Free Republic

If you want to transform American students into pliant proletariat workers for crony capitalist corporations, Common Core is the way to indoctrinate them into the collectivist utopian mindset During a late evening visit to our local restaurant, I witnessed a progressive middle-aged couple pleading with their young child to give up a toy she had taken from her playmate’s home. As they were arguing back and forth, loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear, all I could think of was, why bring a small child so late to a restaurant and, for God’s sake, isn’t anybody in charge of...

Looks like somebody may have finally come up with a better system than Common Core. John Dewey High School in Brooklyn, New York was having a lot of trouble with their numbers. Not enough students were graduating, and that’s bad for business. But rather than messing around with the tedious business of trying to motivate the students and their parents or examine how effective the teachers actually are, they clearly had one of those, wow, I could have had a V-8 moments. In 2009 they were only graduating 56% of their students. But by 2013 – just five short years...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Fifth grader Aaron Bencomo brought the Arizona Senate Education Committee to tears as he testified in support of HB2190, a bill to end Common Core in the Grand Canyon state. With his mom Kristi sitting to his left beaming with pride, Aaron decimates the “one size fits all” Common Core standards detailing how they are destroying his love of leaning as they ignore kids’ unique learning needs for the sake of conformity. I dare you not to tear up as Aaron cites from the Declaration of Independence to support his desire for the adults in the room...

RandPAC is trolling other potential GOP contenders early and often with the help of Google ads—and Chris Christie and Rick Perry just might be next. When former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush announced in mid-December that he would “actively explore” running for the Republican presidential nomination, curious parties took to Google to learn more about him. While they were there, many of them were greeted by another politician’s name at the bottom of the page—one they hadn’t searched for. “Join a movement working to shrink government. Not grow it,” read one of the ads, placed by RandPAC, the political action committee...

The number of students graduating with STEM degrees already far exceeds the number of STEM jobs available but powerful interests in the business community are pushing Congress to allow more foreign skilled workers into the country. Congress is considering new immigration laws that would flood the U.S. with “guest workers” from the Middle East and Asia, a plan some are calling an open invitation for jihadists to walk right through America’s front door. Critics say lawmakers – including top Republican leaders – are playing with fire and could jeopardize national security with the proposals to double or even triple...

Bent over their computers in Salt Lake City, a dozen cyber sleuths scan the vast reaches of the Internet for contraband. Only, they’re not hunting traffickers of drugs or sex. It’s standardized testing season across the U.S. — and they’re on the lookout for student tweets about the tests. The web patrol team works for Caveon, a test security company charged with protecting the integrity of new Common Core exams developed by the publishing giant Pearson. To that end, they’re monitoring social media for any leaks about test questions. News of the surveillance broke this week, sparking a firestorm. The...

When Common Core was launched in 2009, it was promised: “These standards will be research and evidence-based, internationally benchmarked, aligned with college and work expectations and include rigorous content and skills.” Is Common Core internationally benchmarked? Does Common Core actually promote practices that are similar to those of high achieving countries that are likely to result in improved achievement of American students? Are the Common Core standards aligned with college expectations?

Among the news items at the radical Zinn Education Project this month is a post highlighting the work of Alison Kysia, author of “A People’s History of Muslims in the United States: What School Textbooks and the Media Miss,” part of the Zinn Education Project If We Knew Our History series. The Zinn Education Project supports the use of revisionist historian Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States in middle and high school classrooms throughout the nation. Like Zinn’s A People’s History, the Zinn Project emphasizes “the role of working people, women, people of color, and organized social...

“You Still Have ‘White Privilege’ Even if you ‘Survived a Nazi Concentration Camp’ ” This extraordinary claim, that “it doesn’t matter what hardships you’ve had to face, you still have white privilege,” was directed to husband and wife survivors of Nazi tyranny by Robin DiAngelo, Professor of Multicultural Education at Westfield State University. With a scholarship in Social Justice Education and Whiteness Studies, DiAngelo teaches courses in Multicultural Teaching, Inter-group Dialogue Facilitation, and Cultural Diversity & Social Justice. It is to progressive thinkers and holders of powerful educational credentials like Professor DiAngelo that Jerry Todd has directed his response today....

What would you say if you found out that our public schools were teaching children that it is not true that it’s wrong to kill people for fun or cheat on tests? Would you be surprised? I was. As a philosopher, I already knew that many college-aged students don’t believe in moral facts. While there are no national surveys quantifying this phenomenon, philosophy professors with whom I have spoken suggest that the overwhelming majority of college freshman in their classrooms view moral claims as mere opinions that are not true or are true only relative to a culture. What I...

What would you say if you found out that our public schools were teaching children that it is not true that it’s wrong to kill people for fun or cheat on tests? Would you be surprised? I was. As a philosopher, I already knew that many college-aged students don’t believe in moral facts. While there are no national surveys quantifying this phenomenon, philosophy professors with whom I have spoken suggest that the overwhelming majority of college freshmen in their classrooms view moral claims as mere opinions that are not true or are true only relative to a culture. What I...

In a scathing resignation letter about the issue, Oklahoma City math teacher Juli Sylvan blasted the controversial Common Core standards and exposed numerous serious problems with the Obama-backed scheme — including the fact that it is being quietly implemented in apparent defiance of state law. Among the most troubling elements, according to Sylvan — a veteran teacher with more than two decades in the classroom — is the data-mining of children, which she said she is not willing to facilitate. However, the problems with the administration-promoted national school standards are much more wide ranging. From using ineffective teaching methods and...

Last week, Jeb Bush was in New Hampshire, pressing on with his sordid campaign to delude conservatives into swallowing Common Core and massive, unfettered immigration policies. He has fashioned himself a champion of the American worker, even as he pompously pushes Gang of Eight amnesty as the “adult” plan in the room. And he has fashioned himself a champion of “school choice,” even as he zealously crusades for failed Fed Ed rackets and data-mining schemes masquerading as “higher standards.” The condescending Bush attitude is familiar to grass-roots activists and parents in Florida and across the country who have fought Club...

The Left has its own Da Vinci Code, a secret woven into the fabric of its power, shrouded by layers of intrigue, and defended to the death by secret societies pledged to its eternal preservation. Here it is, exposed: Science = TruthPhilosophy = Opinion And it’s as wrong today as it was in Plato’s day. If the fictional Robert Langdon stumbled onto the Church’s hidden legend in Dan Brown’s novel, then all-too-real associate professor of philosophy Justin McBrayer, has vitiated the Left’s Necronomicon in his New York Times piece, “Why Our Children Don’t Think There Are Moral Facts.” As a...

A parent is outraged at one of the questions he saw on a 10th grade history exam. The parent has since posted the question online, writing, "Schools are insinuating conservative deny the holocaust. This is directly from a high school exam:" "This is from a 10th grade history class," the parent wrote. "The "correct" answer is E.

The superintendent of the Watchung Hills Regional High School District in New Jersey has confirmed that she sent an email to fellow superintendents Tuesday about her concern that education publishing giant Pearson is “monitoring” children’s social media accounts for possible leaks about the Common Core-aligned PARCC tests.

Karen Lamoreaux addressed the Arkansas Board of Education in December 2013 to discuss the negative effects of Common Core on the local students. Mrs. Lamoreaux said that she represented more than 1,100 parents, educators, and taxpayers of Arkansas “who have very serious reservations about the Common Core initiative.” The mother of three children accused the board of falling for the same empty sales pitch that Common Core would be a “set of rigorous, college-ready internationally bench-marked standards that prepare our kids to compete in a global economy.” Mrs. Lamoreaux instructed the members of the school board to participate in a...

March 13, 2015 Jeb Bush Slams Obama, Republicans in New Hampshire By Elliot Smilowitz Jeb Bush lobbed attacks at both President Obama and Congressional Republicans in an appearance in Dover, N.H. “Pass a budget for crying out loud,” the Republican former governor of Florida said, slamming members of his own party. “Let the process work again. That’s what’s missing.” Speaking to a standing-room-only crowd at a party in the home of Fergus Cullen, the former chairman of the New Hampshire GOP, Bush signaled his displeasure with the February battle over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding that nearly led to...

As a special Pi ("Ï€") Day tribute to Common Core math, IÂ’ve developed a little CC story problem for you to solve: Air Force Won leaves Washington D.C., flying west at 540 miles/hour. On board are Big Guy, TOTUS, twenty-one (21) SS Storm Troopers and the Beast (not that one, the car).Thirty (30) minutes later, Air Force Won Too leaves Washington D.C. flying west also at 540 miles/hour. Air Force Won Too is carrying the other Beast, 2 Hollywood makeup/hair artists, six (6) frock changes, three (3) MILSPEC containment structures and a bakerÂ’s dozen SS Storm Troopers. If Lady M...

Jeb Bush, making his first visit to New Hampshire as a likely presidential candidate, implicitly criticized his Republican rivals for the nomination for changing their positions on difficult issues. Discussing his support for the Common Core education standards, which are viewed unfavorably by many Republicans, Mr. Bush said, “you don’t abandon your core beliefs” just because a position appears unpopular. “The way I’ve sorted it out is: I think you need to be genuine, I think you need to have a backbone. I think you need to able to persuade people this is a national crisis, this is a national...