What a Total Load of Shit

A WCSD "teacher" presents the company line in favor the increasingly debunked and discredited "Common Core" by bragging about what a great job she does in the classroom by forcing inappropriate curriculum down the throats of kids.

She's obviously gunning for an administrative job or make-work central office "job" where she will never have to worry about being evaluated ever again like so many of them that I knew who worked at WCSD.

The piece is neck-deep in bullshit. The whole point of Common Core is to force national standards on states and school districts and eventually abolish public education altogether in favor of the failed online charter schools. Why bother with teachers at all if all kids in all schools in all parts of the country are doing the same thing at the same time? Just park the kids in front of computers all day and outsource content to Pearson while have minimum wage teacher aides just monitor the kids.

That's the ultimate goal of all of the reforms--to abolish teaching as a profession and outsource everything to billionaires and Wall Street crooks who will further enrich themselves.

It's another form of wealth transfer.

This teacher is denser than a London fog.

By the way, she teaches at Westergard Elementary School, which isn't anywhere near being a Title I, so that makes her opinion even more bullshit.

Its location is in a strictly a middle class or upper middle class area.

Movie of the Week

Documentary about the rotten Common Core:

More Proof K-12 Teachers Do NOT Have "Academic Freedom"

If anything, the rampant bullying of teachers is increasing thanks to Common Core. If teachers dare speak out against this garbage, they risk their jobs, "tenured" or not:

Of course "Common Core" is Botched

It's unfixable, and the reason it is unfixable is because a dipshit billionaire and his foundation got so enamored with itty-bitty European countries having "national education standards," he figured he could just go out and buy off a few U.S. politicians to pull the same thing here.

You'd think Gates, with his hoity-toity private school background, and with his equally privileged puppets Obama and Duncan, would have learned a thing or two from their "superior" schools about something called the "separation of powers," including the rights and limitations of what the federal government can and can't do with regard to education. Public education has ALWAYS been a state and local matter, with the federal government being involved with matters more along the lines of enforcing civil rights protections of students and helping "at risk" students. It clearly has NO business putting any kind of blackmail scheme trying to force curriculum or teacher preparation/licensure or teacher evaluation on states or school districts. None. Zip. These people hide behind "grants" and such knowing good and well what they are trying to impose is illegal and unconstitutional. In fact, it is really grounds for impeachment of both Obama and Duncan, but that'll never happen given the fact our Congress is just as gung-ho about killing public education as these fake "Democrats."

As for European countries, they are different. They are geographically smaller, they have smaller populations, their demographics are different, and their government and legal structure is different from the U.S. Total apples and oranges. But Gates and his ilk have this demented fantasy we should have a European-style education system with national standards and "tracking" students early so they either are "apprentices" or they go to college, narrowing their own futures, which could change, thus fucking over anybody who wants to change careers later on. At least that is what Bill Gates used to think. There is likely a far more sinister, far more ulterior motive at work with Gates and his ilk, and that has to do with the possibility having a standardized curriculum EVERYWHERE in the United States means that there will be no more teachers as we know them, just teacher aides making minimum wage babysitting kids who are on computers all day. Computer software would be by Microsoft, curriculum by Pearson. Point-and-click "education," despite the absolutely horrific failure of online K-12 "schools." No hands-on science, no field trips, no music, no art, nothing but just the minimum bare-bones education for the masses. The privileged would still have their little private schools with real teachers and a wide curriculum. Meanwhile the parasites running these online "schools" get richer than ever in yet another insane transfer of wealth upward courtesy of the 99 percent of taxpayers.

It's all about creating a caste system with them.

Of course you can't trust the leadership of the NEA or the AFT as far as you can throw them given their asskissing of the very people intent on killing public education in America, and with that teachers' unions.

Here’s why: The Common Core has plenty of high-profile backers, including President Barack Obama, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Yet poll after poll shows that parents trust teachers, above all, to do what’s right by their kids.

Given that trust, the NEA’s support has always been a huge feather in the cap of Common Core supporters. It’s also provided a practical boost: The union has pledged that its members would hold town-hall forums, speak at PTA meetings and do everything they could to persuade a wary public to give Common Core a chance.

Now, however, it’s not clear that teachers can effectively serve as ambassadors. For months, dissident groups of educators, including the Badass Teacher Association, have spoken out against the Common Core. In his open letter, Van Roekel made clear that disillusionment was both widespread and mainstream.

He said 70 percent of teachers believe implementation is going poorly in their schools — and two-thirds report that they have never been asked to give their input on how to introduce the new standards.

It's not only untenable, it's also illegal and unconstitutional.

Let's put it another way. Let's see what would happen if the Obama administration decided it was going to have the DOJ or the surgeon general create national standards for attorneys and physicians. Let's have the federal government start licensing attorneys and physicians. See how far they get when they tangle with the ABA or the AMA. But those are male-dominated occupations peopled with those who have high SAT scores and are smarter than those who are in a female-dominated profession like teaching. Teachers are stupid and need to be told what to do and how to do it. States need to be told what to require for training and evaluating teachers and what curriculum to have. Ditto for school districts.

It's disgusting. "Common Core" is an abomination.

Oh, Man

Like many other school districts in the United States that have been co-opted by the "reform" movement, WCSD is going on a mission to try and "educate" people on Common Core.

There is NO way you can turn this sow's ear into a silk purse. It's worse than that--it's pure evil.

Fordham Institute--bad news. It is in favor of the destruction of public education in the United States and turn the whole thing over to billionaires and Wall Street types to make even more money, this time off the taxpayers, These people are literally parasitical. When will people wake up, and when will this insanity end? This is what happens when you have years of tax breaks and wealth distribution upward so that billionaires and their ilk start dictating how the country will be run. It also helps there was 30 years of propaganda that said our schools were no good beginning with the fraudulent and thoroughly debunked 1983 "A Nation at Risk" to help undermine trust in public institutions.

This is why I say pay attention to school board elections in your communities. This cancer is infecting every school district in the United States.

Remember, the whole idea of "common core" was started by the Gates Foundation. Gates has an ulterior motive in education "reform," and that is to ultimately force all public school students into online "academies" where software is by Microsoft and curriculum is by Pearson. No teachers needed at all (why need them when all of the curriculum is standardized all over the US), just low-paid aides to keep the kids under control, and no questioning of authority allowed. That's not the world I want to live in.

This Can't Be Real

I thought this may have come out of the Onion, but unfortunately this is a real standard and being discussed at the Facebook BAT board.

First graders are aware only of their own neighborhoods. As the years go on they learn more about their communities, then their states and regions including some pioneer history, then about the United States (traditionally that was fifth grade) with some U.S. history thrown in, their hemisphere (traditionally sixth grade) with some Latin American history thrown in as well as some look at ancient civilizations in Europe, and then U.S. history and the constitution would be taught in middle school and world history being introduced. It becomes greatly expanded into high school and beyond.

But our "reformers" think first graders ought to know all about Mesopotamia and the Tigris and Euphrates rivers! That is strictly high school-level world history.

This is obviously an attempt to fail all kids--even those in the 99th percentile--in order to make the teachers look bad and give the privatizers an excuse to close down all public schools and turn them into charter scams.

This is New York, by the way.

Here are the details for posterity:

Locate the area known as Mesopotamia on a world map or globe and identify it as part of Asia;
Explain the importance of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and the use of canals to support farming and the development of the city of Babylon;
Describe the city of Babylon and the Hanging Gardens;
Identify cuneiform as the system of writing used in Mesopotamia;
Explain why a written language is important to the development of a civilization;
Explain the significance of the Code of Hammurabi;
Explain why rules and laws are important to the development of a civilization;
Explain the ways in which a leader is important to the development of a civilization;
Explain the significance of gods/goddesses, ziggurats, temples, and priests in Mesopotamia;
Describe key components of a civilization;
Identify Mesopotamia as the “Cradle of Civilization”;
Describe how a civilization evolves and changes over time;
Locate Egypt on a world map or globe and identify it as a part of Africa;
Explain the importance of the Nile River and how its floods were important for farming;
Identify hieroglyphics as the system of writing used in ancient Egypt;
Explain the significance of gods/goddesses in ancient Egypt;
Identify pyramids and explain their significance in ancient Egypt;
Describe how the pyramids were built;
Explain that much of Egypt is in the Sahara Desert;
Identify the Sphinx and explain its significance in ancient Egypt;
Identify Hatshepsut as a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and explain her significance as pharaoh;
Identify Tutankhamun as a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and explain his significance;
Explain that much of what we know about ancient Egypt is because of the work of archaeologists;
Identify Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as major monotheistic world religions;
Locate Jerusalem, Israel, and the area known as the Middle East on a map;
Define monotheism as the belief in one God;
Identify the Western Wall (or the Wailing Wall) as associated with Judaism, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre with Christianity, and the Dome of the Rock with Islam;
Identify the Hebrews as the ancient people who were descendants of Abraham;
Explain that followers of Judaism are called Jewish people and the term Jewish is used to describe practices or objects associated with Judaism;
Identify the Star of David as a six-pointed star and a symbol of Judaism;
Identify the Torah as an important part of the Hebrew scriptures;
Identify that a Jewish house of worship is called a synagogue or temple;
Identify Moses as a teacher who long ago led the Jewish people out of Egypt in an event referred to as the Exodus;
Explain that, according to an important story in the Torah, Moses received the Ten Commandments from God and that the Ten Commandments are rules that tell people how to behave or live their lives;
Identify important Jewish holidays such as Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Hanukkah;
Explain that Christianity developed after Judaism;
Explain that followers of Christianity are called Christians;
Recognize the cross as a symbol of Christianity;
Identify the Bible as the Christian holy book;
Identify that a Christian house of worship is called a church;
Identify that Christians believe Jesus to be the Messiah and the son of God;
Identify important Christian holidays, such as Easter and Christmas;
Recognize that both Christians and Jewish people follow the Ten Commandments;
Explain that Islam originated in Arabia;
Explain that followers of Islam are called Muslims;
Identify the crescent and star as symbols of Islam;
Identify the Qur’an as the holy book of Islam, containing laws for daily living and many stories that appear in Jewish and Christian holy books;
Identify that a Muslim place of worship is called a mosque;
Identify that Muslims believe that Moses and Jesus were prophets but believe that Muhammad was the last and greatest of the prophets;
Identify important Muslim holidays, such as Ramadan and Eid-ul-fitr;
Use narrative language to describe (orally or in writing) characters, setting, things, events, actions, a scene, or facts from a fiction read-aloud;
Identify who is telling the story at various points in a fiction read-aloud;
Ask and answer questions (e.g., who, what, where, when), orally or in writing, requiring literal recall and understanding of the details and/or facts of a nonfiction/informational read-aloud;
Answer questions that require making interpretations, judgments, or giving opinions about what is heard in a nonfiction/informational read-aloud, including answering why questions that require recognizing cause/effect relationships;
Identify the main topic and retell key details of a nonfiction/informational read-aloud;
Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a nonfiction/informational read-aloud;
Ask and answer questions about unknown words and phrases in nonfiction/informational read-alouds and discussions;
Use illustrations and details in a nonfiction/informational read-aloud to describe its key ideas;
Compare and contrast (orally or in writing) similarities and differences within a single nonfiction/informational read-aloud or between two or more nonfiction/informational read-alouds;
Listen to and demonstrate understanding of nonfiction/informational read-alouds of appropriate complexity for grades 1–3;
With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed;
Make personal connections (orally or in writing) to events or experiences in a fiction or nonfiction/informational read-aloud, and/or make connections among several read-alouds;
With assistance, categorize and organize facts and information within a given domain to answer questions;
Use agreed-upon rules for group discussion (e.g., look at and listen to the speaker, raise hand to speak, take turns, say “excuse me” or “please,” etc.);
Carry on and participate in a conversation over at least six turns, staying on topic, initiating comments or responding to a partner’s comments, with either an adult or another child of the same age;
Ask questions to clarify information about the topic in a fiction or nonfiction/informational read-aloud;
Ask and answer questions (e.g., who, what, where, when), orally or in writing, requiring literal recall and understanding of the details and/or facts of a fiction or nonfiction/informational read-aloud;
Ask questions to clarify directions, exercises, classroom routines, and/or what a speaker says about a topic;
Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly;
Add drawing or other visual displays to oral or written descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings;
Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation;
Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., note places at home that are cozy);
Learn the meaning of common sayings and phrases;
Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using frequently occurring conjunctions to signal simple relationships (e.g., because)
Identify new meanings for familiar words and apply them accurately;
Prior to listening to an informational read-aloud, identify what they know about a given topic;
Share writing with others;
With assistance, create and interpret timelines and lifelines related to an informational read-aloud;
Demonstrate understanding of literary language such as setting;
While listening to an informational read-aloud, orally predict what will happen next in the read-aloud based on the text heard thus far, and then compare the actual outcome to the prediction; and
Use personal pronouns orally.

I am sure if you asked a group of first graders what "Tigris" means, they'd say it is a big cat with stripes.

News, Etc.

Obituary: Columnist Jack W. Germond, 85, has died shortly after completing a novel.

Germond was a familiar television face having been a regular on The McLaughlin Group.

Germond got his start covering national politics in 1961 for Gannett, where he had worked for several years. His first presidential campaign was the 1964 race between President Lyndon Johnson and Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater. He left Gannett in 1974 to join the Star, first as political editor and later as assistant managing editor.

He and others in his generation typically generated leads during after-hours, off-the-record chats over drinks - sometimes with the candidates themselves. As campaigns became more scripted, the candidates more insulated and paranoid about gaffes, Germond bemoaned the lost opportunities to see beyond their public personas. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/rgj/obituary.aspx?n=jack-w-germond&pid=166427535#fbLoggedOut

_____

Another obit: Jimmy Carter associate Bert Lance, 82, has died.

Bert Lance, who coined the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” advised politicians from Zell Miller to Jesse Jackson, and was director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Jimmy Carter, has died.

A self-described “country banker,” Lance became a protégé of Carter’s when the future president was a state senator, and encouraged Carter to seek the White House. Lance’s meteoric career in business and politics climaxed in the early months of the Carter presidency, when he was known as the “deputy president” because of his close relationship with his fellow Georgian.

_____

European countries aren't immune to class warfare, either.
_____

Chicago continues to live up to its reputation as Corruption Central, only this time the victims are the students.
_____

The "common core" shit needs to go, and the left/right crap doesn't work anymore anyway since the REAL political division is with the elites having declared war against everybody else.

This is literally a fight to the death.

Obama and Duncan and their backers are the enemies of public education. I knew that right off the bat, but few listened.
_____

A scab by any other name is still a scab:

Teach For America is a big recipient of corporate philanthropy – no surprise about that either, as nonprofit organizations and the deep corporate pockets that sustain them have played indispensable roles in the drive to privatize public education from the beginning. It's only logical that with the elevation of Barack Obama, the first president to emerge from the bowels of the foundation sector, the influence of these outfits has been omnipresent. Consultant tentacles of the Gates, Joyce, Boeing, Broad, Bradley, Walton Foundations, to name just a few of the top players, have been allowed to write federal program guidelines, to define criteria for assessing individual schools and entire districts, to invent their own instant-principal programs, with all salaries, overhead and expenses paid for by tax-exempt donations. Bosses during the last Great Depression usually had to pay for their own scabs, there was no way they could unload that on all the rest of us.

Anything Bill Gates Wants Is No Good

That's who bankrolled this Common Core crap in the first place. It will be an uphill battle to pressure politicians, especially those in D.C., especially Obama and Duncan, to give up that bullshit of "national standards."

They're a monstrous mistake, but that won't stop its advocates at all. When the goal is to destroy public education and turn the public sector into a cash cow, anything to achieve that dubious aim is okay.

Hint: It Isn't for the Kids

There's little doubt this scam Common Core is about slotting kids early, forcing the vast majority of them into lousy jobs in order to "compete" with the third world. The few allowed to go to high school and college will be servants of the elites in order to preserve the elites' status.

It's pretty obvious what is going on here.

At the same time these crooks promoting Common Core will make a shitload of money at taxpayer expense:

The CCSS furthers a process begun in 2002 with the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which mandated testing in all 50 states. According to the Pew Center on the States, annual state spending on standardized tests rose from $423 million before NCLB to $1.1 billion by 2008. This has continued under the Obama administration’s Race to the Top, which has tied federal funding for schools even more closely to test-based performance standards.

Under the current administration’s education policy, “failing” schools compete for School Improvement Grants (SIG) of up to $2 million a year. In return schools have to agree to choose one of four “school improvement” models—“turnaround,” “restart,” “close/consolidation,” or “transformation.”

Under the “transformation” model, schools are required to replace the principal and make other broad changes, such as rewarding staff that increase student test scores and institute comprehensive instructional reform, and removing those who do not. According to the Department of Education, the “restart” model requires the district to “close the school and restart it under the management of a charter school operator, a charter management organization (CMO), or an educational management organization (EMO).”

The EMO is turning the dismantling of education into the new “growth” industry. EMOs can run charter schools, offer teacher professional development and other services for “school improvement.”

"EMOs"? They sound like HMOs.

A public good is being destroyed for private gain. It MUST be stopped if our country is to survive.

Common Core is the Gates Foundation's Baby

It's not because the states wanted it. It's not that teachers want it. It's not that parents want it. It's that Bill and Melinda Gates, both of whom have way too much money and too much time on their hands, want to dictate education policy which is something they have NO knowledge of whatsoever.

Common Core is ultimately about creating an educational and thus economical caste system in the United States. Bill Gates has yapped in the past he'd like to see education done like is done in some European countries, where kids are cut off higher education and forced to go into apprenticeships at a young age if they haven't decided on college. Well, the United States, unlike most of the rest of the world, has traditionally been about equality of opportunity, and that includes the right to access higher education. That includes going to college in midlife just as much as at age 18.

Neolibs and bastards like Gates don't think like this. They want to cut off ALL education access, and what almost all students would be stuck with aren't with apprenticeships anyway, but with shitty-paid jobs to "compete" with third world countries.

With Gates it is much more than that. Force Common Core down people's throats by buying off politicians and dipshits like Arne Duncan, and that way once all kids in all parts of the country are forced to have the same curriculum, why bother with teachers at all? Just collude with Pearson and force all kids except for the rich to sit in front of computers all day long, "supervised" by poorly-paid teacher aides, and get rid of teachers altogether.

That's where this Common Core shit is headed if it isn't stopped dead in its tracks.

However, it is very important for the Gates Foundation and the other usual suspects to lie to the public:

The truth is that the National Governor's Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers were simply front groups for the cravings of the Gates Foundation. Using the power and influence that comes with controlling huge amounts of money, Bill and Melinda Gates, educational dilettantes at best, bought their way into the hierarchy of American public education. In doing so, they became public education's most influential voices.

By giving the NGA $30,679,116 and the CCSSO $71,302,833, they set in motion their callow vision of what American public schoolteachers should be teaching and what American public school students should be learning. They also managed to get the support of United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who threatened to withhold federal funds from individual states if they did not adopt the Common Core. The Gates team also bought themselves the support of a cadre of second-stringers, such as the American Federation of Teachers for $11,343,925; the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for $823,637; the Center for American Progress for $2,998,809; the Thomas B. Fordham Institute for $5,711,462; the PTA for $2,005,000; the Teaching Channel for $11,076,761; and the National Writing Project for $2,643,593, to mention only a few. A colleague of mine, Susan Ohanian, wrote about these giveaways, saying, "He who pays the piper calls the tune, and with money in their pockets, many are eager to sing the Common Core song and eat the funeral meats."

The Gateses are totally corrupt.

If this isn't a case for increasing the tax burden on the superrich, I don't know what is.

"Common Core" is EVIL

You read between the lines in this interview, and it is clear this principal has some fear in her voice. If she doesn't, she should. Common Core is the death knell of American public education. It's Bill Gates' baby, and anything Bill Gates wants you KNOW is bad. Everybody will do the same thing everywhere in the country at the same time, most of which will be developmentally inappropriate for kids in order to weed them out early so they can be tracked into low-wage jobs and denied higher education, and local control of schools will be done away with. Then the next thing on the agenda will be getting rid of teaching as a profession, the ultimate goal of CCCS. Teachers and principals can be replaced by teacher aides monitoring--babysitting--kids while they are parked in front of computers all day long with software by Microsoft and curriculum by Pearson. If people don't wake the hell up, in 15 years there will be no public education left, and probably no formal education at all for the 99 percent of the population when the billionaires finally squeeze every last dime from the public coffer. Think I am making it up? Read the work of Lois Weiner, who says pretty much what I am saying about the privatizers/neoliberals who want industrialized countries like the U.S. to be on the same economic level as third world countries. Neolibs see education not as a way to create productive, informed citizens, but as merely vocational training. There are few jobs requiring any education beyond middle school. Neoliberals/privatizers don't want to invest in education because it is a waste of money, so why should the U.S.? CCCS is absolutely EVIL.

By the way, she isn't being entirely honest here about the "scripted curriculum." Teachers have LESS freedom than ever before.

During the summer break, such as it is, teachers at my old district, and, for that matter, all around the country, are being sold this bill of goods--actually FORCED this bill of goods--so they can be stifled of any creativity in lesson planning. It's all coming from Washington, D.C., of course, by fake Democrats.

Teachers are being told what to teach and how to teach it. It is little different from scripted curriculum and is in fact nothing more than test prep. If those almighty test scores aren't up, teachers will be fired outright or placed on probationary status and ultimately fired anyway. For the first time in history, principals, typically people who DO have lifetime jobs no matter how bad they are, will have their heads on the chopping block as well. That might be a good thing, but the few good principals may be thrown out along with the lousy ones.

This is called "burn and churn." As long as there is a glut of teachers around the country, there will be more lambs to the slaughter.

Cartoon of the Day

This is true:

Bill Gates Shouldn't Be Dictating Education Policy,

and Common Core needs to be thrown into the garbage can where it belongs.

There is no defense AT ALL for this mandate which drives a stake through the heart of American public education. It is literally the end of the line because if all kids in all public schools in all parts of the country are doing the same thing, why bother with teachers? Why not just stick these kids in front of a computer all day, monitored by part-time, ten-buck-an-hour teacher aides? This is nothing but a complete disaster as it goes against everything known about child development and virtually destroys all chances for students to succeed in life. Only the economic elite will have access to live teachers in private schools; from kindergarten on everybody else will be stuck in front of a goddamned stupid computer equipped with Microsoft software and Pearson "curriculum" and not be able to interact with adults and with other students.

(By the way, teacher aides in my part of the woods--Oregon--are actually doing jobs that should be done by fully credentialed teachers, and they are not closely supervised by those who ARE licensed teachers whose jobs aren't to teach but merely supervise those who are teaching, the non-teachers. Absolutely illegal, but they are doing it with RTI and a lot of special education instruction in order to save money on salaries and benefits. I've seen it firsthand. They also use aides to oversee credit recovery classes--also illegal to use them--which is basically online study. No licensed teachers supervise.)

That's because neoliberals and their billionaire backers don't believe in ANY education AT ALL for children beyond middle school because few jobs worldwide require anything but rudimentary reading and math skills.

Bill Gates and his "common core standards" are totally evil. There is no other word to describe it. Even calling it "shit" makes it sound good.

Arne Duncan is merely a puppet for these bastards who want to rape and pillage the public sector for private gain and eventually do away with it so they don't have to pay any taxes to support the common good.

"Common Core" is a Bill Gates Scam

It should be thrown into the garbage can like all other "reformer" ideas. I can just see kids being denied the right to read and study novels in literature classes, although reading novels is critical for students to use their creativy and imagination and also helps them write better.

Reading novels, especially the classics, is important in understanding the cultural foundations of this country and helps students become well-rounded adults.

For the record, Catcher in the Rye was NEVER required reading in public schools around the country. Because the novel used obscenities and had a scene of the protagonist with a prostitute (even though nothing happened between them, and Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, was very moral in his dealings with her), it would often be on a suggested reading list. Students had to get parental consent to read it for class. Furthermore, the book was banned in many school libraries around the country.

Gates, of course, doesn't give a shit public school students are "well-rounded" adults. That's only for private school students, anyway. Public school students are good only as drones in the future workplace of lousy-paid jobs with few or no benefits.

"Common Core" needs to be fought tooth and nail everywhere it is being implemented.

Supporters of the directive argue that it will help pupils to develop the ability to write concisely and factually, which will be more useful in the workplace than a knowledge of Shakespeare.

It misses the point. Public education is not a tool for businesses but a way to create informed citizens.

"Common Core" is Another Harebrained Idea

from "reformers" who think all children from all over the country should be taught the same content at the same time regardless of ability differences or differences in location. What "common core" is really about is further enriching the hedge fund crooks and others who stand to make a killing at it:

“The implementation of the Common Core Standards, coupled with increasing rigor for teacher evaluation has presented a unique opportunity to create a national provider of school improvement and professional development services,” said Jonathan Grayer, Chairman and CEO of Weld North. “By combining these two independently exceptional organizations, we will immediately create one of the largest independent players in school improvement and professional development. This move, as well as our earlier investment in Education2020, furthers Weld North’s intention to play a significant role in tackling the country’s difficult K-12 education challenges.”

Do these people know jack shit about education? Of course not, but they have "Democrats" in Washington who back their filthy schemes.

The Whole Concept of "Common Core" is Nuts

Somewhere along the line, "reformers" with no background in education looked to itty-bitty countries in Europe and other nations with homogeneous populations having a national curriculum and figured this would be a great idea to have here.

Of course it is a rotten idea. Local control, one of the factors important to the success of public education in this country, would be subverted--again--by Washington.

Students were not supposed to be asked if they had ever been to a funeral because that gets at “individual experience and opinion” and does not “move students closer to understanding” the address. The address is the greatest funeral oration of the modern age; to ban funerals from discussion is boneheaded.

The example forbids asking questions about the causes of the Civil War because they “go outside the text.” The example, said Chafee, thinks the address is “about equality and self-government, and not about picking sides.”

Background knowledge is essential for learning. Every teacher knows this. However, the reformers never ask teachers about anything.

"Common Core Standards" Another "Reform" Belonging in the Trash Heap

Know-nothings like Bill Gates seek to undercut state and local standards and require all students throughout the country to go through a coookie-cutter curriculum, aka "common core standards," which sounds good on paper by has absolutely nothing to do with the realities of teaching and learning.

These "reformers" keep yapping about other countries, but these countries are also smaller and far less diverse than students in this country.

The last thing we need in this country is a national curriculum put forward by a bunch of clueless idiots.

The fact these "standards" involve only language arts and math should tell you where this kind of garbage is headed. Most workers will have only rudimentary math and reading ability, while the rich will have a well-rounded curriculum with science, social studies, and the arts in addition to language arts and math. After all, we have to "compete" with the Chinese and workers from the third world, and they sure as hell don't need to know any of the "frills."