Guest Post by Tammy Jensen who attended the Cedar City debate last week. Video will be posted soon.

“You’re looking at me as though I’m weird. My [Goodness]! Are you so out of touch with most of America, most of which believes in the Devil? I mean, Jesus Christ believed in the Devil! It’s in the Gospels! You travel in circles that are so, so removed from mainstream America that you are appalled that anybody would believe in the Devil! Most of mankind has believed in the Devil, for all of history. Many more intelligent people than you or me have believed in the Devil.”

This is a quote of indignation from Antonin Scalia, Justice of the Supreme Court last week when an incredulous New York Times reporter heard his response to a discussion of heaven and hell and responded with an air of intellectual superiority.

Late last night, as I was driving home under a beautiful starlit sky, my own thoughts brought Scalia’s comments back to my mind. I was returning from a Common Core debate where a dedicated and to me impressive Superintendent defended Iron County using Common Core. She had a colleague with her, explaining the Common Core curriculum. I left respecting the individuals who took part in the debate. I approached the gentleman afterward and said,

“You didn’t convince me that the Core was good, but you convinced me that YOU are good.”

So much so, that on the way home, I had to ask myself, “Why do I so wholly disagree with his stance? Why do I hear really fantastic sounding words and objectives, but I can’t seem to overcome the deep knot in the pit of my stomach whenever Common Core is praised as the next great thing for our kids?”

My answer in this conversation was surprising, even to myself. The root, the bottom line, the “core” of my opinion lies in the fact that I believe in the Devil. I really do. Not the cute little red man on the shoulder of cartoons, not the vague stories of yesteryear when those old fashioned people were superstitious, and not the scary ghoulish monster sometimes portrayed on Halloween – though there is likely truth to all these portrayals.

I believe in a being of eloquence, cunning, patience, persuasion, seduction, and excellence in his craft, which is a lust to control the souls of mankind.

There was a gentleman there. He was crazy – it was an obvious fact! He didn’t have a fancy suit on, and he could’ve used a haircut and a shave – not to mention his baggy jeans and t-shirt. He came to the microphone and started to speak, pouring out concepts paid for in heavy study, yet mixed with deep frustration and perhaps fear – yes, as his ramblings went on, it was fear, fear for his country, fear for his children. The moderator hurried him along, and his frustration built until he blurted out, “I don’t want my children being brainwashed with communism!”

I happened to glance at the Superintendent who burst out with incredulous mirth at this statement. And I thought of a time in my life when I felt similar to her, but more on that later. What I wanted to ask her was,

“Ma’am, do you even know what communism philosophy is? Have you read the writings of Marx – deeply? Do you understand the difference in basic principles between Lenin and say, George Washington. Do you know what ideas prepared fertile soil for the extermination of over 20 million people? In knowing these things, then can you see where and how our current principles of government line up with these ideologies? If so, then what’s so funny?”

(By the way, if she hasn’t read these things, it’s understandable. Mrs. Dulaney has obviously been spending her time in pursuit of excellence in her field. She knows her job, and works it well. This question is more of an invitation that perhaps there are things going on that we all would do well to understand – thoroughly. Because these things, if not known can (AND HAVE THROUGH OUT HISTORY), undermined ALL other worthy pursuits in society.

If I knew she was still listening, I would go on,

There’s a guy in the Book of Mormon, which is one of my religious texts, named Mormon, and I don’t know if he wore the proverbial “Rolex” of his day, but it doesn’t sound like he was all that popular with the leaders of his society. Maybe he looked a bit more like that crazy guy that stood up…I don’t know, but he said that he was sending a letter through time to you and me. In that letter he speaks of “secret combinations”… extensively. He said, that the secret plans helped power hungry people obtain kingdoms and great glory. I don’t know exactly what Mormon was talking about when he says kingdoms and great glory, but it sounds impressive, …I bet it looks impressive too – I’ve spent much of my life being impressed by this sort of thing — in fact it’s a pretty hard habit to break. But back to secret combinations…

He said they were had among all people and have caused the destruction of his people and the people of Nephi (another civilization), following with the observation that the nation of the gentiles (that’s us) would be in danger of the exact —-same —- fate. He says, “WHEN, (not if, WHEN) ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation.”

He also notes that these secret combinations…

· Seek to overcome the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries.
· It’s ABOVE you. (not gangs in CA, ABOVE you in power)
· Built to get power and gain.
· Built up by the devil.

Built up by the devil. I believe in that guy, and I believe Mormon when he says that there will be a nasty plan that could threaten the agency of the whole world.

So back to when I thought like Mrs. Dulaney.

I have a friend that I realized was starting to go crazy about 10 years ago. I told her so, many times over the course of a few years. She didn’t LOOK crazy though, so I stayed friends with her. At that time, I was petrified with how I “looked”. I sure as heck didn’t want to be WEIRD, so I lectured my friend whenever the topic started making any sort of sense or made me the least bit uncomfortable.

One trip, however, changed everything. She happened to show me irrefutable evidence that all was not well with our government. (At the time George Bush was the president.) I couldn’t reason it away. I went through sort of a mourning time in coming to recognize that what I thought was sound, true, good, STABLE, might not be. However, I had to know more, I had to understand. For the next 3 years I studied. I studied the writings of Marx, current affairs, the writings of Whittaker Chambers, the writings of Ronald Reagan, the writings of Hitler, ancient philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and Machiavelli. I studied the founding of America – what ideas produced freedom, which in the big scheme of things, HARDLY EVER HAPPENS. I asked why it hardly happens! I don’t entirely understand what drove me to inhale the amount I studied, but I wasn’t closed to hearing any viewpoint.

Currently I realize that I am a baby with my studies, I hardly know a thing, however, I know enough to see that all is not well. It’s disturbing when you hear your government officials saying things that sound more like the “bad guys” you’ve read, than the “good guys”. I learned that when government does things that don’t make sense, it is not because they are stupid or incompetent. It is because they have a different agenda. The more I unearthed that agenda the more everything started making sense.

One day I was reading my religious text and there it was! Oh my gosh, I’d never SEEN it before! All my studying took me to the 4 points outlined by Mormon when he claims that “he saw our day”. Oh, my gosh, 1-check… 2-check… 3—big CHECK, (there is POWER and a big pot of money to be had), and 4 – check – because I believe in that guy.

1· Seek to overcome the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries.
2· It’s ABOVE you. (not gangs in CA, ABOVE you in power)
3· Built to get power and gain.
4· Built up by the devil.

What does this have to do with Common Core? Everything. Alisa Ellis spelled it out in precise and researched terms last night. I refer you to her for a more in depth study of the facts and figures, the trails and back roads. (Pay attention to the power and gain parts)

The devil, for all his faults, has a most beautifully effective virtue. Patience.

His plan has been laid for all ages, creeds, races, and genders. Americans have been wise to protect their children from the rigors of society for most of it’s history. Great is the spiritual prize of him/her who has governance and power over children. It’s a sacred trust, always known by intuitive mothers and fathers. What is the rationale to change that structure now? What is the motivation, besides dollars, to rush to the bureaucratic lords of government and business with outstretched arms, trusting that they have the best interests in mind for our children?

Those that understand the basic tenets of socialist philosophy can easily see it seeping into our national discourse. When studying educated societies that allowed the horrific scenes of the 20th century to be perpetrated on their neighbors and associates, one wonders how it could be possible. In the most simplistic terms, I think it’s because they didn’t believe in the devil, and so, they didn’t educate themselves on his plan, prepare for his tactics, or the fruits of those tactics. By the time it was fully unleashed, it was too late to organize and gain strength for good through unity.

Taking us back to the debate last night, when I observe good – very good people bursting into laughter at the mere association of common core with communism, I wonder if the core of the problem is that we just really don’t believe in the Devil. Yah, we might SAY we do, but not really.

The website Fairtest.org has released some Myth/Reality facts related to Common Core assessments. Utah withdrew from SBAC in 2012, only to have the USOE (Utah State Office of Education) contract with AIR, SBAC’s official assessment partner, in January 2013 for $39 million. This webpage lists all the Myth/Reality facts with details below them. I’ve put a couple below, but please visit their site for the rest of the details.

http://www.fairtest.org/common-core-assessments-factsheet

Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), each state set its own learning standards and developed tests to measure them. But NCLB’s failure to spur overall test score gains or close racial gaps led “reformers” to push for national, or “common,” standards. With millions in federal Race to the Top money and NCLB “waivers” as incentives, all but a few states agreed to adopt Common Core standards. Two multi-state consortia — the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) — won federal grants to develop Common Core tests, which are due to be rolled out in 2014-15. Here are the realities behind major Common Core myths.  

Myth: Common Core tests will be much better than current exams, with many items measuring higher-order skills.
Reality: New tests will largely consist of the same old, multiple-choice questions.
Proponents initially hyped new assessments that they said would measure – and help teachers promote – critical thinking. In fact, the exams will remain predominantly multiple choice. Heavy reliance on such items continues to promote rote teaching and learning. Assessments will generally include just one session of short performance tasks per subject. Some short-answer and “essay” questions will appear, just as on many current state tests. Common Core math items are often simple computation tasks buried in complex and sometimes confusing “word problems” (PARCC, 2012; SBAC, 2012). The prominent Gordon Commission of measurement and education experts concluded Common Core tests are currently “far from what is ultimately needed for either accountability or classroom instructional improvement purposes” (Gordon Commission, 2013).

Myth: Adoption of Common Core exams will end NCLB testing overkill.
Reality: Under Common Core, there will be many more tests and the same misuses.
NCLB triggered a testing tsunami (Guisbond, et al., 2012); the Common Core will flood classrooms with even more tests. Both consortia keep mandatory annual English/language arts (ELA) and math testing in grades 3-8 and once in high school, as with NCLB. However, the tests will be longer than current state exams. PARCC will test reading and math in three high school grades instead of one; SBAC moves reading and math tests from 10th grade to 11th. In PARCC states, high schoolers will also take a speaking and listening test. PARCC also offers “formative” tests for kindergarten through second grade. Both consortia produce and encourage additional interim testing two to three times a year (PARCC, 2012; SBAC, 2012). As with NCLB, Common Core tests will be used improperly to make high-stakes decisions, including high school graduation (Gewertz, 2012), teacher evaluation, and school accountability.

Myth: New multi-state assessments will save taxpayers money.
Reality: Test costs will increase for most states. Schools will spend even more for computer infrastructure upgrades.

Myth: New assessment consortia will replace error-prone test manufacturers.
Reality: The same, incompetent, profit-driven companies will make new exams and prep materials.

Myth: More rigor means more, or better, learning.
Reality: Harder tests do not make kids smarter.
In New York, teachers witnessed students brought to tears (Hernandez & Baker, 2013), faced with confusing instructions and unfamiliar material on Common Core tests. New York tests gave fifth graders questions written at an 8th grade level (Ravitch, 2013). New York and Kentucky showed dramatic drops in proficiency and wider achievement gaps. Poor results hammer students’ self-confidence and disengage them from learning. They also bolster misperceptions about public school failure, place urban schools in the cross hairs and lend ammunition to privatization schemes. If a child struggles to clear the high bar at five feet, she will not become a “world class” jumper because someone raised the bar to six feet and yelled “jump higher,” or if her “poor” performance is used to punish her coach.

Myth: Common Core assessments are designed to meet the needs of all students.
Reality: The new tests put students with disabilities and English language learners at risk.

Myth: Common Core “proficiency” is an objective measure of college- and career-readiness.
Reality: Proficiency levels on Common Core tests are subjective, like all performance levels.

Myth: States have to implement the Common Core assessments; they have no other choice.
Reality: Yes they do. Activists should call for an indefinite moratorium on Common Core tests to allow time for implementation of truly better assessments.

Writing in the Washington Post, Valerie Strauss shares video of Bill Gates’ recent Harvard Interview, (the one where he blames IBM on Ctrl-Alt-Delete), showing that Gates’ education initiative Common Core, is a giant experiment and we won’t know if it works for perhaps another decade.

“It would be great if our education stuff worked, but that we won’t know for probably a decade.”

Hmmm. Teachers around the country are saddled every single year with teacher evaluation systems that his foundation has funded, based on no record of success and highly questionable “research.” And now Gates says he won’t know if the reforms he is funding will work for another decade. But teachers can lose their jobs now because of reforms he is funding.

Read the rest: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/09/27/bill-gates-it-would-be-great-if-our-education-stuff-worked-but/

This is one video not to miss. Calling the standards shallow and dehumanizing, veteran Indiana teacher Bonnie Fisher testifies to state legislators telling them that Common Core’s opponents’ arguments are all correct. Her testimony is 7 and a half minutes. Then there is about 15 minutes of questioning by the legislators.

The first legislator’s comments include a fascinating insight into historical literacy rates by stating in his research about literacy in the early days of the country, 70-100% of citizens were counted as literate as estimated by the percentage of citizens that would read newspaper articles defending the Constitution (ie. The Federalist Papers).That’s a stunning revelation when we realize that most high school graduates would have a very difficult time wading through the vocabulary presented in those arguments. I’d guess it would probably drop our comparable literacy rate to about 10% of students today. Perhaps college and career ready should be better defined as “Federalist Paper ready.” If students were prepared for such a book, there would be no question they would be college and career ready in terms of English preparation.

She continues with an explanation of who benefits from a dumbed-down population. Then a stunner at the end. A legislator asks her under what standards she went through education growing up and she announced there were none. Ms. Fisher is asked what did she experience that allowed her to become so well educated. She states 3 things: broad academic exposure to traditional academic subjects, some fine teachers, and studying Cicero through high school. She ends by saying the teaching methods may need adjusted from older ages of education but we need to return to the content that used to be taught.

Dr. Milgram, math professor at Stanford and member of the Common Core validation committee who refused to sign off on the standards

Dr. Stotsky, English professor at the University of Arkansas who also refused to sign off on Common Core

Charlotte Iserbyt, senior policy advisor at the Dept. of Education under President Reagan, who blew the whistle on the DOEd activities in her book “The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America.” Available for free online (www.deliberatedumbingdown.com)

Many of you probably wonder at Dr. Milgram’s comments if you are capable of homeschooling your children or if you will somehow hurt their education. Please recognize that damage is already being done in the school system. By teachers being the authority figures in your children’s lives, they are more likely to believe their “teacher” than their parent in some areas of education. How many of us have heard, “the teacher showed me the right way to do it”? Read this parent’s recent comment on another post:

With permission from http://idahoansforlocaleducation.com/2013/09/idahos-superintendent-of-the-year/

This is one brave superintendent. He’s also a thinker. A rare commodity these days. Dr. Geoffrey Thomas from the Madison School District was the lone dissenting vote against Common Core while he served on the Governors Task Force.  Stephanie Zimmerman, an Idaho activist against Common Core, spoke with him and asked him to share his concerns in a letter she could publish. Here’s what he had to say.

At the concluding meeting of the Idaho Governor’s Education Task Force, I voted “No” when asked if we supported Common Core State Standards. I voted “No” for a host of reasons and if another vote were to be held today, I would still vote no. Here is why: (My views are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my district or Board of Trustees)

CCSS were not developed by Idaho or any other “state;” CCSS was funded by the Gates Foundation which spent $ 250 million to “encourage” states and influential organizations to embrace CCSS i.e. $ 6 million to the NEA and $ 5 million to the AFT $ 14 million to the Chief State School Officers and $ 9 Million to the National Governors Association.

CCSS were written by David Coleman of Achieve Inc. with no parental input and precious little classroom educator involvement or representation.  Mr. Coleman actually applied to become a teacher in NYC and was rejected; now he is the most powerful man in US public education. (Just another situation where a non-educator being funded by other non-educators are dictating the direction of public education)

Mr. Coleman and his co writers are also closely affiliated with testing organizations which stand to profit immensely through CCSS / SBAC implementation

There was no field testing or pilot testing of CCSS of any standard in public school classrooms. This fact is truly astonishing and alarming. Would an Idaho farmer trust his / her entire crop and livelihood to untested seed potatoes?

There was no experimental or control group used to evaluate the quality or efficacy of the standards. Again, this is truly astonishing! Without even conducting a rudimentary voluntary study, Idaho has blindly embraced what essentially amounts to an experimental set of standards.

CCSS could truly be the educational silver bullet that will solve all problems including halitosis, but we simply don’t know, because no one took the prudent measure of actually conducting the necessary research first. Could you pass any research class at college without citing your sources and by merely hoping that your assertions were correct?

There is no inclusionary language for differentiated instruction (remediation or acceleration) Remediation in Math is absolutely vital regardless of the depth or rigor of study.

As teacher/ principal evaluations will be tied to student outcomes, I have deep concerns regarding the inevitable forthcoming national assessment that will truly narrow and straight jacket the curriculum for classroom teachers

I am deeply troubled by the low passage rate of students taking the SBAC. With states like New York scoring at a 38 % passage rate for general population students and a 17 % passage rate for minority students making a test that hard is tantamount to institutionalized child cruelty.

Until this year, there was no funding provided by Idaho to implement the curriculum or provide in depth training for teachers. Therefore Idaho either did not care enough to pay for CCSS or we simply did not have the money. Either way, this raises an enormous red flag to me.

There is no current curriculum aligned to CCSS anywhere in the USA. Anyone who says differently is either lying or trying to sell you something. One week after CCSS was unveiled, curriculum vendors were touting their wares were CCSS aligned.

To date, I have not been provided satisfactory answers to any of these above mentioned concerns.

I hope this has helped. I love public education. I love public education the way it once was where great trust and decision making was placed in the local classroom. Public school should be a safe emotional and intellectual environment where parents and teachers work hand in hand to assist young people to become life long learners and productive citizens.

Thank you again Mrs. Zimmerman for the opportunity to discuss CCSS.

Sincerely,

Dr. Geoffrey M. Thomas

Superintendent
Madison School District 321

Since the mid-1800’s when compulsory education began to become the law in America, central planners have desired control over the lives of children in order to ensure they were properly taught the things that were important for them. The end result of what has taken place is the loss of freedom, loss of parental authority, loss of educational opportunities, loss of economic control, and loss of educational interest. Around 1990, Senator Ted Kennedy’s office produced a document which stated prior to compulsory education in Massachusetts, the literacy rate was 98%. After compulsory education was implemented, (and it was by gunpoint in some areas of MA), the literacy rate dropped to 91% and never rose above it. Most of us have probably seen the level of education that was taking place over 100 years ago. It’s pretty stunning the questions that were asked of children on the exams they took. What happened? Why has education declined? I believe the root cause of these problems is compulsory education. Stripping people of the freedom to learn and the freedom to fail (“you will advance at this pace and with this subject matter and with these peers”), strips them of desire and creates an environment where the government takes upon themselves the responsibility to ensure your child is educated. Some say this isn’t a bad thing, but who is setting the standards, assessments, and curriculum? Why does this form of education have to be enforced by law?

What we have is near total government control of what is taught and tested, data tracking from birth to death, government reaching into our lives to control our behaviors…this has all been around for decades and is reaching it’s culminating effect through Common Core. In 2004, Bill Gates signed a contract with UNESCO to create a global education system. You can’t have independent thinkers in a global society now can you? It’s been said that America is the last bastion of freedom and if it falls, the rest of the world falls too. Reading this article on World Net Daily drives that point home.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/09/frightening-new-assault-on-homeschooling/

Parents around the globe are being stripped of the ability to homeschool, landing themselves in jail and having their children taken away from them, permanently in some cases. In Scotland, they are now trying to assign a nanny at birth to EVERY CHILD, to ensure children are properly educated. Even here in the United States, the Obama administration recently stripped a family of their asylum status and is seeking to deport them back to Germany after they fled because they would be arrested for homeschooling their children. Why is homeschooling such a threat to those in power? It certainly isn’t altruistic motives that cause people to seek the destruction of homeschooling.

What Can We Do?

I get a lot of email asking “what can we do?” type questions. The challenges facing parents probably aren’t going to end soon, but we can take action to protect our freedoms. We can become better educated ourselves in what our rights are. We can look into the available options for our children and take their education upon ourselves in a bigger way. We can set an example for our children by modeling the behavior we want them to latch onto. Here’s a short formula for success.

1) Get educated on issues and develop your principles. You’re reading this site so you’re on your way. :) Another excellent way to do this is to attend the upcoming Agency-Based Education conference in November. This is an organization I founded a couple years ago dedicated to 5 principles of freedom in education. Conference registration is taking place right now. It’s perhaps the cheapest conference you’ll ever attend, and you will leave inspired and educated, growing more confident in your child’s educational options. One of my personal favorite presentations from last year’s conference was Tammy Hulse speaking on a program called Liberty’s Hope. This presentation alone gave me a lot to think about. Please make plans to come to this conference. You won’t be disappointed. Register today.

2) Develop the courage to stand. As you get educated, start to attend gatherings where you can see what’s going on such as school board meetings, campaign events where you can talk with legislators, etc… Get outside your comfort zone and be involved. Make a public comment in a meeting. If you’re nervous about it, write your comment down and keep it short. As you do this, you’ll develop greater courage to do more and you will be a great example to your children.

3) Share what you learn with friends and family to help you refine your thinking and educate others in their thinking.

4) Develop a relationship with your legislators so they know your name and that you are an involved parent. I remember the first time I called my senator years ago, and I was quite nervous. It took a little time to realize they’re just people like us. Utah has the opportunity this next legislative session to make some meaningful changes in the law to restore local control and move toward ending compulsory education. Senator Aaron Osmond is working on legislation right now that will make positive moves in protecting families from grasp of compulsory education. Developing your relationship right now with legislators will enable you to be a powerful voice with your legislator.

WILL UTAH’S LEADERS REFORM EDUCATION, OR RESTORE IT?
—AN APPEAL TO UTAH’S LEGISLATORS TO PIONEER AN EDUCATION RESTORATION—

by JaKell Sullivan

In the 1830’s, when Alexis de Tocqueville visited America he was fascinated to find that the backwoods pioneer was better educated than the aristocrat in Europe.(1) How was this possible? Because Americans uniquely understood the power and significance of self-government. They were motivated self-learners who pioneered a restoration of the correct principles of good government by studying from the best books, including the Bible. They knew that in order to protect their newly established Republic, they would have to understand history and the political principles that would protect their freedoms.

Today, we see a move away from self-learning as more and more citizens understand less and less about self government, and depend on government to dictate the type of education they will get. Not surprisingly,  Washington bureaucrats, along with self-proclaimed education reformers, have stepped up to mandate what our children should learn by standardizing our system, collecting data on students, teachers and principals, and making education about human capital instead of humanity. We should not be surprised when this strains the student-teacher relationship and stifles inspired learning.

While countries like China and Singapore are trying desperately to move away from their entrenched standardized education systems—citing a lack of entrepreneurship and intellectual creativity in their citizens(2)—America is fast-tracking standardization. And, Utah is along for the ride. Whether they know it or not, Utah’s Education Excellence Commission(3) is following President Obama’s Equity and Excellence Commission(4) and “2020 Vision Roadmap,” (5) through the President’s five pillars of education reform to complete his aptly named “cradle to career” federal remake of K-12 education. Meanwhile, Utah’s Education Task Force meetings (6) show that, to this point, they are hearing almost solely from groups who subscribe to standardization and the human capital model of education.

The human capital model of education is the endgame for central planners who have let profits and power blind them to the reality of what constitutes true learning. Some of our state and business leaders are selling this model with the words “college and career readiness” and President Obama’s “2020” mantra without realizing that they are setting up a power structure to redistribute wealth and resources among states, and to provide a continuous pipeline of profits for elite education reformers. This power shift could impale our representative form of government and eliminate parental rights to direct the education of our children.

Why are the same profit seekers who are behind the human capital model also behind the push for Common Core national standards that 45 states have already adopted? Because national standards are the wheel that will steer states into national testing, national curriculum, and national data collection—setting us up for a backseat ride straight into their human capital model of education.(7)

Education is a multi-billion dollar enterprise for unelected reformers like David Coleman(8), Jeb Bush(9), and Bill Gates who plan to collect data on each student’s skills and try to micromanage their job opportunities while taking tax payer money to pay for it and profit from it. They, and others, have built corporate foundations, created data collection businesses and made deals with curriculum publishers and government officials that reveal their motivations. Bill Gates admitted in a 2009 United States Legislative Conference that national reforms were about building a “uniform customer base,” not educating great thinkers.(10)

Why are we following these unelected profiteers down a path where they take control of our children’s educational opportunities and treat them like cogs in a managed economic wheel? Even if they are well intended, their vision is flawed and the history of the decline of great nations proves it. They envision a society of workers. Our vision should help us stay true to who we’ve always been—a nation of creators.

As parents, we are inspired by our children’s imaginations and ingenuity! We know that they are clever, resourceful and original! They will become great contributors to society as we help them develop their innate talents and abilities, not because reformers standardize their educations to “compete” with other standardized nations in the “21st century economy.” Sameness does not create leaders.

It’s time that we the people, as parents and local school districts, create a brighter and wiser vision for our children’s education based on our beliefs about what constitutes true learning. But, in order to do that, we need legislators who will reinstate the principles of federalism.

I am calling on Utah’s legislators to pioneer a restoration. Restore local control over education. Get Utah out of the reformer’s backseat before standardization is too entrenched. Decide that the group-think mentality and human capital mantra coming out of national reform conferences and meetings held to woo our state, business and education leaders must not be allowed to be legislated. Be the check on the federal government, and unelected reformers, you were elected to be. Grant power back to local board members who know us and can truly represent us and our children at the local level where needs are best met.

As our elected representatives, you can help Utah lead states in restoring America’s original ideals of exceptionalism and individualism, not standardization. If we buy into the human capital model, we will soon find that we’ve lost something much more valuable than money— the heart and soul that makes us who we are, and the entrepreneurial spirit that beckons every child with the words, “Follow your dreams!”

Footnotes:

1. Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville. http://www.amazon.com/Tocqueville-Democracy-America-Library/dp/1931082545

2. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice, “Common Core State Standards: An Example of Data-less Decision Making, Dr. Christopher Tienken.  http://www.aasa.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/Newsletters/JSP_Winter2011.FINAL.pdf

3. Governors were encouraged by national reformers to establish Education Excellence Commissions. Utah’s was formed in 2010. Reformers use these commissions, & their government relationships, to push federal policy down through states. The state policies coming from Utah’s Education Excellence Commission mirror President Obama’s Equity and Excellence Commission’s “2020” goals and “2020 Vision Roadmap.” Many leaders on the state commission may not be aware of this fact. http://www.utah.gov/governor/priorities/education.html

4. President Obama’s Equity and Excellence Commission, housed within the US Department of Education, is charged with redistributing wealth using America’s education system. Their report “For Each and Every Child” to Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, explains how government can partner with key business leaders to bypass America’s Constitutional structure & complete a federal/reformer’s remake of our education system by mandating the redistribution of money, & principals & teachers who are considered by the federal government to be “highly effective.” http://www.foreachandeverychild.org/
See also:
http://www.otlcampaign.org/equity-commission
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/reform

5. President Obama’s “2020 Vision Roadmap” to reform America’s education system into the German model.
http://www.otlcampaign.org/vision-2020
The “2020 Vision Roadmap” was written by Linda Darling-Hammond who helped create Obama’s Equity and Excellence Commission in the US Department of Education. Darling-Hammond chaired the Model Standards Committee for the Council of Chief State School Officers which co-produced Common Core Standards.  She is in charge of content specifications for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortia (SBAC). The SBAC is one of two testing consortia for Common Core Standards & was funded with Federal Stimulus funds. She is an advisor to American Institutes for Research—Utah’s new Common Core testing agent that is partnered with SBAC. She was also a creator of the politically-biased, anti-Christian and anti-American CSCOPE curriculum that was investigated in full hearings in the Texas Legislature in the spring of 2013. See: “Threat of Subpoena Produces Texas Curriculum Records” http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/threat-of-subpoenaproduces-texas-curriculum-records/#BB0SiUjykqOHP63w.99

6. Utah’s Education Task Force. See “Meeting Minutes” http://le.utah.gov/asp/interim/Commit.asp?year=2013&com=TSKEDU

7. See Footnote 10: Bill Gates video clips #5 and #6

8. David Coleman, “Architect of the Common Core, sells Grow Network to McGraw-Hill” in 2005.

http://investor.mhfi.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=96562&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=592486&highlight=
“Architect of Common Core Appointed to Lead College Board & align SAT to Common Core.” http://press.collegeboard.org/releases/2012/college-board-namesdavid-coleman-new-president
David Coleman founded Student Achievement Partners who played a lead role in developing Common Core with funding from the Gates Foundation.
http://contentincontext.org/2011/index.php/program-speakers/151-david-coleman
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/How-We-Work/Quick-Links/Grants-Database/Grants/2012/06/OPP1061551

9. Jeb Bush, Foundation for Excellence in Education. http://excelined.org/
Foundation for Excellence in Education funding from the Gates Foundation: http://excelined.org/about-us/meet-our-donors/
Jeb Bush created Chiefs for Change to train state superintendents in the reform agenda. “Emails Link Bush Foundation, Corporations and Education Officials”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/01/30/e-mails-link-bush-foundation-corporations-and-education-officials/
Jeb Bush, Common Core: http://truthinamericaneducation.com/common-core-state-standards/common-core-standards-alec-jeb-bush-frozen-people-americantaxpayers-citizens

10. Gates Foundation. http://www.gatesfoundation.org/
“Gates, Pearson Partner to Craft Common Core Curricula” http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/04/27/30pearson.h30.html
Bill Gates defines the “crisis” in education to the National Conference of State Legislators in 2009, & explains why national standards, federal assessments, aligned curriculum, and national data collection are necessary reforms. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyiwai1sAgE (7 Clips)
Video Clips #5 and #6 show the agenda behind Common Core to be to “unleash new markets” for the profiteers behind education reform.
Clip #5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtTK_6VKpf4 Bill Gates tells state leaders they should join in national standards, federal assessments and curriculum
Clip #6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMmABNwiITE Bill Gates tells state leaders they should take federal stimulus funds for longitudinal data systems
Additional resources:
“Governors Implementation Guide” for Common Core Standards. This guide was created by the producers of Common Core—the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers—with funding from the Gates Foundation. None of them are elected.
http://www.nga.org/cms/home/news-room/news-releases/page_2011/col2-content/main-content-list/nga-releases-implementation-guid.html
Utah’s STEM push is federally led and part of the government/business partnership touted in Obama’s Equity and Excellence Commission’s report. It calls on state leaders to establish partnerships with key business leaders in order to bypass America’s legislative process, and thereby, citizen representation. The goal behind the federal STEM agenda is to redistribute wealth, & resources like principles & teachers, from suburban communities to urban cities & minority groups.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/educate-innovate
President Obama’s 5 Pillars of Education Reform
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/03/10/taking-education

The Utah State Office of Education has announced they are taking applications for the parent review panel to review the computer adaptive test (CAT) questions. Only 15 parents are allowed to be on this committee which is very unfortunate. We want EVERYONE to apply as a signal that this is inadequate representation.

Application – Assessment Item Parent Review Committee (PDF)

Application – Assessment Item Parent Review Committee (MS Word)

The application contains the following information about the position:

************

Utah Code 53A-1-603 directs that the Utah State Board of Education “require each school district and charter school, as applicable, to administer a computer adaptive assessment system.”  The law also establishes a committee of 15 parents of Utah public education students to review all computer adaptive test questions, as outlined below.

(9)       (a) The State Board of Education shall establish a committee consisting of 15 parents of Utah public education students to review all computer adaptive test questions. 

(b) The committee established in Subsection (9)(a) shall include the following parent members:

 (i) five members appointed by the chair of the State Board of Education;

                        (ii) five members appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; and

(iii) five members appointed by the president of the Senate.

            (c) The State Board of Education shall provide staff support to the parent committee.

            (d) The term of office of each member appointed in Subsection (9)(b) is four years.

            (e) The chair of the State Board of Education, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the president of the Senate shall adjust the length of terms to stagger the terms of committee members so that approximately 1/2 of the committee members are appointed every two years.

(f) No member may receive compensation or benefits for the member’s service on the committee.

It is anticipated that the time commitment for the committee in 2013 will be approximately 40 hours, with all-day meetings scheduled the week of November 4-8, 2013.  Committee members will be reimbursed for mileage to and from the State Office of Education, hotel cost if they live more than 50 miles from the office, and will be provided a lunch each meeting day.

If you are interested in serving on this committee, please fill out the information on the following page and submit to Board Secretary Lorraine Austin, at lorraine.austin@schools.utah.gov or PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, UT 84114, by September 15, 2013.