Common Core’s Control over Curriculum, Teachers, Students, America

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Alice

9.2.14

[The Obama administration, Arne Duncan, and the U. S. Dept. of Ed. are beginning to run scared because the public, including a number of our nation’s governors, are realizing that Common Core Standards do indeed control curriculum (among other education functions that have been ripped away by the federal government from state and/or local control).

Because the USDOE is “banned by law from directing, supervising, or controlling elementary and secondary school curriculum, programs of instruction, and instructional materials,” governors and other citizens are realizing they have grounds to sue the federal government for breaking the law.

Below are helpful resources that prove Common Core Standards are controlling curriculum. These resources could be used to help strengthen people’s legal challenges to reject the entire Common Core Standards Initiative and the USDOE’s conditional NCLB waiver system.

— Donna Garner]

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[The arrows mean “lead(s) to.”]

National standards → National assessments → National curriculum → National teacher evaluations with teachers’ salaries tied to students’ test scores → Teachers teaching to the test each and every day → National indoctrination of our public school children → National database of students and teachers containing personally intrusive information

*I began sharing this graphic way back in 1.1.09 in an attempt to warn the public against the Obama administration’s move toward the Common Core Standards Initiative. – Donna Garner

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4.16.14 – “Common Core Is a Curriculum” – by Donna Garner —http://www.educationviews.org/common-core-curriculum/

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Laura Slover, CEO of PARCC admitted in a press release on 8.22.14 that Common Core drives the curriculum:

“High quality assessments go hand-in-hand with high quality instruction based, on high quality standards…You cannot have one without the other. The PARCC states see quality assessments as a part of instruction, not a break from instruction.”http://www.parcconline.org/parcc-states-reduce-no-items-elaliteracy-portion-test

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Gov. Bobby Jindal’s press release – 8.25.14:

The proponents of Common Core and PARCC continue to insist that tests and standards are not about curriculum, but that’s a ruse. Teachers already know that what is tested at the end of the year is what is taught in classrooms throughout the year. PARCC may not mandate one textbook or one pacing guide, but the CEO of the federally funded PARCC has admitted one thing: PARCC controls instruction and instruction is curriculum. (8.25.14 – “PARCC CEO Admits Goal of Test To Control Curriculum” – Office of Gov. Bobby Jindal – Press Release — http://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm?md=newsroom&tmp=detail&articleID=4655 )

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2.12 — “The Road to a National Curriculum: The Legal Aspects of the Common Core Standards, Race to the Top, and Conditional Waivers” – a Pioneer Institute White Paper — http://www.scribd.com/doc/81315338/The-Road-to-a-National-Curriculum

[Summary statements about this report]

With only minor exceptions, the General Education Provisions Act, the Department of Education Organization Act, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), ban the Department from directing, supervising, or controlling elementary and secondary school curriculum, programs of instruction, and instructional materials.

The U. S. Dept. of Education has designed a system of discretionary grants and conditional waivers that effectively herds states into accepting specific standards and assessments favored by the Department…the NCLB conditional waiver program…is driving the states toward a national K-12 curriculum and course content.

…The waiver authority granted by Congress in No Child Left Behind does not permit the Secretary to gut NCLB wholesale and impose these conditions…

…In the view of the authors, these efforts will necessarily result in ade facto national curriculum and instructional materials effectively supervised, directed, or controlled by the Department through the NCLB waiver process.

…Secretary Arne Duncan has said that the work of the two consortia includes “developing curriculum frameworks” and ‘instructional modules.’

…But the legal concern is that these federally funded assessments will ultimately direct the course of elementary and secondary course content across the nation…This raises a fundamental question of whether the Department is exceeding its statutory boundaries…

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8.22.14 – “Federalizing Education by Waiver?” by Derek W. Black, University of South Carolina, School of Law, Vanderbilt Law Review, Forthcoming —http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2485407

Abstract:

In the fall of 2012, the United States Secretary of Education told states he would use his statutory power to waive violations of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), but only on the condition that they adopt his new education policies — policies that had already failed in Congress. Most states had no real choice but to agree because eighty percent of their schools were faced with statutory sanctions and fund termination.

As a result, the Secretary was able to federalize two core aspects of public education over the next year. For the first time, school curriculum and the terms of teacher evaluation and retention came under the control of the federal government.

This Article demonstrates that this particular exercise of conditional waiver power was both unconstitutional and beyond the scope of the Secretary’s statutory authority.

First, NCLB contained no notice that states might face waiver conditions when they first agreed to participate in NCLB, much less notice of the substance of those conditions. Spending clause doctrine requires both.

Second, states’ inability to say no to these conditions raises serious questions of unconstitutional coercion.

Third, the Secretary lacked explicit statutory authority to impose these conditions. At best, NCLB implies authority to condition waivers, but implied conditions would be limited to the scope of NCLB itself. The waiver conditions the Secretary imposed go well beyond the scope of NCLB.

Fourth, to treat these particular waiver conditions as falling within the scope of the Secretary’s authority would be to extend the Secretary the equivalent of law-making power, which separation of powers doctrines prohibit. The power to unilaterally impose open-ended policy through waiver conditions would be remarkable not just for its transformation of key aspects of education, but for the entire federal administrative state. It would open the door to the spread of a more expansive administrative power than ever seen before.

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2.11.12 – “Common Core Standards: Is the U. S. Dept. of Ed. Violating Federal Law by Directing Standards, Tests, Curricula?” – Truth in American Education —

http://truthinamericaneducation.com/common-core-state-standards/is-the-u-s-dept-of-education-violating-federal-law-by-directing-standards-tests-curricula/

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8.25.14 — “Common Core PARCC CEO Acknowledges Goal of Assessments To Drive Curriculum” — by Dr. Susan Berry – Breitbart —http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/08/25/Common-Core-PARCC-CEO-Acknowledges-Goal-of-Assessments-To-Drive-Curriculum

Do schools control the curriculum?

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Alice

I believe I will stick with the team at Truth in Texas Textbooks and demand that my local school district does the same.

By Donna Garner

Sent by one of the anti-Common Core people in Missouri:

This was in Politico’s morning Education report:

A ‘CONSUMER REPORTS’ FOR THE COMMON CORE: A new nonprofit funded with $3 million from the Gates Foundation and the Helmsley Charitable Trust launches today with plans to review textbooks and other instructional material for fidelity to the Common Core.

EdReports.org will start by bringing in teams of classroom teachers to evaluate K-8 math materials. The curricula will be judged by how well it matches the Common Core and assesses student learning and by whether it offers teachers guidance in reaching children at all levels.

The group will post its ratings online and invite response from the publishers. Up first: Pearson’s enVision Math, McGraw-Hill’s Everyday Math, Houghton Mifflin’s Go Math and more than a dozen other widely used curricula.

EdReports will turn to high-school math and language arts in future years.– The project is led by Eric Hirsch, formerly of the New Teacher Center, and Maria Klawe, the president of Harvey Mudd College. They say they hope districts will turn to their ratings to guide purchases. “Hopefully with great materials, great teachers and great standards, we will be able to move the needle on student achievement,” Hirsch said. Incoming NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia supports the effort; she says curriculum ratings could improve Common Core implementation “by shining a light” on quality materials.

So, once they have this rating system down, schools will know which curriculums to pick because they will be rated the highest. They will “shine a light” on quality materials and conversly throw mud on materials that may be very good but are not aligned to CC by either rating them poorly or not even rating them.

Notice that they plan to start reviewing Pearson and McGraw Hill first. Show me the school district that is going to pick a curriculum not highly rated?

This first attempt to regulate the use of “common core aligned” will create the de facto national curriculum. And what a surprise Gates is funding it!

#APUSH The New AP (anti) U.S. History Curriculum Framework- Resources and Action Items

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Alice

Old – 2010 AP U.S. History Framework

New – 2014 APUSH AP U.S. History Framework

Without state push-back, this new APUSH Curriculum Framework will go into effect this fall (2014). Without state push-back, APUSH teachers may have to ignore their own state’s U.S. History standards if they hope to prepare their students for success on the new APUSH exam – which will NOT cover material outside the new Framework.

7.18.14 — “Texas Mom Testifies Against #APUSH” — Texas mom Marijane Smitherman has 4 children who have taken a total of 41 Advanced Placement (AP) classes. She testified at the Texas State Board of Education meeting against the new AP U. S. History course (i.e., APUSH).
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Texas SBOE Meeting July 18th – Jeanine McGregor Expert Testimony to Reject APUSH

Texas Teacher Mary Bowen’s Testimony at the SBOE (State Board of Education) meeting.

7.30.14 — PODCAST – Women On the Wall Show with Alice Linahan – Hear details on AP U. S. History takeover by the federal government and push-back by concerned citizens – education bubble about to burst

LISTEN TO PODCAST OF NATIONAL AP U. S. HISTORY CONFERENCE CALL (8.4.14) – Jane Robbins, Larry Krieger, Ken Mercer hosted by Tanya Ditty, CWALAC of Georgia State Director and former AP U.S. History teacher.

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Sign letter to College Board President David Coleman – Oppose AP U. S. History (APUSH)

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Documents

Georgia APUSH Resolution (Sample resolution that can be adapted for your state)
Rebuttal to College Board Talking Points on the New AP U.S. History (APUSH) Framework and Exam
The Redesigned College Board AP U.S. History Framework- 10 Key Questions and Answers- Larry Kreiger
New AP United States History Course and Exam Description (College Board document)
Old – 2010 AP U.S. History Framework (College Board Document)
Analysis of the College Board AP U.S. History Framework (A Review of Advanced Placement Policy Documents by Larry Krieger)

ACTION STEPS

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE COLLEGE BOARD:

Dr. Richard Middleton – Southwest Regional Director for The College Board — 866-392-3017 (Ext. 1808#)

Dr. David Coleman – President of The College Board — 888-225-5427 – Press #6 – talked to clerk who took my name and phone number – said she would escalate my call – to call me back from 5 to 7 days

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1.5.05 — “Are We a Republic or a Democracy?” – by Walter Williams – WND

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Link to FairTest.org — “More than 800 four-year colleges and universities do not use the SAT or ACT to admit substantial numbers of bachelor-degree applicants.”

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7.13.14 – “The New AP U. S. History Exam – Deal or No Deal?” — by Jane Robbins, Larry Krieger – Breitbart

7.14.14 – “To Georgia and States Across America: from Jane Robbins of American Principles Project”

7.12.14 – “Common Core David Coleman’s Next Deception: The New AP U. S. History Exam” — by Dr. Susan Berry

7.11.14 — “Texans, Stop AP U. S. History Tests from Being Implemented – Illegal in Texas”
by Donna Garner

7.10.14 – “New War Over High School U.S. History” – by Stanley Kurtz – National Review

7.7.14 –“Dinesh D’Souza’s America and Our Schools” – by Stanley Kurtz – National Review

6.24.14 — “David Coleman Attacks Students’ Love of America” — by Donna Garner

6.22.14 – “Urgent: AP US History Framework Tied to Common Core – Illegal in Texas” – by Donna Garner

7.30.14 – “Dr. Duke Pesta Exposes Common Core”

2.10.14 – Video — “Story-Killers: How the Common Core Destroys Minds and Souls” — by Terrence O. Moore

Join the movement Give the Gift of American Exceptionalism to your child or grandchild.

Understand the Challenge and take Action!

How #CANiSEE THE SOLUTION CONFERENCE

THESE VIDEOS WILL GIVE YOU THE KNOWLEDGE AND TOOLS TO STOP COMMON CORE

To Watch the #CANiSEE Solution Conference 2014 — On Demand Viewing Option — please go to:

http://www.dartfish.tv/CollectionInfo.aspx?CR=p80044c92577

Join the #CANiSEE™© Movement

#CANiSEE ™© WHAT you are teaching my child?

#CANiSEE™© HOW you are teaching my child?

#CANiSEE™© WHO is benefiting financially from the curriculum on which my child’s teacher is evaluated?

Now is the time to go into your child’s classroom and say……..

Stand with me a Texas Mom who is fighting against the Federal Take Over of Education across our country.

Please sign the petition linked below and then pass it onto your friends and neighbors.

Ask them to Join the Movement- Give the Gift of American Exceptionalism to their child!

What Is InBloom and Why Is It Collecting Data on School Children?

Posted on February 7, 2014 by admin

by Merrill Hope

Breitbart

Feb. 7, 2014

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/02/06/Feds-Collecting-Data-On-Our-Children-Who-Is-inBloom

The Battle Is On for Your Childs Mind-

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Alice

TODAY’S CALL TO ACTION- TELL THE (SBOE) DO NOT ADOPT THE PROPOSED SCIENCE TEXT BOOKS!

TEXAS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

The Texas State Board of Education decides what every student in Texas public schools will learn from kindergarten through high school. This is done by adopting curriculum standards and textbooks for public schools in Texas.

The board is made up of 15 members elected from districts across the state.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHO

YOUR STATE SBOE REPRESENTATIVE IS?

Barbara Cargill, Chair
Thomas Ratliff, Vice Chair
Mavis B. Knight, Secretary

INSTRUCTION
Tom Maynard, Chair
Sue Melton-Malone, Vice Chair
Martha M. Dominguez
Geraldine Miller
Marisa B. Perez

SCHOOL FINANCE/PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND
Patricia Hardy, Chair
Lawrence A. Allen, Jr., Vice Chair
David Bradley
Ken Mercer
Thomas Ratliff

SCHOOL INITIATIVES
Donna Bahorich, Chair
Marty Rowley, Vice Chair
Barbara Cargill
Ruben Cortez, Jr.
Mavis B. Knight

This week the State Board of Education (SBOE) decides whether the next generation of Texas public school students have textbooks that teach 21st-century/Common Core science which is filled with Global Warming/Climate Change propaganda that demonizes the oil/ natural gas industry. If these textbooks are approved Texas’ oil/natural gas industry will eventually be destroyed. The oil/gas industry drives our Great State’s economy and provides thousands of jobs–we must protect it.

Call write, tweet, facebook do what ever it takes to let them know you do NOT want them to adopt the proposed Science text books.

This is the situation. Final evaluations by the text books reviewers were sent to the publishers in mid-September, who would not address the concerns that the reviewers had. This vote on the Texas Science Textbooks will determine which science, K-8 math and Tech Apps textbooks are put on the state adopted list.

The problem is that the publishers choose to basically stick with the Common Core philosophy of education and would not change what the Texas Reviewers requested. If they vote for these textbooks they are voting to basically align with the Common Core Type 2 Philosophy in our Texas text books.

The board has scheduled a final public hearing on the textbooks for today Wednesday afternoon in Austin.

On Thursday board members will debate the adoption of the textbooks and take a preliminary vote most likely that afternoon. The final, official vote on the adoption is set for Friday.

To be clear. The forces working to change the hearts and minds of the Next Generation use strategies and tactics to get their agenda in no matter how the (SBOE) votes. We as parents and grandparents must go into their classroom and say…. #CanISee WHAT you are teaching my child and HOW you are teaching my child.

Here is the proof. Full video is linked Here.

Join the movement – Give your child or grandchild the gift of American Exceptionalism back.

Say #CanISee WHAT and HOW you are teaching my child in the classroom!

Now is the time to go into your child’s classroom and say……..

Things you need to know-

Stand with me a Texas Mom who is fighting against the Federal Take Over of Education across our country.

Please sign the petition linked below and then pass it onto your friends and neighbors.

Ask them to Join the Movement!

Fundamentally Transforming America through our Children~

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Alice

AND WE ARE PAYING FOR IT WITH OUR TAX DOLLARS!

“A short trip to HELL”

Just a note from Ray Myers to explain how Obama and his team plan to fundamentally change our country. His plan is simple, yet very sinister. Here is the short version.

Think of it like this: When any government agency, City Hall, School Board, County Commissioner or State Agency accepts stimulus money for anything. Obama will gladly send the requesting agent millions of stimulus dollars. Here’s the catch—when the stimulus money runs out, the fine print states that the agency must keep up the programs with continual tax dollars. When the in debt agency calls Mr. Obama and says, but Mr. President–we are out of stimulus money and we cannot afford to continue these programs. Here is the TRAP—He sets the Hook! Well that is GREAT—don’t worry about a thing—we will take your agency over and run it ourselves. The city /school etc has taken the bait. From the School House to the State House—“Don’t Take The Money!” “Don’t Take The Bait!”

The challenge we face is that Congress may just throw us to the sharks….

Much like ObamaCare but this is ObamaCore….

S. 1094, the “Strengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013,“ is a 1200 page regulatory tsunami on local school systems. All local control of your child’s education will be washed away if this bill passes. It includes forced implementation of Common Core Standards and puts all decisions on education policy in the hands of Washington, DC bureaucrats.

They’re creating a national school board by Jason Laird

If you thought No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top were bad, think again.

The U.S. Senate is poised to pass a bill that’s far worse.

S.1094, the “Strengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013,” is a 1200 page regulatory tsunami on local school systems.

All local control of your child’s education will be washed away if this bill passes.

Why is it so bad?

S.1094 puts approximately 150 new reporting requirements on states relating to:

Teacher evaluations
Learning goals
Curriculum standards
Standardized testing
Annual reporting

S.1094 also continues the war on local schools through FORCED implementation of Common Core Standards.

A longstanding line of defense used by Common Core advocates is that it is voluntary for the states to participate.

With the passage of S.1094, participation and implementation of Common Core Standards will be required of states.

This bill puts every single major decision on American education policy in the hands of Washington DC bureaucrats in the U.S. Department of Education.

What’s worse is that local school systems are required to implement all of these new federal mandates and standards in a very short time frame.

This means that teachers and local school administrators will be spending more time trying to comply with silly federal mandates and less time on actually teaching your child.

The Education Freedom Committee opposes S.1094 because we fundamentally reject the idea that the federal government should have any role in the education of our children.

We would like nothing more than for the Congress to replace No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top with. . .

NOTHING!

If this bill passes, parents, teachers, and students will be sent to the sidelines.The bill has already been rubber stamped in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and could be voted on in the U.S. Senate at any time.

Now is our time to protect Americas children….

“Lesson Learned” – CSCOPE

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Alice

by Barbara Cargill

Chair of Texas State Board of Education

Now is the time to ride the wave of public concern and outrage about CSCOPE. Although many past lessons may have been corrected or changed, why was there poorly written, biased content in the first place? (I read the lessons myself, using my own assigned password.) This issue is only the tip of a huge iceberg. There are other instructional materials that contain questionable content, and they are not being reviewed for the quality of their content.

In 1995 the legislature voted to limit the State Board of Education’s authority over the review of textbook content. Since that time, there has been no public, transparent, citizen-led process for vetting the quality of content in our children’s textbooks. Now that almost all textbooks are online, this becomes an even greater issue of concern because content can be changed with a few strokes on a keyboard.

How were textbook reviews done in the past? Before 1995, the board could instruct review panels (consisting of volunteer parents, teachers, industry leaders, and other citizens) to check for factual errors and also to review thequality of the content.

Here are a few things panel members could review prior to 1995:

· Does the textbook content present positive aspects of U.S. heritage?

· Does it contain balanced, factual treatment of political and social movements?

· Does the textbook promote respect for citizenship, patriotism, recognized authority, individual rights, the free enterprise, and respect for the work ethic?

· Does it reflect an awareness of various ethnic groups?

· Does the book reflect the positive contributions of individuals and groups on American life?

What changed? In the board’s current textbook review process, panelists are instructed to check for factual errors and for TEKS coverage, period. Checking for TEKS coverage is NOT checking for the quality with which the TEKS are covered. For example, George Washington is required to be covered in American history, since he is listed several times in the TEKS. How he is covered in the content, however, is not part of the review.

It is time for the citizens of Texas to demand change and to regain the right to vet the quality of content in our children’s textbooks! The same public passion that resulted in content changes in CSCOPE lessons must be harnessed and directed toward state policy-makers who can reinstate the vetting of content quality to the board’s adoption process.

What can you do?

I highly encourage you to ask your child’s teachers what curriculum and textbooks they use. Parents must stay informed about what is being taught in the classroom; it is your right. According to the Texas Education Code 26.006, parents are “entitled to review all teaching materials, instructional materials, and other teaching aids used in the classroom of the parent’s child; and review each test administered to the parent’s child after the test is administered.” As we approach the 2014 election season, ask elected officials and candidates their position on this issue. We must be advocates on behalf of our schoolchildren; let’s show them that we have learned our lesson about what can happen when quality of content goes unchecked.

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If you are not going to allow your child, grandchild, niece or nephew to be used start by signing a petition to remove paid Microsoft lobbyist Thomas Ratliff from the Texas SBOE (State Board of Education)

Insight and Wisdom – CSCOPE Controls Teachers

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Alice

Many would say that those opposing CSCOPE are anti Public School- That could not be further from the truth. At WomenOnTheWall.org we stand for Public School teachers. Our goal is to give them their classroom back. The two groups that are completely marginalized in the CSCOPE debate are Teachers and Parents which are the two groups that are actually closest to the children. Therefore their voices are the most important.

This was posted on a teacher blog ….teachers.net

What many C-SCOPE crusaders fail to realize is that C-SCOPE has been in schools for 7 years and for many districts C-SCOPE is all they have, there is nothing to fall back on.

Every district has at least one person in curriculum and instruction. We had one for every subject. Before we adopted cscope they did nothing. They had great salaries and did not work on curriculum.

A new superintendent came in and they were all replaced by a new team and coaches. They haven’t done much either. They became the cscope patrols. They never taught any of the lessons. One of our new coaches just left her classroom having 60 percent of her class fail. Wow what a joke.

Cscope came in this last year and we failed royally with it. Reading from scripted text that was suppose to be research based even though it wasn’t.

Now we talk that we will have lots of school districts without a curriculum. Districts were paying millions for cscope so why not hire a good size group to write, adapt etc. curriculum. Money available for cscope but not for writers?

Come on this cscope stuff just gave these service centers plenty of money and they could have gotten together with these curriculum writers for free and assisted with making sure the treks were covered.

Cscope is a mess. It has way too many paper worksheets, tests galore and we need it dead forever.

We had many, many teachers that quit the district. Now they don’t have enough teachers and they are scrambling after anyone they can hire and mostly with no classroom experience. So defending cscope as being the best out there is not true.

Let’s talk about how Teachers are evaluated.

I asked a Texas Teacher – Does this article give an accurate description of how teachers are evaluated in Texas?

Confusion, fear greet school system

Excerpt from the above article.

What if half your performance evaluation was based on your co-workers’ output, not your own?

Those co-workers might not even be in your department or field.

The other half of your evaluation would depend on your supervisor’s observations.

That’s what more than 17,000 of Nevada’s 25,000 public school teachers face under the state’s first mandatory teacher evaluation system. The vast majority of teachers soon will be evaluated on the test scores of students they never saw or subject areas they didn’t teach, or both.

Here was the response…….

This is the last year under the old PDAS (Professional Development Appraisal System).

Next year they will be bringing in a new system. These are the component parts of the future:

Principals are trained to be enforcement officials who conduct chronic, frequent walkthroughs. That has already started. Last year Wichita Falls ISD 1,005 walkthroughs.

They are anxious to link teacher evaluation to test scores. That will be factored in somehow on a point system.

Llano ISD CSCOPE Defenders!

Teachers will be dismissed much easier without any right to rebut a poor performance review. In the past, we were assured of a time period to improve with professional development and mentoring. That is over.

What you have to remember is that teachers will move to grade levels with less testing, they will try to get out of assignments where they have to take students with learning disabilities. They will opt for positions like gifted-and-talented where the students are all likely to do well on the state test. This will make certain positions have a very high turnaround rate with young teachers.

They are moving into areas this year with the new system, like frequent walk throughs. It is very demoralizing for a high performing teacher.

It is interesting because after what we witnessed in Llano (photo to the right) last Friday all the dots are connecting. There are reports that the Superintendent gave the district the day off so district employees could come to the hearing. (FYI- On the tax payers dime). They were indeed there in their orange shirts ready to defend CSCOPE.

It makes you wonder why. Clearly CSCOPE has major flaws. Why would a district be so dependent on an inferior product? Maybe because the system was put in place and the “Control of Teachers” is working quite nice. That is for those who are in CONTROL and making a lot of money off the backs of Texas Teachers!

CSCOPE To Be Taught in Llano ISD

Tools to Battle the Common Core Standards~

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Alice

(Comments by Donna Garner on Jane Robbins’ Excellent Report) 7.26.13

Jane Robbins of the American Principles Project has published a report that lays out the oft-stated “playbook” talking points (7 of them) by the proponents of Common Core Standards, and then Robbins documents the TRUTH about each point.

To make it easier for readers, I have reformatted the article to help them to identify easily each of the seven PRO-CCS BOGUS TALKING POINTS and then Jane Robbins’ well-documented TRUTH ABOUT EACH TALKING POINT.

My suggestion is that the public use Jane Robbins’ careful documentation to counter the Pro-Common Core Standards talking points that the education establishment, politicians, lobbyists, and vendors love to throw around so glibly. When faced with the TRUTH, their talking points come off looking pretty empty!

My only addition to Jane Robbins’ article is the following links to three reports that detail how much it will cost states’ taxpayers to implement and administer the Common Core Standards including the cost of Testing, Professional Development, Textbooks, and Technology. Not only are the CCS an inferior set of standards, but they will cost state taxpayers millions to implement! At a time when states, cities, and individuals are struggling to keep from going bankrupt, the fact that taxpayers will be stuck with millions of dollars to implement and administer an inferior set of curriculum standards that have never been internationally benchmarked nor piloted before adoption is bordering on being the “stupidest” education fad ever!

7.24.13 – AMERICAN PRINCIPLES PROJECT

“Our Response to Florida Republican Leaders’ Defense of Common Core”

by American Principles Project on July 24, 2013

By Jane Robbins

http://americanprinciplesproject.org/preserve-innocence/2013/our-response-to-florida-republican-leaders-defense-of-common-core/

Five former Florida Republican Party leaders have urged the state GOP to ignore the parents and teachers who object to the centralization of education through the Common Core State (sic) Standards. Like other Common Core proponents, they repeat the talking points; like the others, they fail to produce evidence to support their statements. Below is a point-by-point response to their claims:

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PRO-CCS BOGUS TALKING POINT #1: The nation’s Governors recognized this [education] problem almost 15 years ago and began a process that eventually led to states collaborating on the Common Core State (sic) Standards.

THE TRUTH ABOUT POINT #1: The claim that the Standards resulted from a “state-led” process is misleading at best. In 2007, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Eli Broad Foundation pledged $60 million to inject their education vision, including uniform “American standards,” into the 2008 campaigns. In May 2008, the Gates Foundation awarded the Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy a $2.2 million grant to promote the adoption of national standards.

Soon afterwards, the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), two DC-based trade associations, began accepting foundation grants to start the Common Core Initiative and propagate the Standards. In December 2008, to provide guidance to the incoming Obama Administration, NGA, CCSSO, and their DC-based contractor Achieve, Inc., set out their vision for the Common Core Standards in a document entitled Benchmarking for Success. This report, as well, was funded by the Gates Foundation. The Benchmarking report argued for “a common core of internationally benchmarked standards” and cited the creation of Common Core as a joint project of NGA, CCSSO, Achieve, the Alliance for Excellent Education, and the Hunt Institute.

The Florida leaders’ claim that Common Core was “state-led” implies that these organizations had grants of legislative authority from individual states. In fact, the Common Core Initiative was a plan of private groups being implemented through trade associations. Since 2007, NGA, CCSSO, and Achieve accepted more than $27 million from Gates alone to advance the Standards and the connected data-collection and assessments.

Even if the process had been state-led, one might ask, so what? Why should other states have a vote in what Floridians teach their children? Why should California or New York or any other state have any input into what goes on in Florida schools? Florida parents and teachers recognize the dangers of this, even if politicians don’t.

The CSCOPE Narrative- it is District led, written By Texas Teachers for Texas Teachers! Who are those teachers and why does the CSCOPE slide have Linda Darling Hammond as Professional Development?

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PRO-CCS BOGUS TALKING POINT #2: Common Core is not a federal dictate or national mandate. States are free to adopt the standards or to not adopt them. And, if they have already adopted them, they are free to drop out at any point.

THE TRUTH ABOUT POINT #2: The federal government was deeply involved in “persuading” states to adopt Common Core, by tying the Standards’ adoption to the chance to receive federal grants through the Race to the Top competition. A state that refused to adopt Common Core and the aligned assessment lost 70 points in the competition (out of 485 possible points). This meant the state had no hope of compiling enough points to receive a grant (and in fact, no state was awarded a grant without adopting Common Core and the national test). During a time of deep recession, few states were willing to forego the chance at federal money – regardless of the strings attached. If the Common Core proponents were honest, they would admit that they never could have convinced enough states to sign onto the national standards without the federal “persuasion.” The U.S. Department of Education (USED) reinforced the desirability of retaining the Standards by linking No Child Left Behind waivers to their implementation. So states have kept the Standards to increase their chances for more federal favors. But they are certainly free to drop out, and we encourage them to do so.

CSCOPE narrative~ It is about local control~ Districts are free to use it how they would like. The problem is Superintendents are led by the ESC (Education Service Centers) who sell the CSCOPE system of control to the districts. Who is left out of the picture? Teachers and Parents!

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PRO-CCS BOGUS TALKING POINT #3: Some have alleged that the new standards change laws around student data and privacy. They don’t. Regardless of adopting the Common Core, states remain in control of their students’ private information, just as they are now. The federal government does not have access to individual student-level data – just aggregate information by school on how students are performing. States must remain vigilant in working with local school districts to continue protecting student information.

THE TRUTH ABOUT POINT #3: This claim ignores the cooperative agreement between USED and the PARCC testing consortium, of which Florida is the leader. That agreement obligates PARCC to send to USED all student-level data it receives from Florida during the testing of Florida students. And once that data gets to USED, it can be sent to literally anyone in the world. That is because USED has gutted, by regulation, federal student-privacy law. USED plans to use student-level data not only for evaluating education programs, but for unrelated “research.” So students’ personally identifiable information could go to the Departments of Labor, or Health and Human Services, or the IRS – literally anywhere. Indeed, the U.S. Department of Labor has been explicit about what it will do with the student-level data it receives from USED – “developing or improving state workforce longitudinal data systems with individual-level information [and] enabling workforce data to be matched with education data to create longitudinal data systems . . . .” Parents will have no right to object to these uses of their children’s information; in fact, they won’t even know the sharing has occurred.

Even if Florida withdrew from PARCC, USED is becoming increasingly aggressive in demanding student-level data. Education officials in Texas, which did not accept Common Core or the national tests, have had multiple disputes with USED about the data its bureaucrats have demanded. USED has invested millions of dollars in Florida’s school data systems, and the hope that it will not demand the fruits of its investment is naïve at best. The federal government can’t build a workforce for a managed economy without student data, and student data it will get – unless Florida officials step in to stop it.

In Texas HB 2103 passed and was signed into law that sets up three education research centers who have access to student and teacher data.

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PRO-CCS BOGUS TALKING POINT #4: The Common Core State Standards only set academic expectations in English and Math. They do not dictate curriculum – the textbooks used, the reading assignments handed down, the lesson plans employed by teachers, and the thousand other methods or materials used to help students learn. The standards are merely benchmarks for what a student should know by the end of the year at each grade level, from K-12. Ultimately, local school districts and teachers remain in control of their curriculum and in charge of their classrooms.

THE TRUTH ABOUT POINT #4: In the first place, content from other subject areas will be injected into English classes through the English language arts (ELA) standards, which are entitled “English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.” More importantly, the claim that Common Core has nothing to do with curriculum is simply untrue.

As former US Department of Education (USED) general counsel Kent Talbert and Robert Eitel have documented, curriculum inevitably follows from standards. That’s the point of standards. From Talbert and Eitel’s report: “These standards and assessments will ultimately direct the course of elementary and secondary study in most states across the nation, running the risk that states will become little more than administrative agents for a nationalized K-12 program of instruction and raising a fundamental question about whether the Department if exceeding its statutory boundaries.” States and local districts’ “flexibility” will be reduced to choosing one Common Core-aligned textbook over another Common Core-aligned textbook.

Textbook developer and curriculum designer Robert Shepherd bemoans the Standards’ “content-free” design and its inevitable negative effect on curriculum. He writes: “The fact that the ‘standards’ are entirely highly abstract descriptions of skills to be demonstrated, that they are content free, will be ENORMOUSLY distorting in their effects on curriculum development

. . . . The abstract standards will drive the curriculum development. It’s the tail wagging the dog . . . .”

In addition, the two testing consortia funded by the federal government are using the money, explicitly, to “develop curriculum frameworks” and “develop instructional models.” And what is on the national test will control what is taught in the classroom – especially when the teachers’ evaluations are tied to the test scores.

The claim that the national Standards “do not dictate how teachers should teach” is, in many respects, false. An English teacher who spends 80 percent of her time teaching great literature may not continue to do so, but must substitute a large chunk of nonfiction texts. A geometry teacher who uses the traditional Euclidean method must now teach Common Core’s experimental approach instead. A first-grade teacher who teaches the standard algorithm for addition and subtraction is forced to use alternative “fuzzy math” approaches. One middle-school math teacher reports that he was told to abandon his direct-instruction method of teaching and employ instead the “project” method, which he recognizes to be ineffective in math, because that is what Common Core requires. In these and many other areas, the Standards dictate the methods.

The mandates to teachers about teaching methods are particularly evident in the mathematics standards for the early grades. A child who solves problems using the standard algorithms (i.e., the methods that have been used for thousands of years) finds her correct answers marked wrong. The only acceptable answers are those that require her to “explain” her answers by parroting arbitrary “alternative” methods for working the problems.

Despite the Common Core proponents’ claim that this mandate promotes “critical thinking,”this is nothing but the same recycled “new math” that was tried and abandoned decades ago. Ignoring this history of failure, Common Core tries again to impose the notion that students must spend less time working math problems and more time explaining the underlying concepts of what they are doing.

Does the research support the argument that students are more successful with math using this technique? To the contrary – research concerning top-performing countries shows that students do better in math if they are required to work math problems (lots of them), not merely explain math problems. A report by the American Educational Research Association examined the math standards of high-achieving countries, Finland, Japan, and Singapore, and discovered very little alignment to Common Core. All three of these countries “place a much greater emphasis on ‘perform procedures’ than found in the U.S. Common Core standards.” In fact, “[f]or each country, approximately 75% of the content involves ‘perform procedures,’ whereas in the Common Core standards, the percentage for procedures is 38%.” If the Common Core math drafters want U.S. students to compete with students from these countries, perhaps imposing standards with only half the math-performance requirements is not the best way to go about it.

Most parents see Common Core’s “math explanation” techniques as a colossal waste of time. Forcing teachers to require students to explain their work in highly scripted ways is accomplished at the expense of essential practice in working math problems with the standard algorithms. Not only does the “explanation” focus waste precious class time, it slows down the progression, as students who have mastered a skill are stalled with the busy-work of drawing pictures and memorizing scripted explanations. Generations of mathematicians, scientists, accountants, and engineers excelled without learning the “critical thinking” of Common Core, which suggests it isn’t so critical after all.

CSCOPE is not about the lessons, it is about the Curriculum Framework!! Now the system is in place for the Common Core Philosophy of Education!

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PRO-CCS BOGUS TALKING POINT #5: Some have expressed concern about Common Core’s impact on parental choice. Common Core State Standards in no way impact the right of parents to choose the best educational opportunity for their child. We already have academic standards; we are just raising the bar. Home school parents and parents with children in schools that do not receive state funding remain completely unaffected. In non-traditional public schools that receive either voucher money or other state-funding, the current dynamic remains unchanged.

THE TRUTH ABOUT POINT #5: David Coleman, the non-English-teacher who wrote the ELA standards, is now the president of the College Board. He vows to align the SAT with Common Core. Common Core alignment is also expected of ACT and GED. If all this happens, private-school students and homeschooled students who intend to go to college will be forced into a Common Core-aligned curriculum. This means, among other things, that they will have to learn strange and experimental ways of doing math, and will be forced to focus on more nonfiction than great literature. And homeschoolers are already seeing that some of the curricula available to them are being aligned to Common Core. The idea of the Common Core proponents is that, ultimately, Common Core will engulf all of American education. There will be no escape.

In Texas the GED is aligned with Common Core so even if you Homeschool your child they will need to pass the GED so they must know the Common Core philosophy.

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PRO-CCS BOGUS TALKING POINT #6: Any exercise of this magnitude will have its supporters and detractors, its legitimate criticisms and its inevitable conspiracy theories. The simple questions for Florida are these: Will these new standards ensure we provide our kids with a better education and the taxpayers with a better return on their investment? Will the new assessments be better than the existing assessments? Will students graduate high school more prepared for college and the workforce?

THE TRUTH ABOUT POINT #6: In fact, these are not the only questions to be asked in a constitutional republic. Even if the answer to these questions were “yes” (it isn’t), the further critical question is how Floridians could achieve the same result without relinquishing their constitutional autonomy over education to unaccountable private interests and the federal government. The answer is simple: Florida could upgrade its own standards and testing to something far superior to Common Core. Even the Fordham Institute, which the Gates Foundation has paid $6 million to promote Common Core, admits that Indiana’s previous standards, for example, were better, and in fact some of the best in the nation. (In fact, Fordham rated Florida’s previous math standards superior to Common Core.)So why doesn’t Florida keep its math standards and adopt Indiana’s ELA standards? If implemented properly, those standards could propel the state to educational success – and Florida would reap the benefits of out-competing the mass of states that settled for Common Core. It is quite astonishing to see supposedly conservative Republicans accept the argument that a centralized national “solution” is better than one crafted at the state and local level.

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

PRO-CCS BOGUS TALKING POINT #7: Read [the Standards]. Listen to what teachers say about them. If you disagree, do so from an informed perspective.

THE TRUTH ABOUT POINT #7: All across America, teachers and parents who were deprived of a voice on Common Core before it was adopted are now researching the Standards and assessing whether this is the best we can do – and whether it’s what we should do in a constitutional republic. We are finally having the debate the people were deprived of in the rush to get the Standards implemented before the backlash could begin. We welcome the discussion.

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The Pioneer Institute gives the national costs, and Henry W. Burke then breaks those costs down into individual states, showing the costs vs. how much states received in awards from the federal government. For instance, here are a few excerpts from Mr. Burke’s report:

1. California will lose $2,084 million ($2.084 billion) on CCS implementation. (Translation: California taxpayers will have to take $2.1 billion from their state coffers to pay for CCS.)

2. Illinois will lose $733 million on CCS implementation.

(Translation: Illinois taxpayers will have to take $733 million out of their state coffers to pay for CCS.)

3. Pennsylvania will lose $647 million on CCS implementation.

4. Michigan will lose $569 million on CCS implementation.

5. New Jersey will lose $564 million on CCS implementation.

6. Indiana will lose $387 million on CCS implementation.

7. Arizona will lose $349 million on CCS implementation.

8. Missouri will lose $336 million on CCS implementation.

9. Washington will lose $331 million on CCS implementation.

10. Wisconsin will lose $313 million on CCS implementation.

LINKS TO THREE REPORTS SHOWING THE COSTS OF IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF COMMON CORE STANDARDS

2.21.12 — “National Cost of Aligning States and Localities to the Common Core Standards” – by Pioneer Institute – http://pioneerinstitute.org/download/national-cost-of-aligning-states-and-localities-to-the-common-core-standards/

10.15.12 – “States’ Taxpayers Cannot Afford Common Core Standards” – by Henry W. Burke —

http://educationviews.org/states-taxpayers-cannot-afford-common-core-standards/

10.18.12 — “Non-Common Core States Will Save Millions of Dollars,” by Henry W. Burke —http://educationviews.org/non-common-core-states-will-save-millions-of-dollars/

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Texas SB 1474 Gives Parents the Power in local Schools~

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Alice

Now it is time to use it in the battle against CSCOPE.

From District to District across the state of Texas Moms, Dads and Teachers should be demanding their voice be hear.

Demand a hearing before CSCOPE is adopted or renewed in your district and that the process for adoption follow SB1474.

There is an unknown bill that passed in the Texas Legislature that is not getting play and we believe it needs to.

SB1474 passed and went into effect immediately.

BILL ANALYSIS SB 1474 by Sen. Duncan

Senate Research Center S.B. 1474
83R10136 CAE-F By: Sen.Duncan
Education
AUTHOR’S / SPONSOR’S STATEMENT OF INTENT

S.B. 1474 provides a process for school districts to follow before any major curriculum initiative is adopted. By doing so, school districts would be given the opportunity to obtain feedback while deciding if any proposed curriculum meets the needs of their district. Before a district adopts a major curriculum initiative, they would be required to gather input and opinion from both teachers and district employees. The local school board would also gather input and opinion from both teachers and district employees and would be required to have a hearing to discuss the proposed initiative and allow feedback from community members.

As proposed, S.B. 1474 amends current law relating to the adoption of major curriculum initiatives by a school district.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 28.002(g), Education Code, as follows:
(g) Requires a school district (district), before the adoption of a major curriculum
initiative, including the use of a curriculum management system, to use a process that:
(1) includes teacher input;
(2) provides district employees with the opportunity to express opinions
regarding the initiative; and
(3) includes a meeting of the board of trustees of the district at which information
regarding the initiative is presented, including the cost of the initiative and any
alternatives that were considered, and members of the public and district
employees are given the opportunity to comment regarding the initiative.
SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2013.

The curriculum your district uses in not the choice of the local Superintendent who wants a consulting position when they retire with the ESC (Education Service Centers), TASA (Texas Association of School Administrators) or TASB (Texas Association of School Boards).

It is the choice of Teachers, District Employees, the local School Board and Parents.

It is time to be EMPOWERED!

CSCOPE/Common Core exposed to Political Leaders- Will they Lead?

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Alice

Public Statement by Women On The Wall on Senator Dan Patrick and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst’s attendance at the BackPack and Boots on the Ground Education Summit.

BackPacks and Boots on the Ground in Conroe, Texas hosted by the Montgomery County Tea Party was attended by Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and Senator Dan Patrick. By all accounts they were shocked by the information they heard.

The question is are these leaders willing to actually lead and get to the bottom of the political corruption involved in the TESCCC’s CommonCore/CSCOPE illegal invasion of Texas schools? Those of us who were there understand the political game and that these two men are running for Lt. Governor. They were both there seeking support from grassroots leaders and their organizations who were attending. What the Lt. Governor and Senator may not understand is that the people who were there could care less about these men’s political careers , and the people are going to do what it takes to protect their children and grandchildren.

Therefore just talking the good talk and getting photo opportunities will not work. There must be action and it must be taken immediately before Texas children are harmed anymore in the 2013 and 2014 school year by the Common Core philosophy that is coming in the back door through CSCOPE and the corrupt education non-government organizations such as TASA (Texas Association of School Administrators), TASB (Texas Association of School Boards) and the ESCs (Education Service Centers) who have direct access to our tax dollars.

If these political leaders want support from the grassroots action is needed and it is needed Now!!!

We are calling on a full audit by the State Auditor to look into direct conflicts of interest and illegal actions by the TESCCC. In addition , an audit must be done of TASA and TASB. From what public information requests revealed there may be grounds for legal action to be taken by tax payers of Texas.

Lastly we are demanding that Texas Leadership find a remedy to remove Thomas Ratliff as a Texas State Board of Education elected official. The Attorney General has already ruled that he is not eligible to be on the SBOE because he is a paid lobbyist.

We also request that you watch this short talk by Dr. Everett Piper on the Common Core philosophy of education and why it is not a “GOOD IDEA”.

Time is of the essence~ Texas Children must be protected!!

Who is Teaching Sex Education in your Child’s Classroom or Library?

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Alice

Do you know? Are you asking the questions to find out?

Hat Tip to the South Dakotans against the Common Core who found The Common Core Sex Education Standards

“The National Sexuality Education Standards“

Click here to read page 6, “The National Sexuality Education Standards were further informed by the work of the CDC’s Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool(HECAT)3; existing state and international education standards that include sexual health content; the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten – 12th Grade; and the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics, recently adopted by most states.

You might say…… “We won’t allow it in our schools. We will go to the school board.”

“Specifically, the National Sexuality Education Standards were developed to address the inconsistent implementation of sexuality education nationwide and the limited time allocated to teaching the topic.” The whole idea behind Common Core is to create universal standards.

Remember this tweet from Planned Parenthood and Media darling Texas Senator Wendy Davis?

Question Parents are you okay with Tx Sen. Wendy Davis proposing to provide age-appropriate health education to students. Understand folks here is how Planned Parenthood wants access to your children. Through the education system.

In Texas Common Core is coming in the back door- by the ESC’s (Edcation Service Centers) who formed an NGOs (Non-governmental organizations 501c3) who has access to our tax dollars. CSCOPE exposed exactly how they do this. Develop a product or curriculum they can rent to the district on a yearly basis. It is a money making gold mine.

Who is behind the Sex Education Curriculum? Here are just a few-

Nora Gelperin, was the recipient of the national 2010 Mary Lee Tatum Award from the Association of Planned Parenthood Leaders in Education! http://answer.rutgers.edu/page/nora_award

Deb Hauser has been with Advocates for Youth for almost 20 years, first as Director of the Support Center for School-based Health Care, then as Executive Vice President. In January 2012, Deb became the organization’s fourth President and Executive Director, representing Advocates with the media, funders and colleagues organizations and speaking nationally and internationally about young people’s rights to honest sexual health information, confidential sexual health services and equitable social and economic opportunities.
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/about-us/advocates-staff

Cynthia Lam, Sex, Etc. Teen Editorial Staff who has been writing for Sex, Etc since she was 14, she’s now 17.

Robert McGarry, EdD

Director of Training and Curriculum Development
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)

You might remember hearing about GLSEN and Kevin Jennings back in 2009

White House “safe schools” appointee Kevin Jennings: How he pushed the homosexual agenda in America’s schools

POSTED: Sept. 13, 2009

Kevin Jennings, now the “safe schools” appointee in Barack Obama’s US Department of Education, is a prominent homosexual activist who has devoted his career to pushing homosexuality in the nation’s schools. Founder of the nationwide Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN)

Framing the issue – How the homosexual movement got into the Massachusetts schools
Landmark 1995 speech by Kevin Jennings, outlining how the homosexual movement uses “safety” as a phony strategy to pressure legislators and school officials to get homosexual programs into the public schools.
“Fistgate” tapes – reveals what homosexual activists do with children in schools.
Caution: VERY disturbing. While Jennings was Executive Director of GLSEN, they gave this workshop in Massachusetts teaching children as young as 12 how to perform homosexual sex acts. Hear the tapes for yourself! This made national news in 2000 and three Mass. state employees who took part in it were fired. Transcript included.
The “Little Black Book” – Hard-core pornographic homosexual “how-to” booklet given to kids at high school!
This was passed out to middle school and high school students by GLSEN at a public school in Massachusetts.
GLSEN conference 2008 held in high school in Boston
Shows the horrors of what that organization is pushing in your schools!

“Of course educating kids to be accepting of people who are different from them is good. Nobody is opposing that. But Obama’s appointment for Safe-School “czar” and those supporting him have other agendas to undermine the efforts of parents who try to protect the innocence and morality of their children.”-Matthew Warner

I totally agree with Matthew Warner

Mary Scheel-Buysse shares “What information do the these people think is age-appropriate.”

“Parents will no longer have the right to decide what is developmentally and age appropriate for their individual child.”

On page 12 it says
“By the end of 2nd grade, students should be able to: Use proper names for body parts, including male and female anatomy.”

On page 14 it says:
“By the end of 5th grade, students should be able to: Describe male and female reproductive systems including body parts and their functions. Identify medically-accurate information about female and male reproductive anatomy. Define sexual orientation as the romantic attraction of an individual to someone of the same gender or a different gender.”

On page 9 under “Guiding Values and Principles”

“Instruction by qualified sexuality education teachers is essential for student achievement.”
Wouldn’t that be the parents? Who decides who is “qualified”?

“Students need opportunities to engage incooperative and active (I underlined those two words) learning strategies, and sufficient time must be allocated for students to practice (I underlined that one too) skills relating to sexuality education.”
What does that mean? Something like this?

And I just have to highlight this principle:
Students need multiple opportunities and a variety of assessment strategies to determine their achievement of the sexuality education standards and performance.

I know this is already in many of our schools. This is sex-education on steroids. You can download your own copy of the standards here.

I have only highlighted a very few of the items I, as a mom, find objectionable. You may not have any issues with the standards, principles and skills that children will be taught as a part of the Common Core Standards. I’m not asking you to agree with me. After all these are only minimum standards. Page 6 – Outline what, based on research and extensive professional expertise, are the minimum, essential content and skills for sexuality education K–12 given student needs, limited teacher preparation and typically available time and resources. I just want you to be aware of the details.

If Common Core is so wonderful, why did they bring it in the back door without legislation? Education we are paying for, without representation.

Have you ever had one of those Oh MY GOSH moments when listening to a radio show? Well that happened on the Women On The Wall radio show this morning. Click and listen to the audio and then check out the Pamphlet by the American Library Association that Education Correspondent Mary Bowen shared with us on the show here>> womenonthewall.org/wp-content/uplo…wyourrights.pdf

The Library lesson Mary referenced in the show is found in this video on Sexting. www.teachingchannel.org/videos/danger…-sexting?fd=1

So here is the question….. Parents and Teachers what are you going to do about it?

Are you willing to STAND in the GAP for the Next Generation!

[emailpetition id=”4″]

Join the Movement to Protect Children in the Classroom from Planned Parenthood?

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Alice

[emailpetition id=”4″]

Join the Movement- Take a #Stand4Life

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Alice

By Donna Garner

PLEASE TAKE A #STAND4LIFE: Monday, July 8, 2013, 9:00 A. M., Austin, Texas – wear blue, bring water and snacks

This coming Monday, July 8, 2013, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee will hear SB 1 (authored by Sen. Glen Hegar) at 10:00 A. M. SB 1 is the companion bill to pro-life bill HB 2 that passed the House State Affairs Committee last Tuesday night.

Sen. Jane Nelson is the chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and has a strong conservative record. Her committee is to meet at 10:00 A. M. in Room E1.036 in the Capitol extension with witness registration to begin at 9:00 A. M. outside Room E1.036.

The time allotted to each witness will be limited to 2 minutes. Written testimony may be turned into the clerk to be distributed to the members of the committee. If submitting written testimony, please provide 20 copies with your name on each copy. (Parking information is posted at the bottom of this e-mail.)

These are the members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee:

Chair: Sen. Jane Nelson

Members: Senators Bob Deuell, Joan Huffman, Robert Nichols, Charles Schwertner, Larry Taylor, Carlos Uresti, Royce West, Zaffirini

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Also, please come to the Rally for Life at 7:00 P. M. on Monday, July 8, 2013, at the Capitol Grounds, Austin Texas. Because the state and national news media will undoubtedly cover this rally, it will be important to have as many pro-life/pro-family people as possible to let this nation know that Texans care about the unborn and about making sure that abortions are not performed on babies past the 20 weeks mark when they most certainly can feel pain.

We pro-life/pro-family Texans also want our nation to know that we believe in protecting women by making sure that abortion facilities meet strict surgical standards of care. We do not want a Kermit Gosnell “House of Horrors” nor the type of abortion facilities in Houston, Texas, that are being investigated for similar atrocities.

The Harris County D. A.’s Office is investigating Dr. Douglas Karpen, Houston abortionist, because three informants have provided cell phone photos and have given testimony saying that Karpen “goes one shocking step further” than Dr. Kermit Gosnell. “Karpen kills the babies with his bare hands by twisting their necks execution style…”

One of Karpen’s surgical assistants who worked for him for 15 years has stated, “When he did an abortion, especially an over 20 week abortion, most of the time the fetus would come completely out before he cut the spinal cord or he introduced one of the instruments into the soft spot of the fetus, in order to kill the fetus….I thought, well, it’s an abortion you know, that’s what he does, but I wasn’t aware that it was illegal…Most of the time we would see him where the fetus would come completely out and of course, the fetus would still be alive.”

Partial-birth abortion (as reported above) has been illegal in the United States since 2003 and is defined as “the person performing the abortion deliberately and intentionally vaginally delivers a living fetus until, in the case of a head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the body of the mother, or, in the case of breech presentation, any part of the fetal trunk past the navel is outside the body of the mother…then kills the baby.”

When passed and signed into law, SB 1 and HB 2 will prohibit the atrocities as committed by Gosnell in Philadelphia and purportedly by Karpen in Houston.

To learn more:

5.17.13 – “Douglas Karpen, Who Kills Babies Born Alive” – by Steven Ertelt — http://www.lifenews.com/2013/05/17/new-web-site-exposes-douglas-karpen-who-kills-babies-born-alive/

5.17.13 – “Houston doctor accused of illegal abortions” – by Brian Rogers, Houston Chronicle —http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-doctor-accused-of-illegal-abortions-4519565.php

7.3.13 – YouTube video — “A Tale of Two Texas Senators: Wendy Davis and Donna Campbell” – 6-minute video produced by WomenOnTheWall.org #Stand4Life —

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PARKING – WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE

· Capitol Visitor Parking Lot* – 1201 San Jacinto Blvd, east of the Capitol. Seehttp://www.tspb.state.tx.us/SPB/Plan/Parking.htm

· Meter parking* – meters are limited around the Capitol and you must move your car after 3 hours.

*Double Tree Suites – 303 W. 15th Street, west of the Capitol.

*Bob Bullock Museum – 1800 N. Congress, north of the Capitol.

*Wells Fargo Garage, 400 W 15th St., west of the Capitol.

*Fees apply

Our Nation Campaign Day of Prayer and Unity ~ Videos

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Alice

Austin, Texas— On June 22, 2013 Pastors and Citizens from across the state and from beyond gathered in Prayer and Unity in the Texas State Capitol Auditorium.

From our history Americans understand that when men and women with values- even when they believe in different theologies come together to fight for and pray for America, America wins!!

Blake Garibaldi

Unity Rally at the Texas Capitol Project Director Cynthia Skief

Pastor Dan Cummings

Lisa Depew

JoAnn Fleming

Ann Lindholm

Alice Linahan

Pastor Stephen Broden

KrisAnn Hall

Backpacks & Boots on the Ground Education Summit ~ Conroe, Texas

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Alice

Montgomery County Tea Party

Education Summit you do not want to miss!

Saturday, July 20, 2013 from 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM (CDT)

Conroe, TX

CO-SPONSORS:

MONTGOMERY COUNTY TEA PARTY & WomenOnTheWall.Org

Be informed – Join us for great speakers and tons of current information on what is going on in our schools and how we can help.

Here’s the schedule, subject to change, but this is the plan:

7:30-8:00AM – Register and have some breakfast

8:00AM til 12:15PM Speakers on:

Legislature (by Texas State Representative Steve Toth)
C-Scope,
Common Core
Social Media
Home Schools

12:15PM – 4:30PM – Lunch (provided) and afternoon session including:

The Romeike family from Germany came here for religious/educational freedom & this administration is deporting them back to Germany..
How we can support conservative High Schools
Filing a PIR – what you can find out about your school district.
What are the tools available to fight back and take back local control of our schools?

PLANNED SPEAKERS:

PAT TIBBS, President, Montgomery County Tea Party

LYNNETTE SMITH, Vice President, Montgomery County tea Party and Chair of this Event

ALICE LINAHAN, Board Member of WomenontheWall.org

TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE STEVE TOTH,, District 15

GINGER RUSSELL, MCTP Board Member and CSCOPE WARRIOR

MARY BOWEN, CSCOPE & Common Core

RYAN ELKINS, First Scholarship Recipient to the Patriot Academy

COLLEEN VERA, TexasTrashTalk.com

PLEASE NOTE: BUY YOUR TICKET HERE

A block of rooms have been reserved at:

Spring Hill Suites, 16520 I 45 S., The Woodlands, TX 77384. Deadline for special ratesof $99//Kg. Suite is June 28. Montgomery County Tea Party Is the name of the room block. 936-271-0051

Book King Suite at SpringHill Suites Houston The Woodlands for $99.00 per night

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Tactics of those who control what YOUR CHILD is LEARNING- Complete Deception

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Alice

Let me preface this with- it is not teachers doing the deception it is those who control teachers via fear and intimidation of losing jobs.

From Janice VanCleave over at TXSCSOPEReview.com

ESCs Tricked Senator Patrick

Everything about the CSCOPE Lessons has been hidden and guarded from the public -tax payers who are funding the ESC (Education Service Centers) (NGO). Non-government organization that gains access to the public’s tax dollars.

Now the public has been led to believe that the CSCOPE lesson are gone–deleted– NOT SO!

It appears that there has been another slight of hand and the CSCOPE lessons are being deleted from one file and being added to another–on the same website. Was Senator Patrick deceived?

Yes, the CSCOPE lessons will be deleted from the part of the CSCOPE user website managed by the Texas Education Service Centers (ESCs). In the diagram, this is the “CSCOPE Curriculum” tab. But school districts have until Aug. 31, 2013 to transfer the CSCOPE Lessons to the District Content tab.

Let me explain. School Districts pay a fee each year to the ESCs to have access to the CSCOPE Curriculum materials posted on what is called the CSCOPE User Website. The CSCOPE Curriculum material is the same for every registered (pays a fee) school district. But, each school has a code so that they have their own user website that has a section called the District Content. This material can be accessed by educators and staff, but not by other school districts. School districts store their own schedules, information about lessons, etc..in the District Content section of their CSCOPE User Website. The My Stuff is where teachers store their own personal lessons and notes, etc…. This material belongs to the school district. But, since this material may be a revised version of the copyrighted CSCOPE Instruction Material, school districts only have access to this material as long as they continue to pay the yearly fee. A school district gives up its rights to this material if it chooses not to pay the yearly fee.

My hypothesis is that the ESC CSCOPE Consortium agreed to delete the CSCOPE lessons from their CSCOPE Curriculum files. But, they didn’t agree to delete what school districts have in their District Content files. I am not sure the ESCs have the right to do this. Thus, while the CSCOPE lessons will be deleted from the part of the CSCOPE User Website owned by the ESCs, any CSCOPE lessons saved in District Content files will continue to be available and used by school districts.

I base my hypothesis on this evidence:

1. On April 16, 2013, the CSCOPE User Website provided specific directions for saving the entire 2012-2013 CSCOPE content to their “My Stuff” aka My Favorites.

Has this been done in the past? No evidence for this.

2. On May 17, 2013, the ESC governing group presented a“Let’s Make a Deal” letter to Senator Patrick. The accepted deal requires the ESCs to delete all the CSCOPE lesson from the CSCOPE User Website (CSCOPE Content Section) as well as other files belonging to the ESCs by Aug. 31, 2013.

After Senator Patrick’s announcement that the ERA of the CSCOPE Lessons is over, some schools got serious about saving the CSCOPE lessons to their District Content Section of the CSCOPE User Website.

Teachers have reported school administrators requesting that they save the CSCOPE lessons so they can be used during the 2013-2014 school year. One administrator informed the teaching staff that the CSCOPE lessons would be saved for them. Doesn’t sound like the ERA of the CSCOPE lessons is over after all.

This is the announcement notifying teachers to save the CSCOPE Lessons. There were specific step-by-step instructions posted on the CSCOPE website.

Is your school district whining about the CSCOPE lessons being taken away when they have secretly stored them for use in the fall?

Some school administrators are so distraught over the loss of the CSCOPE lessons that they have filed hardship reports with TEA asking to be exempt from state testing next year, 2012-2103.

Why is it some districts are saving the lessons and other are crying over the loss of the CSCOPE lessons? Even school districts claiming never to have used the lessons are finding the removal of the CSCOPE lessons devastating. What ever did these administrators do prior to CSCOPE?

Even with CSCOPE lessons some administrators are finding ways to cheat on the STAAR tests, but that is another story. Even so, adds to the need for parents to focus on the administration who is in charge of the quality of education in our schools.

Without the CSCOPE lessons the ESC CSCOPE Consortium is collecting fees for their CSCOPE Managing System Guidelines. In Marlin, 25 of the 30 high school teachers fled the district. They had had enough of the CSCOPE micromanaging system.

Since part of the deal that Senator Patrick made with the ESC CSCOPE Consortium was to support delaying any outside review if the 20 ESCs. The bill passed and Governor Perry signed it. The Texas Education System got the short end of the stick! CSCOPE lessons will be in the schools next year and the ESCs are still governing themselves. TEA is still pouring millions of dollars of grant money into the CSCOPE coffers. Are your schools benefiting from this?

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Follow the money!

Listen to this audio and then keep reading….

The Ratliffs are the Education Clan of Texas.

Let me introduce you to Daddy Ratliff – Ex-Texas Senator Bill Ratliff

Bill along with Ex-Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Moses founded the “Raise Your Hand” non-profit back in 2007 which raised eyebrows because they had a history in Education that many will not forget. Below are excerpts from Donna Garner’s 2007 article “Raise Your Hand for a Hand Out”

NEW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP FORMED

Ratliff and Moses are continuing to swill from the education trough by forming a new organization called Raise Your Hand to pressure the people for more tax dollars for Texas’ public schools. Have these two gentlemen any credibility on the subject?

William Murchison said it best in the 2.16.07 Lone Star Report, “…keep a country mile away from Raise Your Hand, and from Bill Ratliff, and from Mike Moses, whose solution for dealing with a sinking boat is to pour some more water in the gunwales.”

Before we citizens put our trust in Raise Your Hand, let’s do a quick study of its leaders, Ratliff and Moses.

RATLIFF: ROBIN HOOD, LOSS OF LOCAL CONTROL BY TEACHERS

Not only did Ratliff author the failed and oft-maligned Robin Hood Plan, but he also drafted SB 1 in 1995 which stripped local teachers of control over what they taught.

RATLIFF: LOSS OF CONTROL BY LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS

As the author of SB 1, Ratliff is also responsible for taking the authority away from elected local school boards and placing that power into the hands of unelected superintendents.

No longer do locally elected school board members have any real control over the all-important issues of personnel hiring and district curriculum decisions.

Local school board members’ duties have basically been reduced to (1) hiring and firing the superintendent, (2) buying and selling property, and (3) setting board policy (e.g., those items which involve board members themselves – elections, vacancies on the board, travel and reimbursement policies, etc.).

RATLIFF: LOSS OF CONTROL BY ELECTED SBOE

At the state level, Ratliff tried for years to replace the elected State Board of Education (SBOE) with an appointed one. Appointed boards really do not care what voters want. They will do the will of whoever appoints them and of the lobbyists who orchestrate from a distance.

Ratliff’s SB 1 reduced the authority of the elected SBOE and enhanced the power of the unelected Texas Commissioner of Education who at the time was Ratliff’s joined-at-the-hip ally, Mike Moses.

Ratliff always pretended that the SBOE had lost control over textbook content; and until Attorney General Greg Abbott’s 2006 opinion, the SBOE was shut out of fulfilling its lawful responsibilities. For eleven years the Board labored under Ratliff’s false interpretation; and during that time, numerous inferior textbooks were placed in front of our Texas students.

Because of Ratliff’s influence on SB 1, elected SBOE members cannot even elect their own chairperson; the Governor appoints one.

RATLIFF: TAXPAYER-ENRICHED OPPORTUNIST

Ratliff is a registered lobbyist (http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/dfs/loblists.htm) and has made large sums of money from a number of clients including the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). Having retired from the Texas Senate in 2003, he began representing TASB on May 10, 2004. That year he received up to $99,999.99 from TASB, and again in 2005, and 2006.

We taxpayers paid Ratliff’s rich lobbying fees because the membership dues that education entities pay to join TASB come from our taxpayers’ dollars.

Because the TASB dues come from public funds, we taxpayers are actually paying TASB to lobby Legislators for more school funding so that our taxes will increase. We are paying to lobby ourselves!

It just so happens that Bennett Ratliff the youngest brother in the Ratliff clan is a Freshman State Representative that the infamous Speaker of the House Joe Straus appointed to the Education Committee. Wow isn’t that a coincidence. Oh by the way the chair of the House Ed. Comm., Rep. Jimmy Don Aycock, has a daughter who is a lobbyist for Raise Your Hand as well. No wonder Senator Dan Patrick believed there was no way that Rep. Steve Toth’s bill which gave the SBOE over-site of CSCOPE would ever pass in the house. Thank goodness for Texas Mom Kara Sands who worked the bill through and got it passed with tenacity and conviction.

THE RATLIFF CLAN AND THEIR COHORTS

“Unfortunately, the Ratliff family (Bill, Thomas, Bennett, Shannon) are heavily vested in Raise Your Hand and in other political entities that have managed to influence our Texas Legislators, particularly during this 83^rd Session.”

So let’s get to Thomas Ratliff and why he may be a little testy. You see Thomas Ratliff;Bill’s son -you know the one who was ruled by the Attorney General to be on the State Board of Education illegally because he is a paid lobbyist for Microsoft, yea that one. He had a press release that came out today… see below.

He is not very happy that CSCOPE has been brought under the microscope and lessons have been pulled. Connect this dot – The RATLIFF’S ARE TIED TO BILL GATES AND MICROSOFT

You know the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that is the lead funder for the transformation of Education in America called Common Core. It has been reported that “a Gates Foundation-funded project is storing an unprecedented amount of personal information about millions of students in a $100 million database that cannot guarantee complete security.”

Even in Texas a state that rejected Common Core just passed HB2103. This bill which was not vetoed by Gov. Perry’s. HB2103 sets up three P20 education research centers that in the name of education research have access to private data on both students and teachers. Please listen to this short audio explaining it. https://soundcloud.com/alice-linahan/donna-garner-hb-2103

CSCOPE in Texas was the testing ground for the platform that is to be used in other states.

From Texas Mom Colleen Vera’s article here are Three examples from their business models:

CSCOPE uses public funds to run a private non-profit corporation to hide its operations from the public

CSCOPE started as a simple service to local school districts and spread to over 800 districts statewide with plans of expanding out of state.
The legality of CSCOPE’s actions are highly suspect, access local tax dollars to give to a private non-profit corporation instead of distributing the funds directly to the ISDs as dictated by Texas Education Code 18.14.

So now the light is being shined and the Ratliff Clan is not happy. After listening to the recommendation of SBOE Thomas Ratliff for districts to download CSCOPE lessons and then listening to Sen. Dan Patrick’s response linked here. I would suggest we all call Attorney General Greg Abbott and let him know it is time for the Ratcliff clan to be held responsible. Let’s start with removing Thomas Ratliff from the SBOE.

Contact the Attorney General Greg Abbott to the following addresses: greg.abbott@oag.state.tx.us or public.information@oag.state.tx.us

Greg Abbott Campaign Office: 512.477.2002

You can tweet the AG at @GregAbbott_TX or post in the comments section on his FBAttorney General Greg Abbott

See Thomas Ratliff’s press release and article written in the Long View News Journal- “WHAT A BULLY” I encourage you to click on the article and then voice your opinion of Thomas Ratliff’s opinion piece which basically defends the authors of the CSCOPE lessons which have been proven to be Anti-American, Anti-Christian and caused a great many of students to fail the STAAR test. It was not the teachers it was the philosophy of education of people like Linda Darling Hammond which gives the illusion of helping Texas School Children and Sarah Brown Wessling who parents have an issue with.

Thomas Ratliff

P.O. Box 232 State Board of Education

Mt. Pleasant, TX 75456 Vice-Chairman www.thomasratliff.com

NO BULLYING POLICIES AND BURNING BOOKS

Listen to what Bill Ayers says in the video below carefully…..

“If we want change to come we could do well not to look to the seats of power we have no access to. The white house even the congress the pentagon these are not the sites that we have access to. But lo and behold we have complete access to the community the school the neighborhood the street the classroom the workplace, the shop, the farm. That’s what we have direct access to…..”

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Click the photo to sign the Petition and Join the movement to#StopCSCOPE

Join WomenOnTheWall.org WBTM radio show Monday morning from 10 am to 11 am.

CURE(Citizens United for Responsible Education) ~ Stands in the Gap

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Alice

Below you will find an amazing letter written by the team at C.U.R.E. connecting the dots for the Southern Baptist Annual Meeting and calling for a Resolution to be passed by Pastors to Stand in the Gap at their annual meeting.

You are encouraged to take this letter and use it as a templet to call on your Pastor, Priest or Rabbi to STAND IN THE GAP!

C.U.R.E.-Citizens United for Responsible Education

TO: SOUTHERN BAPTIST ANNUAL MEETING – JUNE 11^TH AND 12^TH, 2013

HOUSTON, TEXAS

RESOLUTION TITLE: “OUR CHILDREN” GODLY PARENTAL CONTROL vs UNITED NATIONS ‘NEW WORLD ORDER’…. WHAT WOULD GOD WANT??

STAND IN THE GAP

ARE YOU STANDING IN THE GAP???

Mathew 18:5-6 states: “ And whoever receives and welcomes one little child like this for MY sake and in MY name receives and welcomes ME.

Vs6: But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in and cleave to me to stumble and sin– who entices or hinders him in the right conduct or thought—it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be sunk in the depth of the sea.

Ezekiel 22:30 states: “And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall, and stand in the gap before ME for the land, that I should not destroy it; But I Found NONE…

Pastors,

Are you standing in the GAP with God for our children according to God’s charge in Matthew 18:5-6 OR are you the Ones HE is looking for in Ezekiel 22:30 ?

Hosea 4: 1 “Hear the Word of the Lord oh children of Israel; for the Lord has a contention with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no faithfulness, kindness, pity and mercy, or Knowledge of God in the Land.

As in the days of Hosea, God has a contention with we, HIS believers, because we have lost our Faithfulness to God. We have allowed God to be removed from our lives, our schools, our towns, and Political Correctness and Compromise are ruling our churches; 501-C-3’S ARE THE NEW GOD….Our nation has turned it’s back on God… Our children are lost more and more to the world’s ways each day via technology, destruction of family and values and because we are “too busy” or feel we must compromise to get attendance. Whatever the reason, we have forgotten our charge in His word to put God first in our lives and our nation and to protect and teach the “little ones” our children… Are we truly STANDING IN THE GAP FOR GOD??

Our children are becoming victims of our political system through education…Our education system was never designed by our Founders to destroy our History but to enhance it.. The Old Deluders’ Satan Act was passed in Massachusetts in 1647. It was America’s First Education Act. Teachers were required to teach, not only reading and writing, but the Bible as well.. They wanted to avoid generations of poor and unintelligent people. They made sure that every citizen got enough education to read so that they could and would understand the laws and to be able to read the Bible.. Life in the 1600’s was based on religion. Their laws came from the Bible..

Our Founders equally maintained this focus as, once America was firmly established, our First Congress actually printed the 1^st Bible in English to be used as a textbook in schools by teachers.. How far we have strayed..

The Ole’ Deluder Act established the first town school system in America, a system that recognized the importance of the Bible in a civilized society… Not run by the government but by the towns themselves.

How far have we strayed as a body of believers from the Word of God and our Founding? How far removed are our children?

Today our children have lost their foundations and are no longer rooted in God.. Instead they are rooted in the world because we have failed them.. WE are accountable to God for this. The family unit has been undermined as we passively sit by and watch our children being led to slaughter by the world (the government education system)…”This dismal state of the modern church is not totally the parents fault, although they have their share, but fundamentally this is due to an Evolution concept that has produced anti-God teachers and ungodly curriculums which greatly influence the young minds and Pastors…Because parents are more engrossed in their secular careers today, children spend much more time being brainwashed by indulgent materialism, TV and other technology than in the company of their parents. So what kind of teaching are our children getting?; over 8 hours ungodly anti-God school, more than 8 hours ungodly violent TV, maybe a few minutes with the parents who have nothing to teach and then to bed; no wonder we have feral kids”…. , Today we have Southern Baptist Minister’s and parents who are having to confront the issue of the Progressive take over of our schools and universities and now they are coming for children ages 3yrs., and Pre-K through 12…Sexual education through Common Core will begin at 5yrs of age. They will be taught, not Godly values but worldly values like LGBT lifestyles and encouraged to participate and embrace these values.. God must be removed from our children in order for this agenda of the Globalists to be achieved…The Boys and Girl Scouts of America, previously God and value based organizations, have now succumbed to the pressures of worldly anti-God values of homosexuality forcing them to open their clubs to this LGBT agenda.. Boys and girls are being encouraged to experiment with these lifestyle choices to promote so called “equality” both in our schools and our organizations.. Today we put before you a list of Charges that we pray you will open your minds and hearts to and help us to reach parents and teachers, leaders, and Pastors around the country to the perils that face our children today..

Our government is pushing an educational agenda called Common Core Educational Standards which are standards set forth by government that all States must comply with if they are to receive any Title One grants for RTTT or NCLB acts… In Nov.’09 to Jan, ‘2010, 46 of our States Governors and Chief State School Officers sold out their children and schools to the copyrighted national standard for RTTT monies without knowledge or approval of their legislatures. I believe God says in HIS word (1Tim 6:10)…”For the love of money is the root of all evils for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows”… Well, money has corrupted on all levels as even the Catholic schools have now signed onto this program.. Will our Christian schools and homeschoolers be next as they are not exempt from this national takeover of education??? Will they stand in the Gap or will they compromise??.. That is the question we ask today… Remember the German Christian family, the Romeike’s, who sought and were granted asylum in the US to be able to practice their belief in the Lord and homeschool their children in the land of the free.. Unfortunately this current administration did not agree with the Federal court’s grant of asylum and filed suit to have them returned to Germany where the parents will be imprisoned and the children placed in Government care… This administration’s justification was that “parents have no right to homeschool their children” therefore, their premise for asylum was invalid.. After being granted asylum by the Federal Courts, The Romeike family lost their case and are currently under appeal.. Is this the America we want? A nation founded under God is now persecuting those very founding principles…

While the government wraps this Common Core into a “warm and fuzzy” “it will improve education” propaganda campaign, one has to but research Common Core to understand it comes not from God but Satan himself…

Common Core Educational Standards are part of a much larger picture which stems from the Sustainability movement that originated in the United Nations, and was brought to the US in 1993 by then President Clinton.. ” Utilizing the global Agenda 21/UNESCO language from the United Nations Agenda for the 21^st Century Treaty, which was not ratified under George H.W. Bush, Clinton created, via Executive Order, the “Presidents Council on Sustainable Development” aka “Sustainable America”.. The goals of this program were established years ago by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)….

To gain control over our children, The United Nations Global Governance Movement has attempted to get the United States to ratify a new treaty. Because the UNCRC (“United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child” ) adopted by UN General Assembly on Nov. 20, 1989 and ratified by all nations except the United States and Somalia ) was not ratified by the US, the UN created an alternate treaty, new name, same language… Under this deception, The UN and this Administration attempted once again to ratify an International treaty under the name of: “UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act” and was promoted in the US Senate by this Administration in 2012 to be ratified.. It was defeated. Both of these treaties were designed to undermine Parental Rights and to turn parental rights over to the International Community with UNESCO in charge…

These treaties would have given control over the disabled and special needs children and all children to the United Nations… Is this what God intended for our children?

“And you Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Eph 6:14)

“Be not deceived; Evil companionships corrupt good morals.” (1Co 15:33)

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when his is old, he will not depart from it.: (Pro 22:6)

Nowhere in these scriptures does God tell us to turn our children over to the United Nations or the Federal Government. Why then are we allowing this to happen without Standing in the Gap for our children?

Below are quotes based on UNESCO and their goals for education.. This was done under Julian Huxley’s guidance (Julian Huxley prime mover of UNESCO from 1945. Huxley served as its first director. Huxley also served as the VP of Eugenics Society from 1937-1944…). These quotes are old but the men who wrote them were laying a foundation for how the world should evolve.. UNESCO has not wavered from these attitudes and principles today. In fact, the organization has refined its message and honed in on its purpose..

[Now is the time for the final push via the education system since they have successfully achieved the media and propaganda war…Enter Common Core Standard Curriculum (if one can call it a curriculum—brainwashing would be more appropriate). Look at our children today.. TV , Technology, Materialism and self interest have become their God.. Again, where are the Pastor’s and parents standing in the gap to protect our children from this evil that threatens the very foundations of our beliefs??]

To Continue: The below quotes reflect their attitudes toward education and mass media. Julian Huxley was “1962 Humanist of the Year, a member of the Communistic Colonial Bureau of the British Fabian Society.”

In 1948, Huxley Wrote:

“In its education program, [UNESCO] can stress the ultimate need for a world political unity and familiarize all peoples with the implications of the transfer of full sovereignty from separate nations to a World Organization…Political unification in some sort of World Government will be required…

“As we have seen earlier, the unifying of traditions in a single common pool of experience, awareness, and purpose is the necessary prerequisite for further major progress in human evolution. Accordingly, although political unification in some sort of world government will be required for the definitive attainment of this stage, unification in the things of the mind is not only necessary but can pave the way for other types of unifications.. it must also eventually include a unified common outlook and a common set of purposes.. This will be the latest part of the task of unifying the world mind…”—(-Julian Huxley, author of UNESCO: Its purpose and its philosophy, page 17)

“Taking the techniques of persuasion and information and true propaganda that we will have learnt to apply nationally in war, and deliberately bending them to the international tasks of peace, if necessary utilizing them, as Lenin envisaged, to “overcome the resistance of millions” to desirable change. Using drama to reveal reality and art as the method by which, in Sir Stephen Tallent’s words, “truth becomes impressive and a living principle of action,” and aiming to produce that concerted effort which, to quote Grierson, “needs a background of faith and a sense of destiny.” This must be a mass philosophy; a mass creed and it can never be achieved without the use of the media of mass communication. UNESCO, in the press of its detailed work, must never forget this enormous fact. (Julian Huxley, author, UNESCO: Its purpose and its philosophy, page 60)

“There are thus two tasks for the Mass Media division of UNESCO, the one general, the other special.. The special one is to enlist the press and the radio and the cinema to the fullest extent in the service of formal and adult education, of science and learning, of art and culture. The general one is to see that these agencies are used both to contribute to mutual comprehension between different nations and cultures, and also to promote the growth of a common outlook shared by all nations and cultures.”—(Julian Huxley, author UNESCO: It’s purpose and it philosophy, pg. 60)

“It may be hoped that in time anybody will be able to persuade anybody of anything if he can catch the patient young and is provided by the State with money and equipment.” (Humanist philosopher and UNESCO advisor, Bertrand Russell)

“….education should aim at destroying free will, so that, after pupils have left school, they shall be incapable, throughout the rest of their lives, of thinking or acting otherwise than as their schoolmasters would have wished… diet, injections and injunctions will combine, from a very early age, to produce the sort of character and the sort of beliefs that the authorities consider desirable, and any serious criticism of the powers that be will become psychologically impossible. Even if all are miserable, all will believe themselves happy, because the government will tell them that they are so.” (Humanist philosopher and UNESCO advisor Bertrand Russell quotes German philosopher and Marxist, Johann Fichte)

Teaching World Citizenship by Professor Walter J. Veith, amazingdiscoveries.com

One obstacle that world government proponents foresee is the patriotic education parents often give their children.

Nevertheless, it has become a priority in global education curriculum to guide children away from the teaching they receive in the home…

John Stormer explains that, under Huxley’s guidance the United Nations prepared a guidebook for teachers.. This guidebook reminds them the “destruction of a child’s love of country and patriotism is the fist step in educating that child for world citizenship”..

The report said on the opening page of Volume V, “In The Classroom With Children Under Thirteen Years of Age…before the child enters school his mind has already been profoundly marked and often injuriously, by earlier influences.. first gained, however dimly, in the home.”

On Page 9, the teacher is told: “The kindergarten or infant school has a significant part to play in the child’s education.. Not only can it correct many of the errors of home training but it an also prepare the child for membership, at about age seven, in a group of his own age and habits—the first of many such social identifications that he must achieve on his way to membership in the word society (emphasis added).”

Stormer explains that “the UNESCO study makes It plain that the errors in home training include parental encouragement of patriotism.. On page 58, the guidebook for teachers says: ‘As we have pointed out, it is frequently the family that infects the child with extreme nationalism. The school should therefore use the means described earlier to combat family attitudes (emphasis added).”

Stormer also tells us that the strategy for solving the “problem” of patriotism has already been decided:

UNESCO gives a specific suggestion in Volume V, page 11, on how this can be done: “In our view, history and geography should be taught at this age as universal history and geography… The study of history …raises problems of value which are better postponed until the pupil is freed from the nationalist prejudices which at present surround the teaching of history.”

It is clear that the spiritual and political aims of the UN are being carried out through the push to global education…

Does any of this sound like God’s Word or is this the World’s way and we are being led, like sheep, to the slaughter.????? Will we STAND IN THE GAP and Restore God to HIS rightful Place in our lives, our churches, our homes and our country??? Pastors, you have a responsibility to feed God’s sheep.. it is time to stand and educate and activate from the PULPIT.. The IRS cannot take away your 501-c… they admitted as much when the 1600+ Pastors STOOD and called their bluff.. God tells us in HIS word.. “DO NOT FEAR”.. We must go boldly!

Unfortunately, we do not have until the next election cycle to overturn these educational mandates. Time is of the essence.. Even if we did, have our “elected leaders” not led us to the crossroads we find ourselves today? Have they been pillars of truth and virtue?? Hardly! Instead we find ourselves in an unholy democratic society with corrupt leadership that have sold their souls to power, greed and self interest at the expense of this nations governing principles, its citizens and its children. Our so-called leaders have abandoned our Constitution and the Godly principles of this nations founding, so, why would we look to them to solve a problem they created? The laissez-faire approach of our democratic society is even worse for the children have been left void of any righteous references, knowing not what is right and wrong in the Lord, and so the child will grow up following the whims of his heart and this World, which are always evil as the Lord attests in Gen 6:5 and 2Tim3:1-4.

We Must Not look to these representatives as honest, moral leaders but instead, We must become our own “representatives” and look to God as our source FIRST in ALL THINGS.. WE MUST BE THE ONES THAT STAND IN THAT GAP…

Now is the time to sound the alarm to all members of all churches, all ministers and missionaries who serve as watchman (Ezek 33:1-9). Through education, we must alert parents to the perils of the public schools and hopefully encourage them to remove their children from the public education system and encourage them to make alternative choices such as Christian Schools and private homeschooling associations who have not “sold out” and taken the “carrot of compromise—government monies” such as Sylvan learning Centers and Catholic schools.. We have grassroots Professionals in the Education field who are conducting seminars and webinars across the country. We are developing curriculums using these grassroots educational leaders to educate our children with Basic Math, English, The Constitution and re-introducing the Bible as originally intended..

FACTS TO KNOW: COMMON CORE WILL:

Create substantial identical Common Standards across all States—one size fits all education for children is a misguided attempt to create secular “equality”.. Not State Led as purported
Data Mining collection on children and families including health history, religious affiliations, political affiliations etc…(see: “Promoting Grit, Tenacity and Perseverance” –Dept. of Ed Report Feb/13—Pg. 32-44 Data Mining Techniques)
Data available to companies for development of textbooks and technology to produce a “global sustainable citizen”
Tenured teachers can be removed if deemed ineffective for two years after being evaluated by Master Teachers. Teachers will no longer teach, they will “facilitate” the learning of these standards set forth by the government.. Hence they will be referred to as “Facilitator’s”.. Facilitators of God or man? That is the question…
Federal Funding is tied to “testing” so States will be using “Facilitators” (more like “Enforcers”) to insure that children are taught to a test rather than actual learning. Once again the “carrot” of coercion.

In closing, we respectfully submit our Resolution in hopes that God will embolden you to stand with us and be resolute against any and all implementation of the Common Core Standards: No one is immune or will escape it’s control, not even Christian schools, private schools or homeschoolers.. all will be at the mercy of government with total loss of parental rights.. This is the perfect marriage between Big Government and Big Brother; only to benefit the elite at the expense of our nation and our children. There are alternatives and together we Can and MUST explore and implement these alternatives to Government education and bring control back to Parents and their Communities.. We do have options.. Let’s use them…one immediate action is to eliminate the choke hold McGraw Hill and Pearson text book publishers have over what information goes into or is removed from textbooks nationwide. They are working in unison with UNESCO so I’m sure you understand the urgency of this action, as these text publishers will serve Common Core up to our children. . Much information is available on Common Core that we are happy to furnish to you for your education and activation.

Let’s all do as God has called us, join arms in HIS army and STAND IN THE GAP!! We respectfully submit our requests below:

RESOLUTION: “OUR CHILDREN” GODLY PARENTAL CONTROL vs UNITED NATIONS ‘NEW WORLD ORDER’. WHAT WOULD GOD WANT??

WHEREAS, Federal law prohibits the federalizing of curriculum, this current administration funded the CCSS plan via the 2009 Stimulus Bill monies that funded RTTT (Race to the Top) grant competition via coercion of the States to either sign onto to CCSS or lose their grant monies; and

WHEREAS, Common Core State Standards are a set of achievement standards promoted by this government, the National Governors’ Assoc (NGA) and the Council of Chief School Officers (CCSSO) (NOT STATE LED as represented) as a means of forcing students into a “one size fits all” set of achievement goals that focus on competitive global workforce solutions, and global citizenry; and

WHEREAS, NGA and CCSSO receive millions of dollars from private organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fund the development of CCSS, creating a process not subject to any congressional or legislative approval and the effects on children have never been tested; and

WHEREAS, Clinical Psychologists say that the “oppositional behavior” techniques of CC will create extreme emotional and behavioral problems for the children as they try to conform to this new global agenda. It is completely foreign to American standards and eliminates all Parental Rights. This agenda encourages Psychologists/Physchiatist in the use of DRUG management to control any child with a behavior issue due to CC without consent of parents; and

WHEREAS, The NGA and CCSSO in partnership with Corporations such as Microsoft, GE, AT&T Exxon Mobile, Wal-Mart and others, developed CCSS “assessments” creating new textbooks and technology and other teaching materials as the delivery system for CC that must be adopted by the States and which the States must pay for; and

WHEREAS, Each State will be responsible for 64% of the “upfront costs” of CCSS as only a small percentage of monies will come from Federal Government, which States can ill afford; and

WHEREAS, CCSS includes federal funding for testing and data mining and the ultimate sharing of massive amounts of information on each student, parents, families and teachers respectively with international organizations and corporations; and

WHEREAS, CCSS removes educational choice and competition in a “one size fits all” program. All schools must adhere to the Common Core “assessments” for all students to be able to advance in this new global, sustainable educational system and to higher educational pursuits; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that CURE recognizes that National Standards, in whatever form, undermines State sovereignty and Parental Rights; and be it further

RESOLVED, that CURE recognizes that Common Core is an inappropriate intrusion to reorganize and control the way our children think, talk, walk and are educated with NO Parental Control.. Parents will be forced to except the new robotic form of existence. Our children are NOT guinea pigs, science projects and for the slow learners, the chance for the eugenicists to experiment and/or exterminate those who cannot keep up with the tasks (refer to UN quotes); and be it further

RESOLVED, that CURE rejects the collection of personal student data (Data Mining—this is being done now as Florida recently did retinal scans on children without any Parental notification-Parents were told “after the fact”.) for any non-educational purpose without the prior consent of an adult student or a child student’s parent and that is rejects the sharing of such personal data without the prior written consent of an adult student or a child student’s parent, with any person or entity other than schools or education agencies within the state; and be it further

RESOLVED, that CURE recognizes the need to defund CC at the Congressional level along with the Dept. of Education and to repeal the numerous federal regulations which interfere with State and local control of public schools and therefore CURE maintains the Common Core State Standards puts a “stranglehold” on academic freedom, personal academic achievement and competition; and be it further

RESOLVED, that CURE recognizes Common Core is an overreach of government to standardize and control the education of our children so they will conform to a “preconceived normal” set forth by a corrupt system of elites; and be it further

RESOLVED, We as CURE (Citizens for Responsible Education, a National Coalition Against Common Core) ask that the Southern Baptist Convention and all decision makers in the organization open their doors for us to educate and reach as many people as possible in as short time as possible…We thank you in advance for your genuine attention to this urgent matter. We are STANDING IN THE GAP and pray you will join us.

Respectfully submitted by:

Christina Michas

Co-Founder: CURE, Citizens United for Responsible Education, a National Coalition www.natcure.org cmichas@dc.rr.com

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How Did the Gates Foundation Allocate $150 Million to Common Core?

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Alice

by Henry W. Burke

The Washington Post published the following article on 5.12.13 by Valerie Strauss about the Gates Foundation Grants – “Gates Gives $150 Million in Grants for Common Core Standards” —

Excerpts from this article:

For an initiative billed as being publicly driven, the Common Core States Initiative has benefited enormously from the generosity of the private philanthropy of Bill and Melinda Gates. How much? About $150 million worth.

Take a look at this list of grants, obtained from their foundation’s Web site. Note not only the amounts but the wide range of organizations receiving money. Universities. Unions. State education departments. Nonprofits. Think tanks. The grants were given for a range of reasons, including developing materials aligned to the standards and building support for the standards.

You can see how invested the Gates Foundation is in the success of the Common Core. What kind of Core support do these grants buy from the organizations that receive them?

[The Washington Post article includes a detailed listing of the Gates Foundation grants directed to the Common Core.]

===================

In Donna Garner’s 5.13.13 article on this subject, she wisely stated: As you read through these grants that Bill Gates gave to “Universities. Unions. State education departments. Nonprofits. Think tanks,” remember which corporation stands to gain the most financially if Common Core Standards (CCS) are implemented throughout the United States – Microsoft Corporation.

In other words, a corporation that stands to gain billions from CCS is owned by the private philanthropist who has been driving education policy. This is called “a direct conflict of interest” by a vendor who is working alongside the Obama administration to create education policy to federalize standards, curriculum, assessments, teacher evaluations, and a national database of intrusive personal information.

The end result would be billions for Microsoft and the indoctrination of our nation’s school children into Obama’s social justice agenda.

As someone who has followed the grim progression of Common Core Standards which is the Obama administration’s takeover of the public schools by the federal government, I thought it would be interesting to provide a breakdown of the roughly $150 million ($146.6 million) in grants for the Common Core Standards. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Gates Foundation) is clearly the major sponsor of the Common Core Standards Initiative (CCSI).

The largest category by far is “Think Tanks,” which garnered about $67 million or 46 % of the $147 million total. State Departments of Education received $22 million or 15 % of the total. The other categories obtained 3 – 12 % of the total.

Summary of Gates Foundation Grants

(All Amounts in Millions of Dollars)

Category	Grant Amount ($ Millions)	Percentage of Total
Think Tanks	66.758	46 %
State Departments of Education	22.288	15 %
National Associations	17.629	12 %
Universities	12.293	8 %
Common Core “Project Leaders”	11.500	8 %
Institutes	11.193	8 %
Local School Districts	4.946	3 %
Total	146.607	100 %

The lion’s share of the Gates Foundation Common Core grants were directed to Think Tanks. The Gates Foundation spent major dollars on Think Tank organizations that are advocating CCS and developing Common Core materials. As a group, Think Tanks obtained about $67 million (46 % of the Gates Common Core $146.6 million total). Clearly, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is utilizing Think Tanks to promote the Common Core agenda.

Because the Think Tanks played a huge role in shaping education policy, it should not surprise us that they received much of the Gates Foundation funding. By driving education policy, the Gates Foundation will control what happens in the local classrooms.

Grants to Think Tanks

Organization	Year	Grant Amount ($ Millions)
WestEd	2013	0.030
LearnZillion, Inc.	2013	0.966
National Paideia Center, Inc.	2013	0.660
The Achievement Network	2012	3.002
BetterLesson, Inc.	2012	3.527
JUMP Math	2012	0.699
Center for Curriculum Redesign, Inc.	2012	0.198
State Education Technology	2012	0.500
Student Achievement Partners, Inc.	2012	4.043
The College-Ready Promise	2011	0.300
Scholastic, Inc.	2011	4.464
New Venture Fund	2011	0.378
Learning Forward	2011	1.000
Americas Promise-Alliance for Youth	2011	0.500
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc.	2011	4.619
Khan Academy, Inc.	2010	1.465
Khan Academy, Inc.	2011	4.079
National Writing Project	2011	3.096
Creative Commons Corp.	2011	0.813
Reasoning Mind, Inc.	2011	0.743
MetaMetrics, Inc.	2010	3.468
New Visions for Public Schools, Inc.	2010	8.150
Center for Teaching Quality, Inc.	2010	0.396
Alliance for Excellent Education, Inc.	2009	0.551
Alliance for Excellent Education, Inc.	2010	3.200
Cristo Rey Network	2010	0.556
Research for Action, Inc.	2010	1.309
Common Core, Inc.	2009	0.551
Colorado Legacy Foundation	2011	9.707
Colorado Legacy Foundation	2012	1.748
The Education Trust	2009	2.040
Subtotal — Think Tanks		66.758

The Gates Foundation issued about $22 million in grants to the State Departments of Education. Gates singled out the Kentucky DOE for $12.028 million (54 % of the State DOE total). The Louisiana DOE received around $7 million (33 % of the State DOE total).

Grants to State Departments of Education

Organization	Year	Grant Amount ($ Millions)
Delaware	2013	0.400
Georgia	2010	1.981
Kentucky	2010	1.000
Kentucky	2011	9.125
Kentucky	2012	1.903
Louisiana	2011	7.352
Pennsylvania	2010	0.527
Subtotal — State DOEs		22.288

An assortment of National Associations obtained mostly small grants from the Gates Foundation. Together, they received $17.6 million (12 % of the total). The two major teachers’ unions (NEA and AFT) grabbed 31 % of the National Association total.

Grants to National Associations

Organization	Year	Grant Amount ($ Millions)
National Education Assoc. Found. (NEA)	2012	0.100
American Federation of Teachers (AFT)	2011	1.000
American Federation of Teachers (AFT)	2012	4.400
National Indian Education Assoc.	2011	0.500
Office of Supt. of Public Instr. (Tribal)	2011	0.075
Council of State Governments	2010	0.400
Council of State Governments	2011	0.370
National Association of SBOEs	2009	0.451
National Association of SBOEs	2011	1.078
Council of Great City Schools	2010	0.100
Council of Great City Schools	2011	4.911
Education Commission of the States	2010	0.799
Military Child Education Coalition	2009	0.270
Military Child Education Coalition	2011	0.150
Assoc. for Supervision and Curr. Develop.	2011	3.025
Subtotal — National Associations		17.629

Seven universities obtained grants totaling $12 million from the Gates Foundation. The largest recipient was the University of Arizona at $3.4 million.

Grants to Universities

Organization	Year	Grant Amount ($ Millions)
University of Kentucky	2013	1.000
University of Arizona	2012	3.417
University of Michigan	2012	2.000
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT)	2011	2.889
University of State of New York	2010	0.893
University of State of New York	2011	0.600
Purdue University	2010	1.454
New York University	2010	0.040
Subtotal — Universities		12.293

The Common Core Standards Initiative has been led by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association. Not surprisingly, the Gates Foundation provided $11.5 million in funding to these organizations.

Grants to Common Core “Project Leaders”

Organization	Year	Grant Amount ($ Millions)
Council of Chief State School Officers	2011	9.389
Council of Chief State School Officers	2012	0.475
National Governors Association	2011	1.598
National Governors Association	2012	0.038
Subtotal — CCS “Project Leaders”		11.500

Gates gave grants to four Institutes, with the largest amount ($5.5 million) going to the James B. Hunt Institute; $3.6 million went to the Aspen Institute. Common Core supporter Thomas B. Fordham Institute received almost $1 million.

Grants to Institutes

Organization	Year	Grant Amount ($ Millions)
The Aspen Institute	2013	3.616
American Enterprise Institute	2012	1.069
James B. Hunt Institute	2009	5.549
Thomas B. Fordham Institute	2009	0.959
Subtotal — Institutes		11.193

The Gates Foundation sent about $5 million in funds to local school districts and local/state organizations.

Grants to Local School Districts

Organization	Year	Grant Amount ($ Millions)
Albuquerque Public Schools (NM)	2010	0.500
School District of Philadelphia (PA)	2010	0.500
Cleveland Metro School District (OH)	2010	0.498
Forsyth County Schools (GA)	2010	0.151
Fund for Public Schools (NY)	2012	1.816
Baton Rouge Area Foundation (LA)	2012	0.500
Nellie Mae Educ. Fdn. (New England)	2011	0.350
Pennsylvania Business Roundtable (PA)	2012	0.257
Hillsborough County Council (FL)	2011	0.025
Massachusetts Business Alliance (MA)	2010	0.151
Pritchard Committee for Acad. Exc. (KY)	2011	0.198
Subtotal — Local School Districts		4.946

CONCLUSION

What did $150 million in grants to the Common Core do for Bill Gates? For one thing, these grants bought a great deal of control over education policy in this country. This means that a man who owns a private corporation is directing public policy that will control what is taught to millions of students in their local classrooms.

Gates believes in the ideology enshrined in Common Core, and he knows money talks. With many organizations clamoring for Bill Gates’ grant funds, they are more than willing to promote whatever he wants; and he likes the Common Core agenda.

The Common Core Standards will require huge commitments to technology. According to the Pioneer Institute, the 46 CCS states will need to spend $6.9 billion for Technology to implement CCS. Of course, not all of that money will be for computer hardware and software, but the computer portion will be substantial.

As the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, William “Bill” Gates has strong ties to the corporation. He is the former CEO and is its current Chairman. Bill Gates is the largest individual shareholder of Microsoft, with 6.4 % of the common shares. Under the Common Core computer demands, Microsoft stands to gain immensely.

It seems obvious that Bill Gates is involved in a classic conflict of interest situation. Through the Gates Foundation, Bill Gates is actively supporting and promoting the Common Core. Microsoft will greatly benefit from the huge increase in technology spending required by the Common Core. Do we need to say more?

Henry W. Burke

E-mail: hwburke@cox.net

“Common Core Standards with Henry W. Burke on Dr. Laurie Roth Show” – gives state-specific costs for implementation of Common Core Standards — audio clip – listen to interview —

Texas Mom says NO to CSCOPE ~ Read WHY!!

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Alice

By Jessica Feuz Kern

CSCOPE is not right for Rockwall schools. I am the parent of a kindergartener (with 2 more kids who will one day attend Rockwall schools) and I have a master’s degree in secondary English Education from Columbia Teacher’s College, where I studied several of the names brought up in arguing against CSCOPE. I also taught 9th grade English for several years in New York City’s public schools.

I need a hero to stop CSCOPE in Texas

Here’s why I don’t like CSCOPE:
1. The money flow. It is paid for with tax dollars, yet we must lease it every year? And what exactly do we get? My friend and neighbor wants to help her son struggling in math, yet there is no textbook and she has very limited access to the curriculum.
2. CSCOPE is poor in quality and substance. From the grammar mistakes to tests and “assessments” not aligning with the material that the students are taught, this curriculum or curriculum management system is a waste of money. Our students (my children!) deserve better.
3. CSCOPE is rife with misrepresentations and secrecy. Why do we need HB 760 to force it to be transparent?
4. It is harmful to students. The poor quality and scripting ignores the needs of students who are struggling. Even students who are not struggling may mentally “check out” when presented with tests and other curriculum materials full of errors.
5. The ideology. Now, I am fully aware that we live in a large, diverse world, and our students need to know about it. My concern here is the timing. My friend’s 5th grader had a lesson where he needed to design a communist flag. I think students need a solid foundation in US history in elementary school before they expand their worldview in the higher grades.
6. CSCOPE devalues our teachers. Scripted lesson plans and frequent evaluations disrupt the many wonderful things that happen in our classrooms. We have good teachers and we need to let them teach.

I thank those of you who have kept reading. (And this is the BRIEF list of why I don’t like CSCOPE!) Now I am not going to complain without proposing a solution. I think we need to give the power back to the teachers in our community. If we really need a curriculum management system, let’s create our own like the Highland Park ISD. It may cost more money in the short run, but in the long run it will save money and improve the quality of education in Rockwall ISD.

CSCOPE is here, it was a mistake, and now it is time to correct the mistake. I am voting for school board candidates that I believe will correct this mistake and move Rockwall forward.

_______________________