Those who have read the Common Core State Standards understand one thing: it’s a complete failure and quite possibly the worst government usurpation of local control since … well, since the last government usurpation of local control.
A handful of states have opted out. A few others have “rebranded” it and then called it an opt-out — like here in Iowa, which now has its own failure called Iowa Core (just as bad as Common Core in many respects, while worse in all the others) — but many states are still going ahead, full steam, over the cliff.
Many Christian parents who weren’t already have made the decision to move their children into Christian schools, unaware that in most states, Common Core is still being taught there. Even in Iowa, the Iowa Core is required of all state-accredited schools.
Some Christian schools are moving away from state accreditation, switching to Christian Schools International for accreditation. And while CSI’s accreditation standards are among the best in the world, it, too, has a fatal flaw: it requires a curriculum based on a measurable standard.
Right now, the only standards out there are all based on Common Core. Many of these schools don’t have the economic means to develop their own standards from which measurable curricula can be developed.
The following is a quote from an Iowa Christian school principal, responding to a parent’s questions about CSI accreditation and the use of Iowa Core/Common Core standards:
“Part of CSI accreditation is the requirement to align to a set of national standards. As you know, the Common Core is the national standards for language arts and math. The Iowa Core has added a few things here and there in these content areas, but for the most part, the Common Core and Iowa Core standards in math and language arts are identical. At this point, there are no other national standards with which to align, so we will need to follow those …
“In the areas of science, social students and 21st century skills, there are other national standards that we can pick and choose from outside of Iowa Common Core. This is where we will get more freedom in order to align our curriculum. This is also where we will not have to emphasize standards that deal with topics like evolution, global warming, etc.”
The problem with that is that the textbooks of Common Core math and language arts curricula are rife with “indoctrination.” Check out what you can expect to see in your students’ language arts classroom soon right here. And if you think your kids will be real-world ready with Common Core math, check this out.
Homeschool families, like mine, face the same problems, too. Ironically, in Iowa, my children can use any curriculum my wife and I see fit to educate them with. But in some states, homeschool families don’t have that freedom.
And, as Common Core standards creep their way into colleges and universities, many curriculum publishers will be pressured to align with Common Core, as well. Meanwhile, a few publishers are trying to branch into the traditional classroom setting and have aligned their curricula with Common Core.
There really is no escape from Common Core. To get rid of it, we must eradicate it from all 50 states — or 57 if you happen to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC — legislatively. It can’t just be a “rebranding” effort, either. All semblances of Common Core must go away, or somewhere, someday, it will rise up from the ashes.
To regain our freedom, we must reclaim it.
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