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120% of Idaho Teachers Love Common Core

Filed in Uncategorized by on January 15, 2014 3 Comments

The title is facetious, but when you look at the data used it’s only slightly less accurate. Thanks, April, for doing the research. By: April Craig  Research – something anyone can do to learn more about any topic they choose. Before going to bed last night, I decided to peruse Facebook. Scrolling landed me face to […]

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Our Children are Lab Rats

Filed in Uncategorized by on January 14, 2014 0 Comments

When you give a presentation often there are things brought up that never get fully addressed, or conversations overheard that need a little correcting.  These are some answers to those that resulted from our presentation in Burley. Overheard afterwards:  “You never hear of any problems here in Idaho.  You only ever hear of them in […]

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Yes, the Common Core DOES tell teachers HOW to teach

Filed in Uncategorized by on January 10, 2014 1 Comment
Yes, the Common Core DOES tell teachers HOW to teach

“No, you’re wrong.”  I don’t know how many times Stacey and I heard that at our presentation last night in Burley.  A couple of teachers were there to “school” us on the “misinformation” we were spreading about Common Core.  One of the “You’re wrong”s came when we were discussing the standards themselves.  “They don’t tell […]

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Moms vs Big Money Machine

Filed in Uncategorized by on December 17, 2013 0 Comments
Moms vs Big Money Machine

Near the end of November, Mike Petrelli and Michael Brickman of Thomas B. Fordham Institute (a “conservative” education think-tank) penned an opinion piece for the Cour d’alene Press extolling the “conservative” virtues of Common Core. Interestingly, at the end of October that exact same editorial appeared in at least five other states, but with the […]

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Kicking the Hornets Nest

Filed in Uncategorized by on December 10, 2013 0 Comments

Secretary Arne Duncan kicked a hornets nest a few weeks ago by attacking white suburban moms.  Don’t attack Mama.  She knows what is best and right for her kids and most of us are fairly realistic about our children’s capabilities.   Austin Hill contacted me shortly after Secretary Duncan made his racist/sexist comments.  He  had me […]

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Building the Machine

Filed in Uncategorized by on December 6, 2013 1 Comment

HSLDA is working on a documentary movie to be released in February: http://www.commoncoremovie.com

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An Insider’s View on Testing

Filed in Uncategorized by on December 2, 2013 0 Comments

Mary Ollie has been in education long enough to know a bad thing when she sees it. She started teaching in Cascade as a Science teacher for grades seven through twelve in 1984.  She has since spent time at Vallivue, Caldwell and Idaho Digital Learning Academy. Now she teaches at Treasure Valley Community College.  Mary has been recognized […]

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“Gates Led” Not “States Led”

Filed in Uncategorized by on November 26, 2013 0 Comments

By Valerie Candelaria “Gates-Led” effort, not “State-Led” (seems more appropriate) – the Gates Foundation has been pursuing the goal of national standards, even global standards, for many years. Given the source, there has been an increased emphasis on “data-driven decision making”, which of course is dependent on technology, data collection systems, digital staff development tools, […]

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Common Core’s Invalid Validation Committee

Filed in Uncategorized by on November 25, 2013 0 Comments

Common Core’s Invalid Validation Committee Sandra Stotsky Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas Paper prepared for a conference at University of Notre Dame September 9, 2013 Common Core’s K-12 standards, it is regularly claimed, emerged from a state-led process in which experts and educators were well represented. But the people who wrote the standards did not […]

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The Right Tienken Link

Filed in Uncategorized by on November 20, 2013 0 Comments

I got a very nice email from Christopher Tienken letting me know the link I used in a previous post was not working.  He kindly supplied me with the right one. Here’s a link to his site. ICYMI VIDEO: Editorial Board interview: Standards don’t work, education expert says Need for curriculum called into question   […]

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