Recent Articles
Emmett McGroarty onThe Austin Hill Show
Austin Hill has spent a lot of time talking about Common Core representing both sides of the issue. This morning he had Emmett McGroarty from The American Principles Project on his radio program. The interview is a great brief overview of this “bucket of junk” and how it was initiated. Emmett also briefly explains how data collection is tied to […]
Why is Common Core Bad For Idaho Children?
Common Core with it’s other federally mandated reforms does not improve education in Idaho. It is about increasing federal oversight, commonality among students and states, and extensive testing. All fueled by a federally mandated data base. Statewide Data System. Idaho, to meet the requirements of several federal mandates and grants, has significantly changed the way […]
That pesky 15%
At one point Superintendent Tom Luna referenced a letter Utah got from Secretary Arne Duncan as evidence that states, including Idaho, had not lost control of their standards. He was trying to obtain a similar letter for Idaho. However, timing is everything. It needs to be noted Utah’s letter was received after Race To The Top but before […]
A Mom-Led Movement
The last month in our house has been amazing, there is nothing quite like having a new baby in the home. As I have mentioned before I love being a mother. I wanted to share the following because it says so well why I think so many mothers have gotten involved in fighting Common Core. The […]
5 People Wrote ‘State-Led’ Common Core
Joy Pullman, research fellow at Heartland Institute, writes this awesome article exposing how the Common Core standards were created in a shroud of secrecy while states claim they were state-led. Unless there was an Idahoan on any of the mentioned committees, I’d say we were pretty much not involved in writing them at all. http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2013/06/07/five-people-wrote-state-led-common-core
Lies, Damned Lies and the Common Core
This Comes from R.O.P.E. It sounded so familiar I thought I would share with everyone. We’re not alone in Idaho. http://restoreoklahomapubliceducation.blogspot.com/2013/06/lies-damned-lies-and-common-core.html Hopefully, as a writer who frequently enjoyed ‘inheriting’ ideas from others, Mr. Twain won’t despise me too deeply for my turn of phrase. I even hope to think he’d agree! I can’t imagine […]
Crayola’s Gone Bad
A few months ago I used an analogy with a red Crayola crayon to talk about the choice we had in curriculum. At the time I wrote the post I apologized to Crayola saying that they had very nice crayons. I’m here now to retract that apology, it seems that Crayola has jumped on the […]
Jamie Gass on Common Core
Once again thank you to Austin Hill for tackling this humongous subject. As usual, Austin’s not afraid to learn about a tough issue and then take it head on. And thank you to Jamie Gass from the Pioneer Institute for taking the time to briefly explain Common Core. http://www.idahoreporter.com/2013/jamie-gass-with-the-pioneer-institute-of-boston-ma-discusses-inadequacies-of-the-common-core-academic-standards-on-the-austin-hill-show/
Wyoming to Stop Common Core
This is from Christel Swasey’s website, (which is a great resource for all things Common Core.) Thanks Christel for letting me share this great and enviable news. This week Alisa and I spoke in Star Valley, Wyoming at the Afton Civic Center. The event was filmed and I’ll post it when receive it. What I […]
This Is Your Child’s Brain on Common Core
It’s important to remember that Common Core is not curriculum, (not yet any way,) and Idaho can use any curriculum we want, (see previous post.) But if a state has adopted a set of standards that are going to be assessed via high stakes testing it only makes sense to use a curriculum that aligns with that standard. Here […]
