Please Read! School Board Election and Common Core!!

[Nicole]

Hello Everyone, 

Thank you for distributing the info on the school board election. I was able to quickly scan the information for each of the candidates and have to tell you that at first glance, I'm a little concerned. There really wasn't anything unique about any of them and it seemed like they all had the the same answers for every question. 

What concerned me most, was that they all seem to support the new Common Core Curriculum that Washington is pushing down our throats. There are serious red flags with this program!!! 

I'm just beginning to understand what Common Core is and where it comes from. To my understanding it has a socialist origin and there are grassroots efforts sprouting up around the country to stop it. They fear it ultimately dumbs down our students, lowers grades and tests standards to where we can't compete globally, and ultimately has more to do with social engineering than education. 

It also takes away individual teachers ability to educate as they see fit. Basically, the program shoots out of DC and everyone is supposed to follow it like robots.... everyone. 

So, I ask this... my family moved to Barrington in large part for their schools. We pay a premium in taxes for those schools. How under something like Common Core are they going to stand out or be exceptional if they are doing the same thing as everyone else!? We might as well of stayed in Elgin, saved the ridiculous amt we pay in taxes and been able to afford luxury trips a couple time a year!!

I urge you to check out Common Core. I will do everything in my power to be at the upcoming meeting to address this with current and potential board members. I urge you to go too. Please!!!! If we don't take a stand and stop the indoctrination of our kids, everything we are fighting for today will be for nothing!!

Thanks for 'listening' and I hope to see you soon!

http://michellemalkin.com/2013/03/01/rotten-to-the-core-part-iii-le...

http://madisonrecord.com/arguments/253167-illinois-latches-on-to-un...

http://stopcommoncore.com/

[Bruce Donnelly]

The "Common Core" curriculum may indeed be a cause for concern.  Members should read up on this, and talk to friends and neighbors about it prior to the April 9 election.  There is a lot of controversy about these proposed standards, which are being pushed nationally by the teachers unions.  Board members should question whether this is really in the best interest of Barrington students and parents, as it may undermine local control of schools and their quality.  Like other progressive initiatives, it may soung good at first glance, but if you dig into it a bit more carefully, it may be as worrisome as Obamacare.  That's why some now calll it "ObamaCore" - as another attempt by the federal government to rule over issues which should be local and personal, not political.

http://barringtontea.ning.com/profiles/blogs/district-220-candidates

All of the candidates identified so far seem to be supportiing it, but there are serious problems with this effort to impose federal standards on the content of local education programs.

For example, consider this Cato article from the November election related to Common Core.

http://www.cato.org/blog/common-core-crash

It reflects how the teachers unions have been pushing this initiative to impose national standards on schools.

.Here is a recent article by Michelle Malkin in National Review on the topic.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/338428/common-core-corrupts-...

Here is her latest post on the subject - "rotten to the core"

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/341950/rotten-core-michelle-...

Last spring, the Heritage Foundation warned about the need to reject such national standards.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/04/states-must-reject...

For example, a subsequent Heritage article questioned the English standards in particular.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/12/questionable-quali... 

Here is another article which questioned whether the English standards promote standardized mediocrity and provide political cover for indoctrination.  Some activists refer to this union-led initiative as "ObamaCore"

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/338780/readin-writin-and-dec...

The basic disagreement between progressive educators and libertarian conservatives is described in this Cato article.

http://www.cato.org/blog/having-common-core-enemy-doesnt-make-friend

Bottom line - there;s a lot of information out there on this subject, and it certainly is not all positive.

The fact that all the local board candidates seem to think that Common Core is a great idea is worrisome.

At the very least, there should be informed debate about the potential consequences of this national initiative, which will potentially undermine the ability of local school boards to have any significant input into the academic curriculum.  It will instead become more of a federal political issue between bureaucrats in the Department of Education in Washington and the lobbyists of the teachers unions.  That has great potential to undermine local control of schools, and perhaps impose mediocrity rather than the excellence one might hopefully seek.

Like "Obamacare" and other federal initiatives to control every aspect of our lives, this is not necessarily a good idea.

In effect, it potentially undermines the "school choice" movement, which the teacher unions have fought against, by imposing their own national standards on all schoolsl - public, private, or religious.

It may sound good at first glance, like so many progressive initiatives, but this is not necessarily a good idea.

[Nicole]

If it looks like a rat, and smells like a rat... it's probably a rat. That's my take (at least so far) on CommonCore. Thanks so much Bruce for the additional information and for explaining it so well. If my understanding of this program is correct, it could have a far reaching impact with very negative consequences. I will continue to read up on this subject and will be prepared to meet the candidates for the Board election. 

[Bruce Donnelly]

Here is how Common Core is being promoted in Illinois.

http://commoncoreil.org/resources/ 

Hat tip to Cynthia Heimsoth at Patriots United for sharing.

Keep in mind that this is what a lot of the teachers will be telling the parents and PTO leaders who often play a key role in getting voters to support their favored Board candidates.  That enables the unions to pack the board with whom they negotiate, which is a pretty obvious conflict of interest.  Keep in mind that the local union voted to strike over the recent contract negotiations, although it didn't come to that in the end.  They will obviously be very motivated to work on this election, when control of the Board (4 of 7 seats) is at stake.  Please take the time to get to know the candidates, and talk to friends and neighbors about them..

[Bruce Donnelly]

Another resource which may be of interest is Students First.

They favor Common Core, as explained at

http://www.studentsfirst.org/blog/entry/uncommon-equity-and-rigor-s...

You can follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

Their policy on Common Core can be found here.

http://www.studentsfirst.org/policy/entry/common-core-state-standards

The point is that there is considerable disagreement about this issue, which is not purely along ideological or party lines.  It is basically a debate, howeveer, about whether imposing one national standard on all states is better than letting all the states compete by doing what they think is best at the state and local level.  That is why some refer to it as "ObamaCore", because it is a top-down initiative which will further empower the Department of Education and the teacher unions, and weaken state and local control over education.

[Nicole]

Thank you, thank you for this info! 

[Bruce Donnelly]

Note that Common Core may also affect home schoolers.  Here's a commentary on the topic from the Heartland Institute, which has been an advocate of greater parental choice ("parent triggers" to force changes at failing public schools).  http://news.heartland.org/editorial/2013/01/15/common-core-k-12-hit... 

[Bruce Donnelly]

Please attend the candidate forum for the District 220 board on Friday morning, March 15.

Details at  http://barringtonvotes.com/events/meet-district-220-candidates

[Bruce Donnelly]

The District 220 Board published this document regarding the impact of Common Core on the ISAT scores for students as state standards are revised.

http://www.barrington220.org/cms/lib2/IL01001296/Centricity/Shared/... 

It was accompanied by this commentary in the Board communication to parents.

=============

"

Higher bar but lower scores puzzle parents

Barrington 220 schools have begun implementing the Common Core State Standards. Higher, deeper and clearer standards for math and English language arts will ensure students graduate from high school prepared to succeed. Performance levels of the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) will change to keep pace with these higher standards. The state believes current expectations for students in grades 3-8 are too low and do not accurately predict an ability to succeed in college and beyond. As a result, the Illinois State Board of Education is raising expectations on state tests and other assessments in math and English language arts for elementary and middle-school students."

[Bruce Donnelly]

FreedomWorks is doing an event about Common Core on the evening of April 17. Here's the info:
Join FreedomWorks on Wednesday, April 17th as the FreedomWorks on Tap panel covers Common Core. Common Core is one of the most pressing issues of 2013 as conservative activists are working to defeat Common Core from being implented in schools all across the country.

The panel will be discussing how you or your group can work to defeat Common Core and how FreedomWorks can assist you! This is going to be a great event and we want to hear how we can help YOU!

Join the discussion at live.freedomworks.org at 7 PM!

[Bruce Donnelly]

There's an interesting article in Illinois Review about a group which is trying to block the implementation of Common Core in Illinois.
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2013/04/common-cor...