Obama’s Education Secretary Loves Common Core For Your Kids, BUT NOT HIS

Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s wife has moved to Chicago so the couple’s two daughters can attend the University of Chicago Lab School, arguably the most elite private school in Chicago — and certainly among the most expensive.

Duncan has led the Department of Education since the outset of President Barack Obama’s administration. He will shuttle between Washington and Chicago for the remainder of Obama’s second term, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

The former chief executive of the Chicago Public Schools has been a forceful cheerleader for the Common Core State Standards Initiative, a set of K-12 math and language arts curriculum benchmarks and high-stakes standardized tests now being used in public schools in most states. (RELATED: Arne Duncan Blames ‘White Suburban Moms’ For Common Core Pushback)

Duncan’s family moved into a home in an affluent area in northern Virginia when he became education secretary in 2009. His children attended public schools there in the intervening years. However, Virginia is not a Common Core state.

With the move back to Chicago and enrollment at the fancypants Lab School, Duncan’s children will be even further removed from the national standards.

Duncan’s wife, Karen, once worked at the prestigious school and will return to a job there.

The progressive Democrat attended Chicago Lab as a youngster himself before matriculating at Harvard University.

Duncan, who has bragged that he seeks employment policy guidance from Chicago street gang leaders, is not the only powerful Democrat who preaches the benefits of Common Core for America’s kids but then doesn’t actually allow his own kids to take part.

Obama, a strong Common Core supporter, sends his own teenage daughters to Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. Tuition per student at the exclusive private school is $37,750 per year.

"Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s wife has moved to Chicago so the couple’s two daughters can attend the University of Chicago Lab School, arguably the most elite private school in Chicago"

Communist-revolutionary/terrorist Bill Ayers and comrade Michael Klonsky had great praise for Arne Duncan, Obama's pick for Education Secretary

From 2008...

"Ayers and his co-author Michael Klonsky responded to [Arne] Duncan in an article published in Phi Delta Kappan -- a professional journal for education -- describing him as 'the brightest and most dedicated schools leader Chicago has had in memory'"
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/16/duncan-praised-bona-fide-reformer-chicago-educators/
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"The Small Schools Workshop was founded in 1991 at the University of Illinois at Chicago to provide support for teachers who were trying to create new smaller learning environments. Its director is Michael Klonsky, a former professor of education at UIC."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Schools_Workshop
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Some background on Bill Ayers' SDS comrade, Michael Klonsky
(Chicago Annenberg Challenge-related)

"One of Bill Ayers’ and Bernardine Dohrn’s comrades in the late 60s Students for a Democratic Society was Mike Klonsky. When Dohrn and Ayers moved in one direction toward the violent tactics of the Weather Underground, Klonsky, in the wake of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, dropped the pro-Russian communist politics of his parents and became a committed Maoist. As leader of the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) in 1977 [not to be confused with Communist Party USA. CPML no longer exists, CPUSA formed decades earlier and is still around-ETL], he travelled to Beijing and was toasted by the senior Beijing leadership.

When the crazy left of the 70s died in the 80s, Klonsky went to graduate school in education in Florida and then moved to Chicago.

While driving a cab there he [Michael Klonsky] was recruited by his old friend Bill Ayers to head up a new project called the Small Schools Workshop in 1991. It’s offices were in the Department of Education building at the University of Illinois Chicago Circle Campus where Ayers taught.

In 1995 the newly formed Chicago Annenberg Challenge headed by Ayers and Obama gave the Workshop a grant of $175,000.

The Annenberg Challenge also had its office space in the same building as Ayers Department and the Workshop, rent free courtesy of the University.

In 2008 Klonsky ran a blog on the official Obama campaign website on education policy and “social justice” teaching. When discussion of the Klonsky blog emerged in the blogosphere, it was promptly shut down by the campaign and all of the posts made by Klonsky were removed from the site."

http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/08/12/the-obama-ayers-top-ten-highlights-of-the-20-year-obama-ayers-connection/
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In 1977, the October League was reorganized as the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) [again, not Communist Party USA (CPUSA) -ETL] and former SDS activist Michael Klonsky became party chairman. Also in 1977, Klonsky traveled to China and the CPML was recognized by the Chinese Communist Party as its official sister party in America.

(snip)

In January 1981, Michael Klonsky resigned as party chairman, and the CPML disbanded that same year.

The previous Red Encyclopedia description of the CPML was incorrectly combined with that of the Communist Party USA (Marxist-Leninist).

http://reds.linefeed.org/past.html
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From Investor's Business Daily (IBD), August 27, 2008:

"Ayers, now a tenured distinguished professor of education at UIC, works to educate teachers in socialist revolutionary ideology, urging that it be passed on to impressionable students.

One of Ayer's descriptions for a course called 'Improving Learning Environments' says prospective K-12 teachers need to 'be aware of the social and moral universe we inhabit and ... be a teacher capable of hope and struggle, outrage and action, teaching for social justice and liberation.

The Annenberg papers are quite extensive — 132 boxes containing 947 file folders with 70 linear feet of material. They undoubtedly contain more surprises regarding Obama's relationship with Ayers, one of many relationships Obama has sought to hide.'..."

Article: Annenberg Papers: Putting On Ayers?
http://www.ibdeditorial.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=304729375940845
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Photobucket
Voice of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA [Maoist]
Revolution #63, October 1, 2006

Interview with Bill Ayers:
"On Progressive Education, Critical Thinking and the Cowardice of Some in Dangerous Times"
http://rwor.org/a/063/ayers-en.html

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