WHY DO DEADLY GOVERNMENT POLICIES ALWAYS HAVE BENIGN NAMES?

In an Internet driven world, there seems to be never ending eruptions of conspiracy theories and crises.  Are they real … Are they serious … Who’s pushing it … Why?  Well, there has been a real crisis right under the nose of some parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles of children in our public schools and universities.  This crisis has been spreading for a long time and it’s about to get worse beyond your ability to comprehend the disastrous consequences.  The crisis is in our education system and is disguised by the benign title of common core state standards (Common Core).  While the situation is very complicated, in fact, the solution is simple … it’s you! 

But first a quick stroll through the contemporary problem.  Liberal tenured professors at universities are indoctrinating our students about the non-exceptionalism of America, the evils of the capitalism, and the failure of democracy.  For that I recommend you go to Prager University.  Let’s move on to K-12, especially in the secondary schools’ social studies curriculum, which are sometimes erroneously funneled into “language arts”. The perpetrators are not professors, but textbook publishers.

Let’s begin with key concepts. First of all, the purpose of an education is to learn how to learn.  This skill lasts an individual for their entire life. Secondly, whether it’s health care, immigration, or public education, be wary of people who push “reform”.  Reforming any major part of society creates openings for a wide range of people with motives, personal agendas, and/or special interests.

·         political (libertarian mantra that education should be private, believe that education doesn’t belong in government at all … not Federal, not state, not  local; and far left and liberal progressives who believe that college education should be free)

·         religious (putting God back into public schools or taking religion out altogether)

·         philosophical (even to the point of undermining our way of life),

·         employment/financial gain (those who want to use student achievement to evaluate educators’ performance and to determine educators’ income; and educators who don’t want to be responsible for factors outside of their control that influence the student achievement, or lack thereof, and educators’ professional associations and/or unions who want educators’ compensation to be determined by collective bargaining.)

Common Core is not the first time that the government has tried to use education for social engineering.  Has everyone so quickly forgotten the failed promises of test, test, test of No Child Left Behind, a byproduct of a bipartisan team of George W. Bush and Ted Kennedy?  US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a Republican, complained that the emphasis on math and science was at the expense of courses in American history, civics, and American government.  She worried that we were failing to prepare students to become educated citizens who would assume the responsibility to be informed voters. And how about the old standby Race to the Top … a bounty of bureaucracy if ever there was one, and believe me, there have been plenty.  Or is it ultimately a bribe to states to implement Common Core?