Our kids were just sold out. Now what?

Today has really put me back in the defeated state I was in on November 8th.  After listening to an incompetent moron incoherently answer questions about our education system, I had hope that Betsy DeVos would never be confirmed.  I really thought that Grizzly Bears in schools would seal her fate. Then came the letters, phone calls, emails, and social media posts from teachers, parents, administrators and students about how wrong she was, and the damage that will certainly be wrought with her at the helm of America's education.  Surely this would disqualify her, and there would be no way a confirmation would come. Wrong again.  DeVos is all about religion in schools, and here in Michigan she has spent millions to implement voucher systems for religious schools. Trump wants to end separation of church and state. See a pattern?  These are  anti-intellectual and religious and political fundamentalists who view schooling as a threat to orthodoxy and tradition and want to silence critical forms of pedagogy as well as eliminate those teachers who value thinking over conformity. This is who was confirmed to oversee education of our country, from our youngest learners, to our college students.

I cried when I heard. So did many others, so I have been reading. There are talks of a national teacher walk out, and students in NYC already walked out in protest.  This is a knee-jerk reaction to this horrible news, though. Our students need their teachers now more than ever, and a walk-out would hurt them more than help.  Now, a coordinated teacher AND student walk-out? That I fully endorse, and would be surprised if it doesn't happen.

A House Republican has already submitted a 1 page bill calling for the termination of the United States Department of Education, created in 1980.  Kentucky representative Thomas Massie  believes that states should be solely in charge of education, and the federal government needs to get out.


I've been thinking about this myself. I'm not sure what to think. On one hand, education would be solely in the hands of the states. Would that promote grassroots reform that is in the best interests of our kids? But what about rural and poor school districts that rely on federal funds? Would federal taxes be lowered and that money would go to the states? But districts that are better off would still have an advantage, and equity in education would suffer even more. Or would it? What about special education? Was this the republican gambit all along? I don't know the answer. I feel that no USDoE would be better than DeVos right now. Our schools will be her little experiment, and our kids the guinea pigs. I am not OK with that. A billionaire that has never been in public schools, does not know the first thing about the issues facing them, does not know the difference between progress and proficiency, and is completely unfamiliar with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), who fights for charter schools to have zero accountability, and who has pushed her agenda against LGBTQ students by endorsing conversion therapy, has no business anywhere near education.

But what would happen if the DoE was terminated? Really think about that for a minute. Would our federal taxes decrease, and money would be available to the states? Unlikely, not in this administration. It would go to putting Melania Trump up in her golden tower and building a damn wall.  It would create a gap that may or may not be funded by the states who depend on federal dollars for such programs.  Special education would suffer even more than it already is, and our most vulnerable students education would be sacrificed first. 

What about rural and poorer districts? How would they fare without the paltry amount they receive from the federal government? I fear even worse than they are now- and that's saying something. What about our teacher unions? DeVos is a union busting bitch- what would happen to teacher protections? 

The fight to defend public education is not new. Neither is the call to get rid of the DoE.  But in the political climate we are in today- these things take on new, more sinister meaning. We learned today that our kids education is available to the highest bidder.  You must vote these people out that did this in 2018. YOU MUST VOTE. But that is the future. What about now? What can we do to defend our children's education, from preschool to college from a predatory administration that is dismantling our democracy from within? 

SO WHAT CAN WE DO??

Start at home, in your home districts. Go to school board meetings. Visit your children's schools, and get to know teachers and administrators. Understand how your child's education works- don't be a bystander.  Learn about academic standards and what they mean for students. We hear so much coming from state and federal levels- start at the local level and advocate for your local schools first. 

SUPPORT& RESPECT TEACHERS! I am really tired of how demonized our teachers are. It's a wonder that anyone wants to go into education as bad as teachers are vilified. Teachers are just as unhappy with obstacles they face as parents are.  Work with teachers and administrators to provide equitable education in your schools. 

Join the PTA. Go to meetings- get to know fellow parents, odds are you have many of the same concerns, and strength in numbers is what we need.  Don't have a PTA? Start your own parent group. Social media is wonderful for starting grassroots efforts. 

Please- don't give up this fight. It's imperative that we not wither away in defeat, but to rise up and demand better for our children, for ourselves, for our country.  It won't be easy, it will be exhausting and frustrating. But our kids, our democracy is worth it. 

Remember the 50 Republican senators who sold our children out today. Remember them in 2018 and show them how we, the people they work for, deal with spineless, greedy cowards.  

Do not give up. We must #Resist. 

PARENTS!!! What do you know about Common Core?

*WARNING* LONG POST- BUT IMPORTANT FOR PARENTS TO READ!!!!

First of all- let me give you a brief overview of what (we are being told) Common Core is:

The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.( http://www.corestandards.org/)

OK- sounds great, right? We all know that our education system needs to reflect the world's demands and to be relevant and successful in a global economy, right?   And thanks to No Child Left Behind- we are on our way- and Common Core is just another step to achieve these goals. 

WAIT! 

No Child Left Behind was an abysmal failure.  Underfunded, poorly administrated, it concentrated on TEACHER performance and test taking. It didn't address the very real issues of poverty, special education, overcrowded classrooms and frustrated teachers.  Schools were expected to meet AYP (annual yearly progress) with no consideration of circumstances that would affect this progress that was beyond teacher and school district control. 

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)  were developed by an organization called Achieve and the National Governors Association, both of which were generously funded by the Gates Foundation. Yes- Bill and Melinda Gates, There was little, if any  public engagement in the development of the Common Core.

This was not a grassroots initiative, nor did the ideas come from the states or from TEACHERS (who are the real innovators and push change in education). ​In fact, it was well understood by states that they would not be eligible for Race to the Top funding ($4.35 billion) unless they adopted the Common Core standards. (Education historian Diane Ravitch) So under threat of lost funding, something a majority of public schools cannot exist without- this set of fundamentally flawed, UNTESTED standards were rammed through -now in 46 states.

In the interest of looking at both sides- I can say one positive thing about CCSS. The small percentage of children who happen to move state to state won’t have to worry about getting caught up or being too far ahead of their new peers. The standards will be aligned in all of the states that have adopted them. Whoopty friggin do.

Let's talk about  developmental appropriateness. The developers and  promoters of the standards claim they are based in research. This is a lie.  For example, there is no convincing research showing that certain skills or bits of knowledge (such as counting to 100 or being able to read a certain number of words) if mastered in kindergarten will lead to later success in school. Two recent studies, one from a lab at MIT and another from U.C Berkeley  show that direct instruction can actually limit young children’s learning. At best, the standards reflect guesswork, not cognitive or developmental science. Children cannot run before they can crawl- it's as simple as that.

Teaching a child how to think critically is important- of course. But years and years of research and studies and child development models and theories have shown that their brains MUST be developed enough to even take on the kinds of things CCSS is expecting.

Take ELA in Kindergarten. These 5-6 year old children are to be writing persuasive arguments. When do they learn sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and most importantly at that young age, spelling? Sight words, counting and following directions are an integral part of the kindergarten day. Writing persuasive sentences as to why they do not want to eat their vegetables is not.

ELA is to be included in science and social studies- which in an of itself is not a problem. Cross-curricular teaching is a great way to reinforce topics. But- instead of reading classic literature by authors such as Twain, Dickens, Steinbeck, Paterson, Hinton and many  more, kids will be expected to read "informational text". Currently a 50-50 split, but looking to go 70-30 by the high school years. Informational text is an important thing to learn, sure, but the emphasis on informational text over literature is ridiculous. 

Let's take a look at the math standards under CCSS. Many of these standards require that students are  able to explain why a particular procedure works. Not inherently bad, but confusing as hell.  It's not enough for a student to be able to divide one fraction by another. They must also "use the relationship between multiplication and division to explain that (2/3) ÷ (3/4) = 8/9, because 3/4 of 8/9 is 2/3."  Forcing this higher level mathematical thinking on young children when they are not ready to learn it yet is counterproductive!  Mathematics Professor R. James Milgram of Stanford University, the only mathematician on the Validation Committee, refused to sign off on the math standards, "because they would put many students two years behind those of many high-achieving countries." For example, Algebra 1 would be taught in 9th grade, not 8th grade for many students, making calculus inaccessible to them in high school. The quality of the standards is low and not internationally benchmarked.

Now, let's look at CCSS and Special Education. Holding students, such as mine to a higher standard is also not a "bad" thing. When a student (like mine) was never given the opportunity in elementary school to learn what they are now doing in the 6th grade, when I was told he CAN'T learn (utter bullshit BTW) is subjected to these standards you know what happens?? A vicious cycle of test re-takes, misunderstood assignments, frustration, tears,and  increased anxiety. These are the things that I have to watch my child go through.  

Because CCSS standardizes all learning, it ignores any variables to the unique learning styles of the individual child. The thinking patterns of individuals with ASD are extremely different from the way in which neurotypical people think. Because of this, too much emphasis is placed on what they ‘can’t do.’ While impairments and challenges do exist, greater progress can be made teaching these individuals when parents and teachers work on building the child’s strengths and teach in a manner that is aligned with their basic pattern of thinking. Thinking in pictures, patterns, words and visually are hallmarks of the autistic mind. As Temple Grandin said, "The word thinker may be poor at drawing but have a huge memory for facts such as sports statistics or film stars." Or in The Boy's case- dinosaurs. Yet he has to consistently DRAW pictures for standards bases assessments- setting him up for failure. Common Core State Standards are untested, biased, inferior, and  detrimental to children with Autism, Dyslexia, ADD, ADHD and other alternate thinking and learning minds. 

If teachers asked themselves "Are students, all students, but especially students with disabilities, being given an ‘appropriate’ education with Common Core State Standards?"  I would fall over if any actually said "Yes."  Because they are NOT.  And when a teacher tells me "Either we use a pass/fail grading system in ELA or he just fails" my faith in educators is even more shaken than before.  

 How many parents are aware of The State Longitudinal Database System (SLDS) or the P20? Have you even heard these terms before? The SLDS,  is a comprehensive database compiled on each child, teacher and parent. This data is not aggregate data, it is linked specifically to the child. MY child. YOUR child. This data will follow the child through to their adult years into the workforce.  Sounds like something straight out of an Orwell novel doesn't it?  According to the United States Department of Labor, this SLDS will “Enable workforce data to be matched with education data to ultimately create longitudinal data systems with individual-level information beginning with pre-kindergarten through post-secondary schooling all the way through entry and sustained participation in the workforce and employment services system.”  This means that the public schools will be supplying the U.S. government a digital record of our children's statistics, aggregate information down to personality traits starting in kindergarten all the way through high school. And the President is already talking about an Early Learning initiative that will affect our PRESCHOOL AGE CHILDREN! 

 AND- are you sitting down for this? ALL of this data can be shared with just about anyone without parental consent thanks to the president's revisions to FERPA in 2011. Under this revision there are several different ways that all of your child's information can be shared- WITH JUST ABOUT ANYONE.  Scared yet?? If you weren't worried about the "rigorous" , developmentally inappropriate educational goals being set for your kids- how does having your kid's (and your) entire history, such as health conditions, parent voting status and political affiliations, blood type, religion, etc. make you feel? Teachers and administrators can also add notes about personality, effort and any other information they want to add. And all of this is available to just about ANYONE- without YOU consenting or hell, even KNOWING about it.  How about the use of physical devices that are slated to be used? Facial expression cameras, "posture analysis seat," "pressure mouse," and "wireless skin conductance sensor?"  These are propsed by the DOE- and you can actually see pictures of them in their February 2013 report! How's that for Orwellian? 

This invasion of privacy makes the NSA spying look like a game. Our children, that we do anything to protect, are now under the watchful eye of the U.S. Government. You have seen the news about conservative groups being targeted by the IRS, right? How about a child from a conservative family? Or a child from a liberal family, or a family who embraces an alternate religion? How will they be pigeonholed in school? What are the ramifications of this data collection on our children when they grow up and enter the workforce?  I don't know about you, but this literally makes me sick to my stomach. 

It is our job as parents to protect our children and demand they not be a part of  giant data collection project that will collect personal information and then sell it to for profit corporations. I don't know about you- but I question how the hell selling my child's personal information to corporations has any bearing on  how and what they learn? Do you really want your child TRACKED from the cradle to the grave? I would be willing to bet the answer is a resounding HELL NO! 

Parents- your voice, your input is being systematically eliminated from your child's education.  Teachers are leaving their profession because they cannot bear to "teach" in this manner. Children are anxious, overwhelmed and stressed. Parents assume that because the word "reform" is attached to all of this that it is all good.

A one size fits all attempt to standardize every school in the country is WRONG. Corporations have no business in our schools. Stand up to intrusive, doomed to fail government education "reform". Learn all you can about Common Core practices and learn about Opt Out options. This is not the future of education- it's the destruction of it.

Further reading

http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/technology/files/2013/02/OET-Draft-Grit-Report-2-17-13.pdf
(pg 44, exhibit 11)

http://dianeravitch.com/

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2011/03/why_preschool_shouldnt_be_like_school.html

http://townhall.com/columnists/rachelalexander/2013/03/18/common-core-whats-hidden-behind-the-language-n1537017/page/full

http://truthinamericaneducation.com/common-core-state-standards/michigan-house-passes-common-core-implementation-with-local-opt-out/