Category Archives: Common Core

Pat McCrory Shifting On Common Core?

Posted on July 2, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Governors in states surrounding North Carolina and across the country have all realized what a mess Common Core is.

Governor Pence dumped it.
Governor Haley got rid of it.
Governor Fallin got rid of it.
Governor Nixon has just to sign to be rid of it.
Governor Jindal is making moves to drop it.
Governor Haslam made the first move to stop it by dropping the PARCC tests.
Governor Cuomo has a full on insurrection of moms in NY; in time, likely they will dump it.

Also worth noting:
The Republican National Committee has a resolution opposing it.
The U.S. Congress has a resolution opposing it.

Our state of NC has a conference committee hammering out the details between SB 812 and HB 1061. The end result will be a commission to replace Common Core and create higher standards for North Carolina, the removal of a copyrighted brand name from our statutes, the restoration of educational sovereignty to our state and the return of a true education to our students. Having said that, the question remains:
Is North Carolina’s Governor McCrory coming around finally?

The answer? Maybe so. Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core, NCGA, Pat McCrory | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Common Core Aligned: Califone AV Tools

Posted on July 1, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

The goal is to align everything so that students and the money have no where to go but Common Core.

Today’s Profile is CALIFONE AV TOOLS: Continue reading →

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Common Core Is Not The Right Tool

Posted on July 1, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Over at the Mooresville Tribune, the headline reads, Repealing Common Core will harm our students. Nice theatrical title. No, keeping Common Core will continue the harm to our students. The article is mercifully short, so go read it. It’s by Nancy Gardner.

You remember Nancy, right? She’s the Mooresville High school English teacher who showed up at the Common Core Legislative Research Committee and cheerleaded for the standards at the public comments forum. Refresh your memory and watch her speech here. Gardner makes sure to hit every talking point she can in it and manages to contradict herself a few times. See if you spot it.

Of note in the video clip, she says outright at the start that she works with the Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ). Why is that important? They’ve received more than $6.3 million from the Gates Foundation since 2010 for Common Core and “virtual” related projects. CTQ has been a hub for implementing Common Core in NC.
Back to that Op-Ed

My favorite line of Gardner’s Op-Ed was this one: Continue reading →

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Common Core Aligned: NY Dumping GED For “TASC”

Posted on June 30, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

New York, embroiled in Common Core and high stakes testing protests, is making plans to dump the GED (General Education Development) test in favor of a Common Core aligned one. The powers that be are trying to force keeping Common Core using the testing. In essence, forcing students depending on tests like the GED to comply with Common Core and creating a funnel-like monopoly. One has to realize the impact on Homeschoolers or online learners with this move.

UticaOD.com: Continue reading →

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GUEST POST: How Common Core Standards are Taking Over our National Honor Societies

Posted on June 29, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

The following article is a guest post from a concerned parent in North Carolina about the deep reach of the Common Core Standards.
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GUEST POST ICON”Honor among thieves?! How Common Core Standards are Taking Over our National Honor Societies.”

Unlike any other American education reform, we have all seen, heard and experienced the many tentacles of Common Core Standards. For certain, the Standards are in our schools, regardless of where the school is located: public, private, home, post secondary, proprietary or on-line. Common Core Standards are there. We see CCS products in our dollar stores, our libraries. just about everywhere! So what about all those clubs, organizations and extra curricular activities we so loved & encourage our kids to sign up for?! Yep, you guessed it. Common Core Standards are there as well. Continue reading →

Posted in Common Core, GUEST POSTS | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Standards Who Must Not Be Named

Posted on June 29, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

The-Standards-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!

Was Arne Duncan’s speech in Texas a tribute to Harry Potter?
It would seem so, as Duncan cc sorting hat fivedidn’t utter the words “Common Core” a single time yet definitely was talking about Common Core. So, Duncan went the whole speech talking about You-Know-Who.The fear and loathing now associated with The-Standards-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is now confirmed by the top education official in the nation not uttering You-Know-Who’s name a single time.

Valerie Strauss at the Washington Post has the full story, but asks, “Why wouldn’t Duncan want to actually mention the words “Common Core” when he is talking about the Common Core? Could it be that in some places the Common Core is becoming somewhat toxic amid growing opposition to the initiative from different parts of the political spectrum?”

YEP. More distancing. Continue reading →

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