Just over a year ago, two state school board members told me Utah would never adopt Common Core science or social studies standards and we would only go as far as math and ELA. Here’s a bit of disturbing news on the science standards front…Brett Moulding, former Utah state office of education curriculum director, is the lead author on the science standards writing team. Now is Utah really going to turn down standards written by Mr. Moulding? I’m not sure when Mr. Moulding was appointed, but there has been a review of these Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) a while back, showing that they weren’t actually going to teach science, but more of an appreciation for science. They aren’t about creating technology, but more geared toward consuming technology (link). Utah must avoid adopting these science standards, and root ourselves in solid science standards and curriculum.
The new Common Core Social Studies standards (CCSSS) have been released as well. Page 31 of the document starts off the Civics section with a catastrophic blunder.
CIVICSIN A CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY, productive civic engagement requires knowledge of the history, principles, and foundations of our American democracy, and the ability to participate in civic and democratic processes.
Article 4, section 4 of the U.S. Constitution guarantees every state in the country a republican form of government, and protection from both foreign and domestic intrusion on that form of government. The United States is a Constitutional Republic, not a Democracy. The Founding Fathers were very opposed to Democracies because they led to mob rule.
Now in all fairness, these CCSSS DO actually mention the word republic a couple times in the document (unlike Utah’s current K-12 history standards), however, the way they portray it is even more alarming. (markup by me)
INTRODUCTIONIN THE COLLEGE, CAREER, AND CIVIC LIFE (C3) FRAMEWORK FOR SOCIAL STUDIES STATE STANDARDS, THE CALL FOR STUDENTS TO BECOME MORE PREPARED FOR THE CHALLENGES OF COLLEGE AND CAREER IS UNITED WITH A THIRD CRITICAL ELEMENT: PREPARATION FOR CIVIC LIFE. ADVOCATES OF CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION CROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM, BUT THEY ARE BOUND BY A COMMON BELIEF THAT OUR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC WILL NOT SUSTAIN UNLESS STUDENTS ARE AWARE OF THEIR CHANGING CULTURAL AND PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS; KNOW THE PAST; READ, WRITE, AND THINK DEEPLY; AND ACT IN WAYS THAT PROMOTE THE COMMON GOOD. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE DIFFERING PERSPECTIVES ON THESE OBJECTIVES. THE GOAL OF KNOWLEDGEABLE, THINKING, AND ACTIVE CITIZENS,HOWEVER, IS UNIVERSAL.
So in other words, in order for our “Democratic” (not Constitutional) Republic to survive, we have to embrace a changing culture (slouching toward Gomorrah), changing physical environments (global climate change?), and promote the common good (socialism). Sidebar: Some people will have differing opinions, but the intelligent people have achieved universal agreement on these things.
Dang, and I thought to maintain our Constitutional Republic it took having a solid and unchanging foundation of principles rooted in freedom. Just goes to show how little I know…
If you didn’t think our country was in trouble with Common Core ELA assignments teaching kids to think like Nazi’s and erase the Bill of Rights, I’m rapidly losing hope in the sanity of educrats and politicians that blindly follow them. I haven’t reviewed much of these standards, but based on this quick glance, if states start adopting these standards, goodbye lady liberty.
CCSS is a ‘Living Document’. In other words, after these ‘Standards’ are embedded into our educational system, they will slowly morph into what the Educrats and their Corporate Elitists THINK our Children should learn. Hello Socialism.
http://www.killcommoncore.com
Oddly, I attended our districts CC teacher training session for ELA, and the presenter kept saying, “we are getting students ready to participate in our democratic society” the first time, I thought it was a slip….but after about the eighth time, I realized, that WAS the message. Oh. Boy.
As Ezra T. Benson heard from the Russian leader. We will feed you small doses of socialism until one day you wake up and find out you have it. Most people don’t want to be bothered to do anything until it directly affects them. Agenda 21 is breathing down your throat and 80% of Utah does not even know what it is. Take 5 minutes on the internet and find out along with common core.
I would like to hear from educators in the public education arena (public and charter schools) who are currently teaching using Common Core curricula. What are your concerns?
Edward Redd
Utah State House of Representatives – District 4 Logan UT
eredd@le.utah.gov
Representative Redd,
There are very few teachers that are willing to come forward and speak out. All across the state as I give presentations teachers come forward and thank us for what we’re doing but want to remain anonymous. They are scared for their jobs. We will put out a request and will see what type of response we receive.
Thank you for looking into this.
Alisa is absolutely RIGHT. I can come out and speak out but was just in the Special Education arena. Teachers are already beat down so far…they are afraid to speak. Again – I will say – the FACULTY ROOM discussions should be secretly taped as they are NOT what you hear in FACULTY MEETINGS. Our unions just suck money from us without DOING anything about the respect or treatment teachers receive. When you talk to them about it they TALK big, but really have no authority. I gave up on ANYTHING to do with NEA a long time ago. They do not protect teachers who SPEAK OUT, but join with the Administrators in keeping teachers “in line” by suggesting they not cause a stir. It’s because (like in Ogden a few years back?) the unions really cannot protect teachers except in a bizarre case there the district agrees with the teacher. I did not teach SOCIAL STUDIES. Alisa knows I retired so I CAN speak up, but I am no longer in contact with my faculty. I tried to write some of them and heard NOTHING back – about joining this organization: http://www.utahansagainstcommoncore.com I found it after retiring EARLY to get away from the confinement of public school teaching. It was a breath of FRESH AIR. I can’t do my best in a public school. I’ve proved it OVER and OVER. I’m back at ONE school doing early morning orchestra, and as always, it is SO dumbed down what I am allowed to do. That’s been true in music for MANY years. The elementaries HAVE no real music teaching happening except where there is a really hardworking teacher willing to do a lot of hours for no pay. I still didn’t make anything privately on orchestra – just on private students. But I created an orchestra with grants of $6000 a year to run on. Kids have to pay for orchestra in their schools now and I am puzzled why such AMAZING people called Americans can’t figure out how to put that money in the SCHOOLS instead of forcing me to create a 501-C-3 and write grants OUTSIDE the school system?? For 30 years I did an exemplary job with VERY young children in an orchestra setting. Now I’m back and lucky to get much done in 45 minutes before school. It is SO HARD for good teachers to be HELD BACK from doing what they are capable of doing, and that’s how I see COMMON CORE, and PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHING today. VERY RESTRICTIVE – to teachers, parents, and students. How can we excel with all the overburdening judgements all over us? Worse, how can we even TEACH with the core curriculum so against all we believe in as Americans? We need the FREEDOM to help children think productively – not be brainwashed in someone else’s agenda. We are going to kill the entreprenuer spirit in our country, which made it great. Heard Condoleezza Rice yesterday at the Women’s Conference. She said democracy won’t happen if FORCED upon people. It never works that way. Where there is no negotiating, there is NO PROGRESS. Our district officals are already brainwashed. I applaud the PARENTS speaking up. Teachers NEED your support. We’ve been beaten down to a pulp. HMMM…read Elizabeth Smart’s interesting story last night. I felt the same way in teaching in the public schools – held so tight I couldn’t teach. Teaching is inspiring, planning, not ADMINISTERING SOMEONE ELSE’S AGENDA word for word.
Representative Redd,
I am in school to become a school counselor. We were told that we must either support CC or remain neutral, and that those who oppose it are “misguided”.
I am part of an Action Committee trying to alert and educate people about Common Core here in California. Our group FB page is ADVOCATES EXCELLENCE . . . . short for Advocates for Excellence in Education (AEIE) in the Fresno-Clovis area. We are having a panel presentation on Oct. 29th, 6:30 PM, at Clovis Vets Memorial Bldg. with speakers including Dr. Sandra Stotsky.
It would be appreciated if you would post any of your articles on the FB page, ADVOCATES EDUCATION, then I won’t have to be forwarding/sharing them from my FB page all the time! Thanks.
By the way, I am a career (27+ years) History/Social Studies teacher. . . .also English/Language Arts and Latin for a few years! (Middle School, with some High School & Adult School)
Hi,
I just want to mention some things I notice about the difference in my 2nd grader and cc math. Last year they had math books that had 50-60 math problems per page. All variations of simple math problems for them to practice and get good at. This year we have a 4 page work sheet that has a total of 12 math problems on it. This work sheet is teaching them how to add everything to 10 to get their answers. This if really confusing to my son, who is still a little shaky with the basics. He loves the last year pages, because he can see that the more he does, the better he gets.
Then on the worksheets it asks them to write how they came up with the answer and to write story problems about their process. Hmm. My son is trying to get his foundation under him in writing, spelling and math. This common core, jumps past all the foundation training of repetition vital to young learning and wants explanation answers when he is learning to spell and write. It is very frustrating.
I remember up until 3rd grade we were drilled in the basics of math, reading and writing. Until we didn’t even have to think about it. CC is trying to skip the essentials before they have even been properly learned. Which makes learning more advanced things harder.
In addition, the end questions of “how do you feel about the way you came up with the answer?” question really annoyed me. My son is still trying to get his three’s facing the right direction.
Welcome to constructivism Sara. My sympathies to you. What school district are you in?
As many of you know, Bill Gates recently paid Scholastic to create things for teachers to use, which are Common Core aligned, and to help promote the common core standards.
Here is proof that the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and Scholastic, are now partners
http://www.scholastic.com/primarysources/2013preview/index.htm
Here is a Scholastic Article on schools being “green”:
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3751744
In this same article, the last section talks about a “green” curriculum, and refers us to this page for resources to use in the classroom:
http://www.facingthefuture.org
At this location, we see many “Issues,” and under one issue on the issues page is “sustainable development.” I click on this link and find this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTlLDGWfAPs&feature=player_embedded This video is showing the sad things happening to a people on an island. Of course, throughout the video, it is made clear that this is because of global warming.
In other paragraphs, it is made clear that we are responsible for finding solutions to this problem, and that the solution is sustainable development. In the section near the end of the page, it states:
“Why is sustainable development important?
“We should be thinking about how future generations will survive on the planet. We have finite natural resources and need to plan for how we can live productively, equitably, and sustainably. Currently, we live in an inequitable world, where more than 2.6 billion people live on less than $2 a day, and the gap between rich and poor continues to increase. To find out more, see a map of where the poor live.
“To improve ourselves and our planet, we must make change. The Earth Charter (http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/pages/Read-the-Charter.html) provides a set of guidelines and principles of how we can develop to meet human needs, while also protecting the environment.”
Of course, in the Earth Charter, it says that we will have the freedom to be “ecologically responsible.”
Ecological responsibility, for me, means, according to http://www.treehuggers.org, and Jonathon Porritt, former chairman of the Green Party, defines ecological responsibility here, by telling the world that Population Control, “a responsibility belonging to all of us,” and calls those who have over 2 children, “irresponsible.”
http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/next-on-the-environment-agenda-population-control.html
Bill Gates signed agreement with UNESCO to promote their agenda, which is Agenda 2. In Agenda 21, under Girls, Activities, 3.e., we read,
“Programmes to establish and strengthen preventive and curative health facilities, which include women-centred, women-managed, safe and effective reproductive health care and affordable, accessible, responsible planning of family size and services,…”
in 8.a. “Knowledge and experience on the part of women of the management and conservation of natural resources for incorporation in the databases and information systems for sustainable development;”
“Sustainable development refers to a mode of human development in which resource use aims to meet human needs while ensuring the sustainability of natural systems and the environment, so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come. The term ‘sustainable development’ was used by the Brundtland Commission, which coined what has become the most often-quoted definition of sustainable development: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”[1][2]”
Later, it says in wikipedia, that “sustainable development” is a plan, which plan is the Earth Charter. http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/pages/Read-the-Charter.html In the Earth Charter under I. 3. b. it states:
“Promote social and economic justice, enabling all to achieve a secure and meaningful livelihood that is ecologically responsible.”
They are attempting to redefine & limit freedom as something that is “ecologically responsible.” In other words, if it is not “ecologically responsible,” it is not your right to do it!
Jonathon Porritt, former chairman of the Green Party, defines ecological responsibility here, by telling the world that Population Control is a responsibility belonging to all of us, and calling those who have over 2 children, “irresponsible.”
http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/next-on-the-environment-agenda-population-control.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development
http://habitat.igc.org/agenda21/a21-24.htm
You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One’s country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. — President Ronald Reagan, Normandy, June 6, 1984
Clearly, Ronald Reagan was part of this evil socialist plot to make us believe that the United States is a democracy and not a republic. THAT’s how far this conspiracy goes.
Hi Chris, thanks for commenting. Clearly Reagan misspoke when he inserted “form” in this statement. I’ll take the Framers of the Constitution over Reagan as well. Democracy is both big “D” and little “d” in their vocabulary. Big “D” Democracy is a vile form of government that is mob rule. Little ‘d’ democracy, is a process of local elections they all spoke favorably of. (www.utahsrepublic.org for more info)
I believe Reagan understood this when he made that statement though I can’t explain why he put “form” in there instead of process. He created “Citizens for the Republic” (http://cftr.org/mission/default.aspx) in 1977, his PAC designed to advance an agenda of less government, more freedom, and individual responsibility. It seems evident he understood America is a Republic as the Constitution states.