“the Common Core embraces essentially a trade-school mentality.  Even in English class—where the heart of humanist education should beat most strongly—the curriculum is to be redesigned to offer less classic literature and more nonfiction “informational texts.” After all, if a student is unlikely to encounter Paradise Lost in his future job, why waste time on it now? Better to focus on the technical manuals or government documents that he might grapple with in the corporate world.”

It goes on to make the valid point of why on earth the Catholic schools, which have a proven track record, would want to abandon classical education in favor of emulating the public schools in the area of academics:

Why Catholic schools, which have a centuries-old vision of the purpose of education, and a track record only the most elite secular institutions can match, should embrace this olive-drab doctrine of uniformity and utilitarianism is not at all clear. In what way is this mindset compatible with Catholicism, and certainly with Catholic education? The great Catholic educator and scholar John Henry Newman, author of the visionary book The Idea of a University, believed that education must be directed at the whole person, not toward forming students for predetermined professional slots.  Education, he wrote, trains “the intellect to reason well in all matters, to reach out towards truth and to grasp it.”

After all, isn’t the underlying assumption of the school choice movement that there are academic and curricular differences between public and private schools?  This is an article that any Catholic will want to read in its entirety, as it says so much.  It includes the wise remarks of Dr. Anthony Esolen, editor of Magnificat and professor at Providence College, whose comments echo the sentiments in hearts of many parents.  He had this to say about Common Core:

[W]hat appalls me most about the standards … is the cavalier contempt for great works of human art and thought, in literary form. It is a sheer ignorance of the life of the imagination. We are not programming machines. We are teaching children. We are not producing functionaries, factory-like. We are to be forming the minds and hearts of men and women.

Frankly, I do not wish to be governed by people whose minds and hearts have been stunted by a strictly utilitarian miseducation…. Do not train them to become apparatchiks in a vast political and economic system, but raise them to be human beings, honoring what is good and right, cherishing what is beautiful, and pledging themselves to their families, their communities, their churches, and their country.

A better idea would be for Catholic schools to reject Common Core, reaffirm their commitment to classical education, and market themselves as something distinctly different than what the public schools are offering academically.  They should start by studying the case of St. Jerome Academy in Maryland, where a return to classical education led to an immediate jump in test scores, as well as a waiting list.   You can read about their success story in the First Things article, A Case for Classical Education.  Here’s an excerpt:

In 2009, St. Jerome’s parish school in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., faced dropping enrollment and major debt that forced a diocesan review process. A group of parishioners approached Pastor James M. Stack with the idea of a classical curriculum, a bold move for an urban, socioeconomically and ethnically diverse school. Fr. Stack and Principal Mary Pat Donoghue embraced the idea, and a volunteer curriculum team of educators, theologians, and philosophers hammered out the 120-page educational plan for the pre-K-8 school. The superintendent supported the initiative, and St. Jerome’s today has gained national attention for its early successes. Some classes now have waiting lists. After the first year with the new approach, math and reading scores jumped. Disproving the notion that a classical curriculum is elitist, many students who previously struggled found motivation and success through the rich content and lively discussions that required them to think deeply.

“We have seen what it looks like for a child to be truly educated, and it is a very different thing than just the acquisition of skills,” said Donoghue. “This is about opening the treasure trove of the Catholic Church, and re-imagining ourselves in its heritage and thought.”

As public education moves toward nationally accepted common core standards, Donoghue insists that the Church has an opportunity to move in a different direction and resist the pressure to conform to decidedly secular content and pedagogy. Classical Catholic schools have made a conscious choice, not to turn back to the past, but to draw upon the riches of tradition to help children understand who they are in the modern world. The response of students, parents, and teachers reveals the fruit of these efforts.

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The beloved Michelle Rhee of Students First stated to EdWeek’s Michele McNeil that legislators are concerned over the  constant complaints from constituents that the CCS are an intrusion of the federal government. No problem, Rhee says, just do this:

“You need to reframe the debate,” Rhee said she told the Florida lawmakers. “This is about China kicking our butts. Do you want China to kick our butts? No!”

Geez, talk about fear mongering! However, her advice will only get legislators into more trouble than they are already in for ignoring to take steps to stop CCS.  I’ll guarantee fireworks after folks read Common Core Standards: the New U.S. Intended Curriculum published by the American Educational Research Association. This report compared the CCS to top performing countries and high achieving states and found the CCS  had very little in common with them. Such little DNA was shared, they aren’t even second cousins.

Surprisingly, this information is not denied by proponents of the CCS. In fact, they changed their wording from “internationally benchmarked” to “internationally informed” without skipping one verse in their praise for CCS. Are they intentionally setting up Americans to fail academically? I hope not.

Let’s look at the cold facts presented in the study.  In eighth grade mathematics, the CCS  had 13% alignment with Singapore, 17% alignment with Japan, and 21% alignment with Finland. These countries consistently produce the top performing students in mathematics in the world. Among states with high ranked standards the alignment to CCS is also very low; California K-5= 20.6% and 9-12= 31%, Indiana K-8= 27% and 9-12=25%. In English Language Arts the statistics are similar: Massachusetts 6-8= 25%, California K-8= 35%, Indiana K-8= 31% and 9-12= 35%.

This country is under the impression that the CCS was developed under the guidance of including the best of high-performing nations and states’  standards to create the Common Core. By the looks of this report, less than 35% was taken from the highest performing states and an average of 17% was taken from the highest performing countries.

A greater ignorance was paid to the type of cognitive demand called for in high performing countries. We have heard OVER and OVER again that performing procedures and memorization are bringing down achievement in the U.S. and the CCS requirement of more conjecture and non-routine problem solving is the solution.  You know, the “explain your answer” or “model your understanding” that is driving CCS curriculums across this country. This is not the curriculum used in top performing countries. The top performers mentioned  allot 75% of their content standards to perform procedure where CCS is a paltry 38%. Memorization is also more of a focus in these high performing countries. Yet, the drum continues to beat across the country for less procedural knowledge and greater conceptual understanding. The high-performing countries aren’t singing along, they’re already on the next verse.

The empirical evidence against CCS is overwhelming, but it doesn’t seem to bubble up through the pile of money many proponents stand to make. As with many problems in American society, the money seems to drown out the voice of the truth. We watch policy unfold before us  wondering, “Does America still hold in her hands a hero capable of ignoring the money and acknowledging the truth?”  It takes Waiting for Superman to a whole new level.

How does Michelle Rhee expect us to “kick China’s butt” while following standards far from those of high performing countries? It looks to me like we are going to get our “butts kicked” by a lot more countries if we follow Common Core. Do we want our students to compete with one hand tied behind their back? Do they not deserve to be educated to the highest standards of the world?

Is this part of the apology tour for American exceptionalism?

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Heather was honored to be included and asked to tell the story of how Indiana delivered the first big blow to the Common Core!  The you-tube video can be seen here.

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“The U.S. is tied for 15th in reading, but we’re 23rd in science and 31st in math. Let’s look at the best academic performer: the province of Shanghai, China. Now, they rank number one across the board, in reading, math and science, and one of the keys to Shanghai’s incredible success is the way they help teachers keep improving. They made sure that younger teachers get a chance to watch master teachers at work.”

First of all, China is not number one across the board and the US isn’t 35th in math. On the latest international test called TIMMS, the fourth grade results show China was 3rd and the US was 11th. In eighth grade, China was 3rd and the U.S. was 9th. In fact,  several states entered as their own country which ranks Massachusettes 6th, Minnesota 7th, and Indiana 10th on the international scale.  It clearly shows that we have some pretty good examples of what works in education in our own backyard. Personally, the less we resemble the practices of a country like China, the better off America will be. He further describes our process of evaluating teachers in the U.S. as unfair:

“The system we have today isn’t fair to them. It’s not fair to students, and it’s putting America’s global leadership at risk.”

Seriously, holding up China as an example of a fair system for America to emulate?  With all the cruelty and oppression China represents, it seems far from the American ideal. I would be very surprised if a teacher in China has any job satisfaction. I wonder what happens to a Chinese teacher who has a hard year. Do they get asked back? Do they stick with her and help her improve? I doubt it, she is probably sent off to be retrained to serve the state in another position.  It’s a similar system for  their students, who are tested at a young age and placed by the state into certain educational paths with very little self-determination. Maybe Bill Gates forgot that America will never be like China because we are a constitutional republic, where the government does not rule teachers, students and citizens like cogs in a machine with big brother cameras watching them from above.

I’m tired of education reform leaders using scare tactics to get “buy in” from the American people. They paint a deceptive picture of a decimated education system in dire need of a complete makeover. A makeover in which they will be the artists. These few individuals will decide what colors are used and which subjects get painted. Oh yeah, and the ones who get the commissions.

“Building this system will also require a considerable investment. Our foundation estimates that it could cost up to five billion dollars. Now that’s a big number, but to put it in perspective, it’s less than two percent of what we spend every year on teacher salaries.”

I’m wondering who Bill Gates thinks will supply all the computers and cameras for this 5 billion dollar experiment to shape our teacher training and evaluations like China’s.

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The Common Core academic standards looked like a mighty Goliath when opponents began their opposition last year.

Adopted by almost all the states, the standards had powerful backing in Indiana from the state Chamber of Commerce, Gov. Mitch Daniels and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett. Supporters also included Stand for Children and Democrats for Education Reform. Everybody who was anybody in education was for it.

Yet, a couple of Marion County moms led a ragtag opposition at tea party gatherings. State Sen. Scott Schneider was a lonely opponent in the General Assembly, and he was in a tight re-election race against Tim DeLaney, a well-funded Democrat from a locally well-known political family.

But the scales tipped in favor of the critics in recent weeks in the House of Representatives as the General Assembly was ending its four-month session.

Be sure and read the whole article to get a further account of just how historic this victory really is.  The grass-roots activists in Indiana should be proud of the work they did to get HB1427 passed.  It truly is a case of David versus Goliath.  Stay tuned, because we aren’t done yet!

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Instead of taking the word of the Common Core ELA standards writer David Coleman, who has never taught English or holds a doctoral degree in education, I would hang my hat on this group of experienced English professors, teachers and literary experts. Read ‘em and weep, Coleman!

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The size of the crowds that are gathering to learn about the deficiencies of the Common Core are getting bigger and bigger.  Just a few weeks ago, I spoke in Ohio at a series of three events that drew a combined total of over 800 buckeyes.  It was amazing and inspiring to see so many people turn out.  A you-tube video of our debate in Columbus on April 13, 2013, which sold-out to an audience of 450 people, can be found here.

As if that wasn’t enough, earlier this week over 800 people showed up at one event in Nashville, Tennessee!  Read about it and see the pictures for yourself at the Pioneer Institute website.  Pictures of the large  800+ crowd can be seen, as well as a video of the presentation.

It is truly amazing to see history unfold.  We have watched Common Core go from being completely unheard of to taking the national spot light.  The words once spoken by Abraham Lincoln ring true – “Let the people know the facts and the country will be saved!”

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Heather Crossin, whom Tuttle affectionately calls her “partner in crime” as co-founder of Hoosiers Against Common Core, has already spoken to approximately 1,000 parents in three presentations in Ohio, and Tuttle says she is fielding calls from concerned parents in California, Wyoming, Alabama, and Missouri.

She quotes Erin Tuttle:

“Truly, the most important thing about this whole legislation is that people still matter. We were outspent. Outmanned. We didn’t have a lot of support in the legislature,” Tuttle said.

“But at the end of the day, the people of the state still matter. Our opinions still count and they’re acted upon. Believe me, Heather and I are usually the only constituents down there [at the statehouse.] Otherwise it’s wall-to-wall lobbyists,” she said. “You have to remind yourself that this is the people’s house, and the more people who are there, the better off we will be.”

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