position different from Glenn Beck does not mean that I am bashing him for his religion. That boat sailed a long time ago. And I think you sank it. Justice Scalia's religious views are a different topic entirely. The Justice made the statements. But that is not this discussion.

Brant and MSK - When the government decides to give a tax credit to cattle ranches, that is a political decision. When a Dept of Agriculture veterinarian makes a determination, we hope that is science, not politics. So, too, here. The Common Core was developed by professional educators based on their best understanding. You can argue the facts, by addressing the standards. So far, you have only declaimed against "top-down" learning.

I agree that ultimately, each of us, even children, has a basic responsibility to ourselves to determine what is in our best interests, including classroom learning. But we pay teachers - public, private - to make that "top-down" determination. School departments, schools, school boards... Usually, as with any organization, the higher the stratum, the more abstract and conceptual the decisions, but sometimes not.

If you have a problem with Common Core, then address the topic.

Brant - as for schools as prisons... We were living in Marysville, Ohio, close to the village square, and across the street from our house was the old Junior High. Union County decided to upgrade the sheriff's department and jail; and in the mean time, during construction, they took over the old Junior High. Sitting on the front steps of our house with my daughter, I was reminded of the opening to The Fountainhead. From the high steps flanked with stations for guards (with halberds, I suppose) to the crenelated towers (for archers), it was pretty clear that the old Junior High was modeled on a medieval fortress. Schools are prisons, all right.

I thought it might be glasses and such, but I was willing to sacrifice you for some fun. As for what is inside Common Core, I don't care and don't claim to know. I am against public education and the standard ideological methodology that set it up, maintains it and what it's really all about: anything not to do with real critical thinking--that is, conformity.

--Brant

[caroljane]

A lot of the Common Core is probably already inside you, Brant. Too late not to care.

[Brant Gaede]

A lot of the Common Core is probably already inside you, Brant. Too late not to care.

I went from a conquer or dominate the (bad) world (in the name of peace and freedom) conservative (Barry Goldwater, my hero still) to Objectivist to delimited government Objectivist-libertarian to fuck the government that is. I've always refused to be educated; I only wanted to learn and learn about the big stuff. I never had to overcome any Common Core; I had to learn about myself. Who I was--who I really was. I didn't know what I was doing, actually, until recently. I always had an essential contempt for my pre-college educational environment. I so looked forward to my first year in a public school--for me that was second grade--because as a thinker I thought I had a head start and it was soon going to be all about thinking.

--Brant

6 year-old fool

69 year-old individualist (that's been hard--at least for me--and I struggle with it all the time)

[caroljane]

How interesting the way you structure your most important points here. Maybe I should not just react off post but I do not see how, at 6 or 16 or 26, to want things to be all about thinking and expect others to want it too, is not wanting and maybe expecting, life to shape itself to "me and the way I think" oh, I never wanted to learn about myself,I thought I knew it all... had to learn anyway, waste of time if you ask me.

[caroljane]

a little more collectedly)

At 18 I thought I knew everything I needed to know about myself, it was the world and other people I wanted to learn about.

Trying to introspect about things which meant nothing in my life experience at that age, was a pretty depressing experience.Also, it was scary to know that I should be an intellectually complete adult with a main life purpose. And be feeling joy about it all the time. Or else I was not doing it right.

[Brant Gaede]

How interesting the way you structure your most important points here. Maybe I should not just react off post but I do not see how, at 6 or 16 or 26, to want things to be all about thinking and expect others to want it too, is not wanting and maybe expecting, life to shape itself to "me and the way I think" oh, I never wanted to learn about myself,I thought I knew it all... had to learn anyway, waste of time if you ask me.

I didn't expect my peers "to want it too" for I already knew they weren't into it. I just thought that that would be what a real education would have to be essentially all about. It was no more about that than the Nathaniel Branden Institute and Ayn Rand were about that. Everybody was merely in the business of dishing out fish not teaching you to catch fish, except, maybe, in high school shop.

--Brant

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

A kid fighting for teachers against Common Core.

And kicking some righteous booty, better than the adults do.

I caught this on TheBlaze here.

If there are more where this student came from, the future of the USA looks pretty darn good.

Michael