The Common Core federal education program is one in a long line of proprietary educational programs being forced on our states and local schools.  We had No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and now Common Core.  Since the federal government established a Department of Education we have seen alarming decreases in reading and math skills, and increasing dropout rates.  This is being heavily funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

For a quick explanation of what Common Core is all about, here is a video from Two Moms Against Common Core here. Here is another good video from parents in Georgia who are fighting Common Core here.

This program strips states from having the ability to control the education of their children.  Please educate yourself and everyone who has children or grandchildren in school on who is really driving this national curriculum.  This also involves data mining of personal information, collecting 400 points of information from your child.

These standards are also being implemented in private schools and for students who are being home schooled.  Many states have organizations to fight this and I suggest everyone get involved to keep it out of our schools.

As an example, here is a link to this year’s 4^th grade National Assessment of Educational Progress test.  It says it is voluntary, but I have discovered that parents are not being told that this is being given to their children.  From what I have found out in my area, federal facilitators come into the classroom to administer the test while the teacher is present but not involved in any way. I do not know how it is being presented to the children although I am currently investigating it.  Starting at page 18, look at the questions the child is being asked to answer.  I worry that a 10 year old believes they are taking a test and these questions have nothing to do with anything except gathering personal information.  It states that it will be submitted anonymously, however it should be of great concern that they are even asking such personal questions with a parent being aware or present during the test.

Here in Florida, we spend about two hundred million dollars a year in our state universities just to get students to be able to function at the college level.  We must be allowed to take back the control of our children’s education and get back to the basics.  They must be able to compete in a global market and we need to provide the proper tools to do so.  Let the teachers teach.