A new Pioneer Institute study finds Common Core will further damage history instruction by including U.S. History in its English language arts standards.
No More Common Core Symposium in New Jersey
New Jersey readers mark your calendars for this symposium that will be offered in September. Concerned Citizens of Southern New Jersey will host a “No More Common Core” Symposium on Saturday, September 27, 2014 at 10:00am at the Ramada Inn in Vineland, NJ. Guest speakers will be: Sandra Stotsky, Duke Pesta, Chris Tienken, Deneen Borelli, […]
#CaniSEE The Solution: Countering Common Core
The Heritage Foundation, Women on the Wall, Eagle Forum, and Voices Empower are co-sponsoring a conference in Austin, TX on June 20-21 called #CaniSee The Solution. It is meant to be a counter-event to the PTA national convention being held in Austin on June 19th-22nd who has invited U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to keynote. […]
How Common Core Damages Poetry Instruction
April is National Poetry Month, but poetry is not well addressed in Common Core’s English language arts standards. It’s unclear whether the genre will survive a Common Core-based English classroom given the dramatic reduction in time spent on literary texts implicitly mandated by these national standards, and the ambivalence, if not hostility, of the standards […]
This Common Core Critic Is Still Charged Up
On April 14, American Enterprise Institute’s Rick Hess and Mike McShane charged me in a blog on National Review Online with not coming up with “next steps” to “repeal and replace” for states that want to restore academic integrity to their K-12 curriculum in English language arts and mathematics. I’m almost but not quite exhausted […]
Education Reform Should Be Geared Towards Parents, Not Business
By Emmett McGroarty & Jane Robbins Sometimes a combatant in an ideological struggle says something that is refreshing, if disturbing, in its honesty. Such a declaration came recently from Billy Canary, president of the Business Council of Alabama. In explaining why legislators should embrace the Common Core, Mr. Canary said, “The business community is by […]
Building The Machine: A Must See
I concur with Joy Pullmann, educrats do not want you watching Building The Machine as they already had their spin machines kicked into high gear even prior to its release on Monday. HSLDA did a terrific job putting this documentary together. I was impressed with the attempt HSLDA made to interview proponents of the Common […]
Sandra Stotsky: Local School Boards Must Take Action Now
Local school boards must take action now. They still have the legal authority in every single state even if they are told they don’t, or think they don’t. They must, upon petition by parents asap, vote (1) to allow parents to opt-out their children from any Common Core-based test (pilot, field, or regular); (2) to […]
Building the Machine to be Released on Monday
The Home School Legal Defense Association’s documentary on the Common Core entitled Building the Machine will be released on Monday, March 31st. It will be released through its website – http://www.commoncoremovie.com/ where it will be free to view. Building the Machine introduces the public to the Common Core and its effects on our children’s education. […]
Sandra Stotsky on Common Core Assessments
Massachusetts is telling their parents that they can not opt their students out from the PARCC assessments that are being field tested this year. They are treating them the same as MCAS which are considered mandatory under state law. Dr. Sandra Stotsky, who served as a Senior Associate Commissioner in the Massachusetts Department of Education […]