Prove us wrong!
Thursday night was the last of the public hearings for the Governor’s Education Task Force. The meeting was supposed to last two hours, but finally ended after two hours and 45 minutes. A lot of people had a lot to say. The most common subject though was Common Core. Many parents have done a lot of homework on this issue and are alarmed by what they’re finding.
At the meeting I addressed them with one simple request:
As the Governors Education Task Force, I assume you are a group of people who have already thoroughly reviewed Common Core and its impact on Idaho’s education. My questions today are directed toward those who keep telling us Common Core is good for Idaho.
Those of us who oppose Common Core are continually told we’re wrong even though we’ve read documents that back up what we say. We constantly see statements of “Common Core will…” or “Common Core won’t…” from Common Core proponents. I’m here today to say, “Prove it in writing”
Prove to us that this was a state-led effort.. That the large infusion of money to the NGA and the CCSSO from Bill Gates and other for profit organizations in the name of Common Core had no influence. If it was really state led why was it developed behind closed doors with no transparency.
Show me where I can find that Idaho still controls it’s educational sovereignty. Or where we’re not bound down by the 15% no- alteration rule. Common Core has a solid copyright. Show me the amendment process.
Prove that these standards are more rigorous. So far all we have is a gap analysis that tells us how Idaho’s previous standards align with Common Core. Nothing that proves Common Core is better. I would love to see something outside of the Benchmarking report, put out by the NGA and CCSSO that shows how wonderful these standards are.
Help me understand how the SLDS and p-20-w, which we have received federal grants to form, along with the changes to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, (FERPA) can’t violate my children’s privacy. Show me that there will be no data collection and that it won’t be shared with the federal government, or any other outside entity, without parental permission.
We keep hearing what your intentions are or aren’t. And while intentions are all well and good, what really counts are the documents that have been signed.
For what is not first, and likely not the last time, we ask you to please answer these issues with written references.
If you can’t, the you must get Idaho out of Common Core.
Integrity demands nothing less.
We’re still waiting…
Tags: Governors task force, Idahoans Against Common Core, What One Person Can Do
Very well done. Being relatively new to this I do not know what SLDS or p-20w is, could someone share?
p-20w is basically an electronic dossier on each student from pre-school through age 20 with 150 data points, including name, SSN, address, phone number, medical test results, eye color, nickname, family income, religious affiliation, parents’ voting records, student’s opinion of debt, distance from the student’s house to the bus stop, behavioral records, etc. It is ostensibly to allow the federal government and private corporations to follow each student until they enter the workforce. The federal government states that it cannot guarantee privacy for the students and cannot guarantee that information will not be compromised when it is transferred between agencies.
Office of Education Technology, US Dept. of Education, “Promoting Grit, Tenacity and Perseverence: Critical Factors for Success in the 21st Century,” (Draft) http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/technology/research/ On top of your research into Longitudinal Data Systems, please look this document over. This is the Dept of Ed. Considering various ways to collect data on students. Download the pdf and see what you think.
Bravo Stephanie! A BIG thank you for speaking these words on behalf of Idahoans and our children. More and more of us are waking up in regards to this issue.