J*******p
发帖数: 1129 | 1 A crash course in your child’s changing education
What is it?
Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is a new set of uniform standards being
implemented in 45 States and DC. It details what every K-12 teacher must
teach in Math or English language arts (ELA).
The Fordham Institute study concluded that California, Indiana and
Washington D.C. had standards "clearly superior" to CCSS. Despite that,
California agreed to implement them in exchange for a chance to win part of
$4.35 billion in Race to the Top (RTTT) grant money. We received $0 from
RTTT. The estimated cost to implement the new standards in California is $1.
6 billion. Why would we lower our standards in exchange for nothing but $1.6
billion in expenses we can't afford?
Many now refer to it as CC$$ because of all of the money to be made.
Where did it come from?
The 10th Amendment of the Constitution forbids the Federal government from
controlling education. CC$$ is the result of 35 years of bipartisan Federal
overreach into State controlled education.
The Federal Department of Education, which has no authority to exist, was
created in 1979 under Jimmy Carter. Skip forward to 2001, when George W.
Bush dubbed himself "America’s educator in chief” and implemented "No
Child Left Behind." In 2008 Barack Obama issued $4.35 billion in Federal
stimulus dollars for States to complete for in "Race to the Top" (RTTT)
grants. To be competitive to receive a part of the money, a State had to
agree to adopt CC$$, sight unseen. In 2009 most governors signed on for a
chance to receive RTTT funds (without a Congressional vote). California
received $0 in RTTT funds.
Who created Common Core State Standards?
They were NOT developed by educators. It was developed by “non-profits,”
which were mostly funded by the Federal government and the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation. The non-profits are:
1) Achieve, Inc., who came up with the idea and the name. They were started
in
1996, composed of business leaders and a few governors. They proudly boast
on their website that they were the “pre-cursor to CC.”
2) Achieve, Inc. “partnered” with the National Governors Association (NGA)
and
the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to give their project
some legitimacy and make it sound like it had something to do with the
States. NGA is a DC-based trade association with no legislative authority,
which includes governors and many lobbyists; 80% funded by tax-paying
dollars. States pay as much as $80,000 a year in dues for their governor to
belong. CCSSO is also a DC-based trade association with no legislative
authority, which includes many lobbyists and State Superintendents.
3) This project was funded mostly by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. They
gave over $100 million to the writing of CC$$ and much more to promoting it.
The Gates Foundation gave the National PTA $1 million to promote CC$$. One
estimate of the total the Gates Foundation spent is $2.2 billion. Many
millions were filtered through indirect funding. This is not State led, it
is “Gates-ed.” Because CC$$ was created by non-profits, everything was
done in secret and without any public view or comment. State Boards of
Education are required by law to develop standards in an Open Meeting
setting.
Copyrights:
The copyrights for the Standards are owned by the NGA and CCSSO who will
control and dictate the Standards. Therefore, CC$$ cannot be changed by any
State. States are only allowed to add 15% to the curriculum to make it State
relevant, however that 15% will not be part of testing. There will be no
way to govern or change the Standards within a State.
Rigorous Standards:
Proponents of CC$$ continually refer to the standards as “rigorous” and “
globally benchmarked.” This is nothing but marketing. After the Governors
committed the States to CC$$ they created a group called the CC$$ Validation
Committee to evaluate and sign off on the Standards. Five members refused
to sign off. Sandra Stotsky, ELA expert, and James Milgram, mathematician,
were two among the five and have spoken out. Sandra Stotsky is professor
emerita, University of Arkansas, former senior official in the Massachusetts
Department of Education, and she is credited with developing one of the
country’s strongest sets of academic standards for K-12 in Massachusetts.
Dr. James Milgram is a respected mathematician from Stanford University.
These were some of their objections:
• Math – CC$$ puts US kids two years behind our international
competitors and high achieving countries by the end of High School. In
addition, Jason Zimba, the chief writer of the math standards, testified
about the standards before the Mass. State Board of Education, and admitted
that the CC$$ will only prepare kids for a 2-year college, not a higher
education institute.
• English - ELA is heavily oriented towards writing rather than
reading, which is backwards. Reading should be heavier at all grade levels
because writing depends upon reading. Good readers can produce good writers.
• In elementary, ELA – CC$$ requires a 50/50 division between
information text and literature; in high school, it is only 30% classical
English literature, 70% informational text, which provides a poor framework
for a demanding curriculum at all grade levels.
• Critical thinking is developed as teachers instruct students how to
read between the lines of literature, and weigh the pros and cons. When
literature is reduced to 50 - 70% this also reduces the development of
critical thinking.
• There is no evidence that these Standards are internationally
benchmarked or research based. Not one country can be named that has tested
our standards. A few countries have read them (called informed); that is all.
• This is the dumbing down of the public education system.
CC$$ is the result of a belief that certain groups cannot rise to a higher
standard so this is a lowering of standards with the expectation that
somehow this will allow more students to get into college and get out with a
degree. It’s a
social engineering, “social justice” approach to education.
CC$$ has never been proved successful in one State or one school system.
There is no record of success anywhere, and the five main creators of it
have no background in K-12 education. This was not created by teachers! | J*******p
发帖数: 1129 | 2 继续...
Data Mining:
CC$$ is not just standards. It’s also testing. Testing will collect
detailed data on what the child understands academically, but there is a
second part to the testing that States agreed to: 1) we will change our
State laws, policies and regulations to make CC$$ testing work, and 2) we
will provide student level data on each child. All data is to go into the “
cloud” and be available to anyone deemed appropriate (i.e. school,
government, any corporation with an interest in ed. development, including
Google). State student privacy laws are null and void once the data is
uploaded and Federal law kicks in.
In December of 2011, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (
FERPA) was amended by Executive Order to allow the Federal government to
share any information they have about children without parent knowledge or
consent. There is now a lawsuit in Federal court fighting that change: EPIC
v. NY Dept. of Education. People are fighting back.
The National Education Data Model allows for 416 data points on each child
which States are encouraged to collect, including blood type, health
insurance, family religion, bus stop time, family income, family structure,
disabilities, health needs, gun in the home, alcohol consumption in the home
, who helps with homework, do they feel lonely, etc. All of this will be
loaded into the cloud and accessible by third parties.
If Not CC$$, Then What?
California State Standards were found to be “clearly superior” to CC$$ by
the Fordham Institute, despite their entanglement with the Gates Foundation
. We can return to them or consider adopting Massachusetts State standards.
They tested at the top against other countries in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011.
Some states are talking about forming a consortium to come up with
standards together, that they have the power to modify as they wish. CA's
standards are far better than CC$$ for now, and don't include the
unnecessary cost.
What Can YOU do?
This is an issue that has to be addressed from the ground up. Don’t be
discouraged; 14 States are in the process of putting CC$$ on hold or
throwing it out. We can do it too. Get others involved!
1) Turn in an Opt Out form for your child ASAP. Policy States that schools
with 5% or more opting out are not complying with CC$$. That sends a strong
message, and it’s something within each of our power to do. Pacific Justice
has a nice form, or you can just write a note. CA Ed Code 60615 guarantees
your right as a parent to opt out of State testing.
2) Join a Facebook group to connect with others and fight Common Core.
3) Arm yourself with knowledge! Read books; do your own research; watch
YouTube videos starting with "Part 1 of 5 Stop The Common Core" and "
Building the Machine." Many child development experts, teachers, parents,
education experts speak out against CC$$ on YouTube. Don't stop there! Visit
the following websites:
www.truthinamericaneducation.com; www.pioneerinstitute.org; www.
orangecountycccc.com; www.cuacc.org; www.stopccssinnys.com (for template
letters, speaking scripts)
4) Talk to your family and friends. Let people, especially parents, know
what is happening. Tell your church, your clubs, your coworkers, your
neighbors.
5) Speak to your local school boards. Let them know how you feel and that
they have the power to say no to Common Core and to the assessment testing.
6) Call and / or write your Assemblyperson and Senator and tell him/her you
want CC$$ OUT of California. Find your representatives here. It’s quick and
easy. http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/
7) Write your newspaper, call a radio show, ask why people aren't talking
about it.
8) Elect candidates who will fight CC$$. | J*******p
发帖数: 1129 | 3 Local CA Groups Fighting Common Core
ALAMEDA COUNTY AGAINST COMMON CORE
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1421697768080467/
BAKERSFIELD AGAINST COMMON CORE
https://www.facebook.com/groups/797604866935280/
BELLFLOWER - BUSD Parents Against Common Core
https://www.facebook.com/BUSDagainstCommonCore
CARLSBAD - Demand Quality Education for Carlsbad Kids https://www.facebook.
com/DemandQualityEducationforCarlsbad
CHULA VISTA - Chula Vista and Sweetwater Parents and Teachers for Quality
Education https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChulaVistaforQualityEducation/
ELK GROVE - CONCERNED PARENTS OF EG
https://www.facebook.com/ConcernedParentsofEG
GLENN COUNTY - Quality Education in Glenn and Tehama Counties https://www.
facebook.com/groups/ParentsTeachers4QualityEducationBTGCounties/
LOS ANGELES - Students, Parents, Angelenos for Real Classroom Support -
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LAQuestionsCommonCore/edit/
LOS ANGELES COUNTY AGAINST COMMON CORE
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LosAngelesCountyagainstCommonCore/
LOS ANGELES QUESTIONS COMMON CORE
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LAQuestionsCommonCore/
NAPA COUNTY - Napa, Solano, Yolo Counties: https://www.facebook.com/groups/
ConcernedParentsEducatorsNapaSolanoYolo/
ORANGE COUNTY - Orange County Concerned Citizens against Common Core - https
://www.facebook.com/groups/OrangeCountyCCCC/ http://orangecountycccc.com
POWAY - Poway: Citizens for Quality Education:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/465332886901977/
SACRAMENTO - Sacramento County Against Common Core
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SacramentoCountyagainstCommonCore/
SAN DIEGO NORTH COUNTY - Citizens for Quality Education
https://www.facebook.com/groups/465332886901977/
SOLANO COUNTY - Napa, Solano, Yolo Counties: https://www.facebook.com/
groups/ConcernedParentsEducatorsNapaSolanoYolo/
SWEETWATER - Chula Vista and Sweetwater Parents and Teachers for Quality
Education https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChulaVistaforQualityEducation/
TEHAMA COUNTY - Quality Education in Glenn and Tehama Counties https://www.
facebook.com/groups/ParentsTeachers4QualityEducationBTGCounties/
TEMECULA - Stop Common Core TemeculaVALLEY CENTER
www.facebook.com/groups/valleycentercommoncore/
YOLO COUNTY - Napa, Solano, Yolo Counties: https://www.facebook.com/groups/
ConcernedParentsEducatorsNapaSolanoYolo/
YORBA LINDA/PLACENTIA PARENTS AGAINST COMMON CORE
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yorba-LindaPlacentia-parents-against-Common-
Core/604834092943429 | J*******p
发帖数: 1129 | 4 反对 CommonCore 的竞选人：
Tim Donnelly - Governor
George Yang - Lt. Governor Candidate
Lydia Gutierrez - State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Pete Petersen - Secretary of State
Todd Royal - Assembly District 43
James Gallagher, Assembly District 3
Igor Berman, 7th Congressional District
Michelle Ambozic - Assembly 33rd district
Matthew Munson State Senate District 20 | J*******p
发帖数: 1129 | | J*******p
发帖数: 1129 | 6 转一下在San Diego 的一个回复，
上面给出的已经够详细的了吧！
如果只听信学校的宣传的话，听起来是不错。说来说去，就是那么几句话: rigorous,
few and deeper, focus more on critical thinking skills, college and career
ready, prepare students for global competition, etc,etc. 但是没有任何的研究
，试点，试验，和数据来证明这些，所以，这些听着悦耳的话，不过是marketing 的空
话。
CC标准本身的问题，我所听到的是：在低年级，要求过高不符合儿童发展的实际情况，
而在高年级，要求又太低。详细的请参见前面的介绍。还有数学教学用什么 Fuzzy
math， 把简单问题复杂化，容易使学生很迷惑。
但是CC标准本身的问题，还不是最大的问题。如果你真想了解 Common Core, 就不能只
看标准本身,而必须了解和标准密不可分的，随着标准而来的一整套 package. 就像看
治癌的药物，不能只看杀死癌细胞的效力有多大，还要看是不是把健康细胞都杀死了，
看副作用有多大。
这个 package 里有啥？
- loss of local control, local control of school district,
- high stake standardized testing,
- teachers forced to teach to the tests,
- extensive collection of student individual data and data mining by non
profit or for profit companies,
- high achieving students will be forced to conformed to the lowest common
denominator while special need students will be forced to perform what is
out of their ability,
- high cost to school districts and tax payers, | J*******p
发帖数: 1129 | 7 这个CC背后的推手有谁呢？
一方是联邦政府，借着 No Child Left Behind 和 Race to the Top 这些联邦
mandate的大棒，借着 联邦资金的胡萝卜，诱使各州上船。他们要的是权力和控制。联
邦政府方面的推动，是借着很多progressive 人士掌管的非营利机构,比如上面提到的
Achieve.
另一方是大财团大公司，以Bill Gates 为首，还有 总部在英国的教科书出版发行商
Pearson Publishing, 以及其它大公司。Bill Gates 为推动CC，已经投入一百多
Million. 他们要的是什么？改善公立学校的教育吗？当然不是!
他们要的是盈利，利润，是学生身上来自纳税人的钱，是公立学校潜在的巨大的他们可
垄断的profit。Bill Gates 在 YouTube 可以找到的一个录像里说，“this (Common
Core) opens up a big education MARKET". 身为富家子弟，他从来没有上过一天公立
学校。他的孩子们上的，也是他当年上过的学费一年两三万美元的私立学校，而这个私
立学校没有也不会采用Common Core. | J*******p
发帖数: 1129 | 8 反对一方的众多人士里，有保守派也有自由派。保守派主要是反对联邦政府插手地方教
育事务；而自由派主要是反对大公司大财团借公立教育来盈利。
但是对绝大部分反对的人来说，反对CC最最重要的原因是：自己的孩子。前面几个帖子
里列出的，各个地方的反对的组织，都是真正的草根组织，都是由父母发起的。
Californians Against Common Core, 我前面提过的Facebook Group, 最近一周左右的
时间，人数就增长了200，现有3400.
执行CC最早的州之一是纽约州，那里因反对CC标准化考试而opt out 考试的学生高达70
%!
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/parents-pull-kids | J*******p
发帖数: 1129 | 9 如果只听信学校的宣传的话，听起来是不错。说来说去，就是那么几句话: rigorous,
few and deeper, focus more on critical thinking skills, college and career
ready, prepare students for global competition, etc,etc. 但是没有任何的研究
，试点，试验，和数据来证明这些，所以，这些听着悦耳的话，不过是marketing 的空
话。
CC标准本身的问题，我所听到的是：在低年级，要求过高不符合儿童发展的实际情况，
而在高年级，要求又太低。详细的请参见前面的介绍。还有数学教学用什么 Fuzzy
math， 把简单问题复杂化，容易使学生很迷惑。
但是CC标准本身的问题，还不是最大的问题。如果你真想了解 Common Core, 就不能只
看标准本身,而必须了解和标准密不可分的，随着标准而来的一整套 package. 就像看
治癌的药物，不能只看杀死癌细胞的效力有多大，还要看是不是把健康细胞都杀死了，
看副作用有多大。
这个 package 里有啥？
- loss of local control, local control of school district,
- high stake standardized testing,
- teachers forced to teach to the tests,
- extensive collection of student individual data and data mining by non
profit or for profit companies,
- high achieving students will be forced to conformed to the lowest common
denominator while special need students will be forced to perform what is
out of their ability,
- high cost to school districts and tax payers,
等等。 | J*******p
发帖数: 1129 | 10 1. 在30多个州，因为众多草民的反对和参与，各州已经有议员提出多项法案，推迟或
退出CC 或CC 的考试。
http://truthinamericaneducation.com/common-core-state-standards
2. 印第安纳州在两个月前，成为第一个采用CC然后又退出了的州。
3. 这个单子里，没有加州。其实加州也有一项，AB2307,提议CC的采用与否由各学区自
行决定。大约两周前，State Education Committee 在Sacramento 就这个法案投票前
公开会时，几十名家长和孩子到场表态支持。虽然法案没有通过，但是不等于"木
已成舟”。选举日不是快到了吗？
4. 印第安纳州primary election 中，两位支持CC的共和党在位者（已经在官职上），
虽然有体制内的大腕的endorsement,却被两位在野的反对CC的共和党党内竞选人打败。
而且据说败的不只一点点。
Despite endorsements from GOP Gov. Mike Pence and Lieutenant Governor Sue
Ellspermann, anti–Common Core activists won a pair of significant primary
election victories. The races weren’t even close. The establishment
endorsed House incumbents lost in a landslide. This stunning defeat came
despite the support of the Common Core–promoting and deep-pocketed U.S.
Chamber of Commerce.
5. 对了，George Yang 作为 加州Lieutenant Governor 的竞选人，因为反对 CC 受到
了草根团体的关注和支持。 |
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