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Jeremiah Chaffee.  Gerald Conti.  Kris Nielsen.  Stephen Round.  Paul Horton. Susan Wilcox.  Anonymous Utah Teachers.  Anonymous California Teacher. Paul Bogush.  David Cox.  Chasidy White.  Pat Austin. Stephanie Sawyer. Renee Braddy. Warriors. Heroes. Freedom Fighters. Teachers.

Common Core is a tragedy.  Wake up, America.  Listen to these teachers.

Some teach now; some have retired over Common Core.  Each has spoken out and each needs to be heard. Today I want to highlight Gerald Conti, whose resignation letter was just published in the Washington Post.

It’s heartbreaking.

Gerald Conti’s Letter:

“Data driven education seeks only conformity, standardization, testing and a zombie-like adherence to the shallow and generic Common Core…

Creativity, academic freedom, teacher autonomy, experimentation and innovation are being stifled in a misguided effort to fix what is not broken in our system of public education and particularly not at Westhill…

…The New York State United Teachers union has let down its membership by failing to mount a much more effective and vigorous campaign against this same costly and dangerous debacle…  our own administration has been both uncommunicative and unresponsive to the concerns and needs of our staff and students …

This situation has been exacerbated by other actions of the administration, in either refusing to call open forum meetings to discuss these pressing issues, or by so constraining the time limits of such meetings that little more than a conveying of information could take place. This lack of leadership at every level has only served to produce confusion, a loss of confidence and a dramatic and rapid decaying of morale.

The repercussions of these ill-conceived policies will be telling and shall resound to the detriment of education for years to come. The analogy that this process is like building the airplane while we are flying would strike terror in the heart of anyone should it be applied to an actual airplane flight, a medical procedure, or even a home repair. Why should it be acceptable in our careers and in the education of our children?

… My profession is being demeaned by a pervasive atmosphere of distrust, dictating that teachers cannot be permitted to develop and administer their own quizzes and tests (now titled as generic “assessments”) or grade their own students’ examinations. The development of plans, choice of lessons and the materials to be employed are increasingly expected to be common to all teachers in a given subject. This approach not only strangles creativity, it smothers the development of critical thinking in our students and assumes a one-size-fits-all mentality more appropriate to the assembly line than to the classroom.

Teacher planning time has also now been so greatly eroded by a constant need to “prove up” our worth to the tyranny of APPR (through the submission of plans, materials and “artifacts” from our teaching) that there is little time for us to carefully critique student work, engage in informal intellectual discussions with our students and colleagues, or conduct research and seek personal improvement through independent study. We have become increasingly evaluation and not knowledge driven…

I am not leaving my profession, in truth, it has left me. It no longer exists. I feel as though I have played some game halfway through its fourth quarter, a timeout has been called, my teammates’ hands have all been tied, the goal posts moved, all previously scored points and honors expunged and all of the rules altered.

…

Read the rest.

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• Christopher Tienken – Professor at Seton Hall, NJ –  http://vimeo.com/58461595
• Jane Robbins – American Principles Project – Stop Common Core video series: http://youtu.be/coRNJluF2O4
• Jamie Gass – Pioneer Institute – has been speaking about Common Core for many years; knows why Massachusetts had the best standards in the nation prior to Common Core. http://youtu.be/SBROaOCKN50
• Senator Kurt Bahr – Missouri legislator fighting Common Core http://youtu.be/25NTsQxj-zg?t=1m49s
• Senator William Ligon – Georgia legislator fighting Common Core http://youtu.be/ODz4X0GO-Fk?t=1m37s
• Senator Scott Schneider – Indiana legislator fighting Common Core http://youtu.be/TH9ZxVrn6aA?t=1m10s
• Dr. Bill Evers – Hoover Institute – Stanford University – http://youtu.be/LB014eno1aA
• Robert Scott – Texas commissioner of education – rejected Common Core: http://youtu.be/WcpMIUWbgxY?t=2m25s
• Diane Ravitch – liberal education analyst who just recently came out against Common Core http://youtu.be/ZkZUGpJJWy4?t=13s
• Dr. Sandra Stotsky, who served on the Common Core validation committee and refused to sign off on their adequacy: http://bcove.me/ws77it6d  see min. 55:30
• Ze’ev Wurman, math analyst http://youtu.be/0cgnprQg_O0?t=22s
• Heather Crossin – Indiana mother fighting Common Core http://youtu.be/TH9ZxVrn6aA?t=54s
• Utah moms  Alisa Ellis and Renee Braddy – http://youtu.be/Mk0D16mNbp4
• Jim Stergios – Pioneer Institute –  http://bcove.me/ws77it6d see minute 30:00
• Jenni White – Oklahoma data collection expert –  http://youtu.be/XTbMLjk-qRc and http://youtu.be/JM1CTJFUuzM
• Susan Ohanian – education analyst http://youtu.be/uJHkztNNFNk?t=23s
• Dr. William Mathis of University of Colorado http://youtu.be/46-M1hH0D1Q?t=23s
• Seattle Teachers who boycotted Garfield High School standardized testing. http://youtu.be/N5ODEoqZZHs
• Gary Thompson, clinical psychologist http://www.utahnsagainstcommoncore.com/glenn-beck-on-privacy-and-data-mining-in-common-core/
• Emmett McGroarty, American Principles Project http://youtu.be/wVI78lPCFfs?t=21s
• David Cox, teacher http://youtu.be/W-uAi1I_6Ds?t=22m28s
• Paul Bogush, teacher  http://youtu.be/oaDniHquMVI?t=56s
• Sherena Arrington, political analyst http://youtu.be/QF337nKwx6M?t=6m35s
• Walt Chappell, Kansas Board of Education  http://youtu.be/1S9jjNyXAE4?t=16m55s
• Bob Shaeffer, Colorado Principal /Former Congressman http://youtu.be/Fai4K2ZVauk?t=1m15s
• Lindsey Burke, Heritage Foundation http://youtu.be/1DOCH1YT6Uk
• Oak Norton, Agency Based Education http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_H7ds2Eb70&feature=share&list=PLjUrg_jASxd-BeEivpr4b7z7Ydc5mjGi4
• Neil McClusky – Cato Institute http://youtu.be/DK2kTdDudo4

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Here’s a link to the radio show where David Cox and I were guests of Rod Arquette last week.

http://www.utahnsagainstcommoncore.com/rod-arquette-interview-with-christel-swasey-and-david-cox/

Q & A covers:

How much momentum is the Common Core pushback movement gaining nationwide?
What do people need to know about Common Core?
How does Common Core hurt education?  Why is classic literature diminished? 
Is there any actual evidence that the standards are of good quality?
Why were the standards written behind closed doors?  Who is getting rich with taxpayers’ funding of Common Core?
How does Common Core end local control of education?  Are unelected people and organizations making education policy for our children?
Are teachers afraid to speak out against Common Core?
Who paid the PTA to advocate for Common Core without showing any pros and cons?
How does the test data collection process change how education had been done in the past?
What can one person do?

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It was a privilege to speak with Glenn Beck on his t.v. show on Thursday, along with Utah teacher David Cox of  Odyssey Charter School , Emmett McGroarty of the American Principles Project, and Sherena Arrington of Stop Common Core in Georgia.  I’m posting three clips from the show.

This first portion of the show is a clip of Glenn Beck introducing common core and its “Equity and Excellence Commission” which aims to use the educational system to redistribute;  to redistribute not only exactly the same standards and testing nationwide, but also the nation’s wealth.  Glenn calls the Common Core issue bigger than any other issue facing America today.

http://www.video.theblaze.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=25729047&topic_id=24584158&tcid=vpp_copy_25729047&v=3

The next clip introduces the scarily non-traditional Common Core math, the dumbing-down via “student-centered” rather than teacher-directed instruction; and shows –my favorite part–  the moment Glenn was stunned to find out that state legislatures were not a part of the adoption of Common Core, in any state.

     Notice when Sherena Arrington describes this.  She calls it the executive branch being “off the chain.”   Great choice of words.  Off the chain– like a mad bulldog.  Yes, there is a chain and American needs to stay attached to it because it’s an umbilical cord to mother freedom.  It’s a chain forged by the U.S. Constitution, the process of voter representation, the importance of due process and the separation and balance of powers.

http://www.video.theblaze.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=25729091&topic_id=24584158&tcid=vpp_copy_25729091&v=3

 

This next clip covers the part of the show where we discussed the “no-parental-consent” school data mining.

http://www.video.theblaze.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=25729151&topic_id=24584158&tcid=vpp_copy_25729151&v=3

I mentioned one of the seminal documents of the Common Core movement, the Cooperative Agreement between Secretary Arne Duncan and the SBAC testing group, which says that the SBAC and PARCC (the other testing group) have to synchronize their tests and data, and that student-level data (personal, identifiable data) must be shared. That creates a national testing system, nationalizing education just like China or any socialist/communist country.   This is so offensive, considering the fact that both the Constitution and U.S. GEPA law (General Educational Provisions Act) specify that the federal government may not direct or supervise educational programs or curriculum or tests in any way.

Then I brought up the fact that the Department of Education went behind Congress’ back to alter FERPA law (privacy law) so that parental consent is no longer a legal requirement to access student information. The National Data Collection Model asks for hundreds of data points to be collected on our loved ones, including family income, religion, nicknames, psychological issues, and so much more.

Yes, the executive branch is way off the chain and does need to be brought to account by Congress.  By We, The People.

Thank you, Glenn Beck.  Thank you for exposing to parents and other viewers nationwide what common core is really all about:  it’s so much more than just academic standards.

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Glenn Beck’s TV show, The Blaze, will be interviewing teachers who are speaking out against Common Core on tomorrow afternoon’s show.  4:00 their time; 3:00 Utah time.  One of those teachers will be me.

http://www.video.theblaze.com/about/how_to_watch.jsp

(You can get a free two week trial membership to the Blaze TV at the link above.)

David Cox, a fifth grade teacher from American Fork, Utah will also be on the show.

I hope many, many people tune in.  We need everybody in the nation to be talking about Common Core so we can push back, repeal it, reclaim our lost freedom over education, get student privacy back, and ensure real education for our children and grandchildren in years to come.

Here is why I strongly oppose Common Core:

On Common Core: Education Without Representation

As it is going, teachers will be little more than robots, constricted in everything they do.

Guest Post by Utah Teacher David Cox

When I was first hired, what one taught was decided by the texts that teachers and the principal decided upon.

So I had a great deal of say.  It was school based, though the state had recommendations of what, and at what grade level, but recommendations were all they were.

Some time after Nation at Risk, 1983, it became the vogue thing for districts to write up “standards.”  That came about to counter what so many teachers were being taught by constructivist professors (as one of mine at BYU did) that, “If you want to cover the text…(wait for it) use a dish towel.”  You were to teach what they, the students, wanted to learn.  It was “democratic” learning (student driven).  In other words “just teach whatever!”  The standards movement came about to stop constructivism, because the Back-to-Basics movement wasn’t able to, since it was directed at teachers and not the professors, who were the source.  Alpine SD used teachers, I was one of many, who wrote these and lesson plans to go with them in the old ACE (Alpine Curriculum for Excellence).  It actually was very good –and specific.

Then the State Board of Education decided they had to get into the act and State Standards were created through USOE.  These were much inferior to the ACE.  At first we were able to “align” the standards together, which I worked on using Career Ladder monies.  Finally they were shoved down our throats and we had to give up the ACE for these inferior state standards, which were quite non-specific.

Now we are having National Standards crammed down our throats, which will be backed up with tests that will end up dictating even the methods used to teach.  Why?  (Here’s the irony.)  Because they are being created by professors who are as constructivist in philosophy as the original standards movement was created to get rid of!  And these “standards” (inferior to many states’ previous standards and heavily influenced by the aforementioned philosophy) are being required in order to get federal dollars and wavers from NCLB.  How can any district back out?

And as these become entrenched in a few years the politically correct police from Washington will start telling us EXACTLY what we can and can’t teach (history will be added, think of how that will be slanted) and how, and it will be things we in Utah will disagree with strongly depending on the administration in power.  What’s worse, there will be no other choice.  Already charter schools are being required next year to teach it, and even private schools will be required to become accredited, of which the first requirement will be to adopt the national curriculum.  The next step, as has happened in Sweden this past year, even home schooling will be abolished.  Do you see why I’m terrified?!

I’ve watched it happen from day one and followed it very closely.  I’ve seen all the changes, and it isn’t better.  Back then, you couldn’t guarantee perfect teaching, but many teachers did a very good job.

As it is going, teachers will be little more than robots, constricted in everything they do.

This will almost prohibit great teaching.

The real irony is that conservatives tried to forcibly get rid of the faulty constructivist teaching by using government power with the standards and accountability movement.  And after getting the force of government in place, liberals turned it around and took control and are in the process of completely implementing their agenda.  If they had truly understood human agency and the real conservative philosophy, they would never have tried to use government to “guarantee” correct philosophy, because if you give government enough power to control it, it will end up controlling you.

 

As a retired teacher, former legislator, and grandparent, I am strongly opposed to the Common Core for three main reasons.

 1. I want standards, not standardization. Standardization forces everyone to come down to a common level, the lowest common denominator. Locally adopted or created standards build the intellects and support of and from the local parents and teachers. Nationally imposed “standards” bring avoidance and lack of responsibility along with agendas I oppose, such as #2.

2. The philosophy of those who created Common Core is constructivism. They believe the student must construct their own set of knowledge (discovery learning). This is the philosophy that gave us “Whole Language” instead of reading, English, and spelling. It gave us “Investigations Math” instead of real math. It dumbed-down history and geography into “Social Studies.” The Common Core itself is dumbing-down Algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus into Math 1 and 2, etc.

3. Finally, though the standards themselves were not directly created by the national government, they are being imposed by incentives. The real nationalizing threat comes from the tests that ARE nationally created and which drive the implementation of the standards. I want our schools to listen to the parents, not to Washington politicians and educrats.

The real answer to improvement will only come when we give both freedom and responsibility to the local community. That is the story of America, the story Europeans didn’t (and still don’t) believe, that, given freedom to either succeed or fail, the common man will usually do what is necessary to succeed. Nationally imposed education will not do this, neither will vouchers, which would only, with the funding, pass on the government interference that is hampering the public schools to private schools. To solve this we need to create new, community-sized school districts. Doing this will bring the community together on behalf of their own children. The adults will grow in the process of local decision-making and control of education, and that will then raise the children.

Only by creating new smaller districts will we return liberty and responsibility to the local parents and teachers. Only then will true accountability be accomplished. Only then will true educational quality and efficiency be possible to achieve. It truly takes a community to educate a child. We cannot lift the children without lifting the adults too.

That cannot be accomplished by nationally created and imposed standards.

It takes governing from the local level to lift and build the people. That is what the United – “States” are all about.

-by David Cox