Governor Walker’s Call to Corral Common Core, Correct… But Why?
Common Core/Governor Walker
Governor Walker recently announced single sentence press release which stated “Today, I call on the members of the State Legislature to pass a bill in early January to repeal Common Core and replace it with standards set by people in Wisconsin.” Some people are up in arms about this and others have their arms up in a “V” with fingers to match.
As the son of 2 Milwaukee Public School teachers and someone who minored in Education (until the University department got put on probation), I have a unique insight into Education that most people don’t have. When rumblings about Common Core began to surface I started digging into this “one size fits all” standards design and let me tell you, what I’ve learned is shocking, and I’m not easily shocked. While most people in politics and the media are talking about the standards, standards, standards of Common Core and how the standards will merely be taught as a vector to the test, I’m here to make a single sentence press release statement of my own. “Saying that the reason Common Core is rotten because the standards force you to teach to the test is like saying that the worst part about having stage 4 cancer is because it makes your eyes look sunken in.”
Governor Walker has made the right call. However, as I hear and read information about Common Core, it seems to me that there are quite a few people who are unaware as to how nefarious the implementation of Common Core really is. This is not a partisan issue. This affects every child in the United States of America. Here are some of the things about Common Core that you probably don’t know, such as:
The copyrights to Common Core are not owned by an educational entity or even the government, it is owned by 2 Washington Lobbyist groups. The curriculum was written by business people, none of whom have an educational background. The main monetary backer for this ($2.5 billion) is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Microsoft will supply every mandatory PC (running Windows OS, of course), all the support, all the security and most of the apps. The majority of the Common Core books will be supplied by Pearson Publishing. Those 2 facts alone should raise the “Crony Capitalism” red flags of “99%” of the population, wouldn’t you say? Every PC will be equipped with a camera and sensors to monitor your child and included software will keep track of various pieces of data on your kids. NEA or NSA? Of course, the camera shouldn’t be anything to worry about since data security breaches are rare and teenagers are incredibly responsible and unimpulsive. Most pictures nowadays disappear within 10 seconds. Besides it’s not like these kids are a Target for hackers looking for pictures, Social Security numbers, family info, medical information such as depression or suicide attempts, etc. It’s a really good thing that future employers don’t have access to this information… yet. And lastly, if your child answers that 4×3=11 but yet if they can explain their thought process then they will not be marked wrong, is something that worries you… welcome to Common Core State Standards. If you don’t believe me, visit my website if you wish to learn more. Feel free to try and debunk me. I’m certain that there are bloggers out there just drooling all over themselves waiting to dispute facts with baseless accusations and unsubstantiated counterpoints that parallel the 5 year old middle child retort of “NUH-UH!!!” www.voteredarnold.com
As for standards, I went to South Milwaukee High School. In 1992, during my tenure, South Milwaukee High School was rated one of the top schools in the entire country by Redbook Magazine. Nicolet High School was also on the list. Now we want to take these citadels of childhood cultivation and turn them into a one size fits all “standards based” outcome machine with no local control, a national curriculum with national tests and no input from teachers or local school boards.
Ladies and gentlemen, we already have standards. If your 3rd grade child reads at a 4th grade reading level, that’s a standard. Your child’s report card is a standard. 45 years ago this month we sent men to walk on the moon using computers the size of a small room that had the computing power of today’s scientific calculators. Those men were surrounded by teams of scientists and engineers which included the greatest minds of the time and many were taught in one room school houses with nothing more than pencils, chalkboards and slide rules. We became the most awesome industrial force this world has ever seen and we did it because we refused to accept failure. Not from our peers, not from our kids and not from ourselves. Today, failure is acceptable, hell, it’s rewarded. In today’s society, everyone is a winner and everyone is the same. Trophies for everybody.
Well, I live in the real world and in the real world not everyone gets a trophy. But in the category for “best performance by a governor in making the right call on a tough decision”, the award goes to… (drum roll please) Governor Scott Walker in Repeal Common Core. The Governor is not here tonight to accept this award. He is too busy running the state and looking out for the well-being of Wisconsin taxpayers.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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