Common Core Aligned: “Teaching Tolerance” – PT 4

Posted on June 10, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

CommonCoreAligned“…to create just these kinds of tests—next-generation assessments aligned to the common core. When the tests are aligned to the common standards, the curriculum will line up as well—and that will unleash powerful market forces in the service of better teaching.”
– Bill Gates, 2009 Speech To Natl. Conf. of State Legislatures

The goal is to align everything so that students and the money have nowhere to go but Common Core.

Last week, I started this series on certain Social Activism curriculum claiming to be aligned to Common Core as created by ‘Teaching Tolerance’, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. I continued this week with part three.  This installment is part four.
[Read: Part one, Part two and Part three]

In part three, we began looking at the ‘Diverse Perspectives’ plan. There were four constructs that included, Building your learning plan, Anti-bias framework, Central text Anthology and Tasks and Strategies.  We covered the first two in part 3, today we’ll look at the second two.

Central Text Anthology
‘Teaching Tolerance’ calls this section the “heart” of their curriculum:

At the heart of the Perspectives curriculum is the Central Text Anthology, a carefully curated collection of rigorous texts that exemplify anti-bias themes and meet the requirements of the Common Core State Standards.

The texts encourage students to question common understandings, consider multiple viewpoints, analyze and critique power relationships, and act to change unfair and unequal conditions.

In addition to written informational and literary texts, the Anthology includes multi-media texts (e.g., film clips, pod casts, interviews) and visual texts (e.g., cartoons, charts, photographs).Each text within the Anthology has been quantitatively analyzed for CCSS grade level and mapped to Perspectives themes and anti-bias standards. Use the filter to the right to identify texts appropriate for your teaching goals.

Thank you to our partners, NBC Learn, Story Corps, The New York Times Upfront and Welcoming Schools, for contributing to the Perspectives Central Text Anthology.

Take note they thank very left leaning organizations for their ‘contributions’.

In particular, one should take a closer look at “Welcoming Schools“, which is a project of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC). It would seem that Common Core funder, Bill Gates, likes the way they communicate.

Parents, be wary of what your children are seeing and reading in school.

 “(e.g., film clips, pod casts, interviews) and visual texts (e.g., cartoons, charts, photographs)”

Are children being exposed to the multiple types of media promoted by this ‘anthology’  as listed on the website? It would be very easy to slip in items such as these and parents be none the wiser.

Of course, one cannot browse the ‘free central texts’ unless you sign up on the website.  You have to be a member – one that can be documented and tracked.

Tasks and Strategies
Again, direct from the website we see and activism heavy description for the section:

Perspectives allows students to engage the essential question and the Central Text through multiple learning phases. Each phase offers a variety of tasks and strategies that, when integrated, promote social action and meet the literacy goals of the Common Core.

Each section seems to imply that ‘social action’ is a literacy goal of Common Core. Silly me, I thought the intended goal of Common Core ELA was maybe… Literacy itself??

There is a graphic beneath the description which sorts activities into the two piles of ‘Tasks and Strategies’. Tasks has two items and Strategies has five. The graphic is hard to read, but it makes little difference. The whole point is social activism.

To put a bow on what is arguably a big box of social justice activism indoctrination masquerading as legitimate coursework, read the “User Guide‘ for Perspectives for a Diverse America. It’s under the “media” section.

By the way, ‘Teaching Tolerance’ is apparently in Durham Public Schools.  More here.

Parents in North Carolina might want to know that NC Public Schools cites Southern Poverty Law Center’s ‘Teaching Tolerance’ as an approved resource for their “Bullies and Victims” curriculum.

In the next installment, I’ll be following the money. Stay tuned.

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core, NC DPI, Poltical Correctness, Racial Justice, Social Justice | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

NC Superintendent Confirms Heart Of Backlash Against Testing

Posted on June 10, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Over the weekend, North Carolina’s Superintendent, stepped into the testing backlash debate in an article at WUNC.

Atkinson, who is also President of the CCSSO — one of the DC trade organizations who brought the nation Common Core — told WUNC tests are first used to grade the schools. In other words, fulfilling federal requirements.

 

Excerpt from WUNC:

“One of the tests, of our teachers told us we only have to get 11 out of the 40 questions right to pass because of the curve,” says Becca Whittaker, a freshman at Jordan High School. “Like if you went in and marked A for every question, you’d pass… So, it just shows that they’re not effective.”

“Any student in school would think that we over-test. We have to put tests in perspective,” explains state Superintendent June Atkinson.

Atkinson says there are two reasons why tests are so important: The first is to judge how schools are doing (for the first time, schools this year were assigned A-F grades based largely on student test scores); the second is to figure what the students know to drive classroom instruction.

Atkinson continued, saying there was confusion and kids don’t take too many tests but instead the focus should be taking the ‘right kind of tests’.

“In some respects, I believe North Carolina has lost its balance and its focus on what are the reasons why we test,” she says. 

If you try counting the different tests students take, it would get very confusing, very quickly. Eighth grade is the year that students take the most tests.

Really?

A kid in 3rd grade in this state can be exposed to up to 95 separate assessments throughout the year from Read to Achieve, Mclass, Case21 and the EOG.

This total does not include the built in ‘Blackline Master’ Common Core assessments that Wake county is using throughout the year to compile a child’s overall grade.

Money quote:

“Part of the confusion is that parents and students do not where if the test originates from the state or whether it is a local test,” Atkinson explains.

That’s sort of an amazing admission.

Parents across the state are confused about testing in North Carolina  for a number of reasons. Testing law, policies and rules are posted in multiple locations for one thing.  For another, parents cannot get a straight answer out of DPI on opting out.

Posted in EDUCATION, June Atkinson, Testing | 5 Comments

Feds to Oregon: Nice Funding ya got there, be a shame if anything happened to it

Posted on June 10, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Arne Duncan Steps In 3‘Nice funding ya, got there. Be a shame if anything happened to it.’

That’s what the Department of Education is basically saying to Oregon over the state’s Bill 2655.

The federal government has leveled an official threat at a state over testing compliance as stated in ESEA, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Bill 2655 threatens to topple the 95% compliance rate for testing as dictated by ESEA.

Parental rights? What are those?

According to Oregon Live, the threat came in a letter from, Deborah Delisle, who is the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.

“Oregon schools stand to lose $140 million a year or more in federal funding if state lawmakers vote to enable parents to opt out of standardized testing more easily, a top U.S. education official is warning.

Legislation headed for Oregon Senate approval as soon as Wednesday could trigger serious sanctions that include the loss of federal funding, Assistant U.S. Secretary of Education Deborah Delisle said in a May 27 email and letter to Oregon schools chief Rob Saxton.”

According to Delisle’s bio, she previously held multiple positions at the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The CCSSO is one of the D.C. trade organizations who helped create the Common Core. The CCSSO is also one of the copyright holders of the standards.

According to KOIN.com, the Portland Association of Teachers is calling the threat a ‘scare tactic’.

The message here seems to be pretty clear: Comply or no cash.

Ironically, one of the main points of the Department of Education Organization Act (1979) is being employed, but in a tryannical fashion:

“Encourage the increased involvement of the public, parents, and students in federal education programs.”

Arne Duncan Steps In 2Arne Duncan said ‘the fed would have to step in’.  People wondered what that statement meant.

Now they know.

The Department of Education will force states to comply through fiscal blackmail using money collected from the states themselves.

 

*Crossposted at StopCommonCoreNC.org.

Posted in Common Core, EDUCATION, Parental Rights, Testing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Hey Wake County, Ready To Pay More In Taxes?

Posted on June 9, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Didn’t I warn people to expect that tax hikes were coming?  Yep.

What I didn’t expect was the Wake County Commissioners to blink.

The $1.4 billion dollar budget submitted by Wake County Schools Superintendent won’t get fully funded from the looks of it — at least not right away. They’re looking to fund this $48 million dollar increase in the budget over time.

ABC 11 reported:

County Manager Jim Hartmann’s $1.1 billion budget only provides for a $34.6 million increase for Wake County Schools, which would come with a 2.9-cent property tax increase.

For the school system to get all $48 million of what it’s requested, commissioners will need to approve a 3.9-cent increase on property taxes, which would mean that average homeowner pays $104 more per year.

New Wake County Commissioner and Moral Monday supporter, Sig Hutchinson, is all too happy to volunteer the hard earned money of Wake citizens. ABC 11 continued:

“Clearly, we feel that the citizens are for us,” Wake County Commissioner Sig Hutchinson said. “We value public education. We value our teachers. We understand the value of good strong public education so what I believe our citizens are saying, ‘We’re willing to pay for that.'”

Hutchinson points to a public hearing on the tax hike as proof citizens want to pay more taxes.  If it was anything like the astroturfed Wake School Board hearing on the budget, of course there were people wanting to pay more.

The stress was put on the increase paying for teacher raises. Wake County’s teachers are some of the highest paid in the state already.

There is also mention of paying for new programs. Would that include programs that are compulsory and implemented without parent knowledge like the Kindergarten Entry Assessment?  Or do they mean the ‘white privilege‘ training for teachers and creation of more social issues office like the office of diversity affairs? Maybe an unannounced pilot program or two?

The ABC 11 article closes with this paragraph; emphasis added:

The issue will be decided at their meeting next Monday. It’s still unclear which way commissioners will go. They only need four commissioners to support a 3.9-cent hike.

Well, they already have four. Forward together, not one cent back.

MoreWithFourNotOneCentBackWBOC14

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION, Moral Monday, Wake County School Board | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Hey Wake County, Ready To Pay More In Taxes?

Moral Monday Arrestees Getting Special Treatment?

Posted on June 9, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Occupy Monday is back and getting special legal treatment?

The Moral Monday protests have resulted in hundreds arrests over the last few years here in North Carolina.  Those arrested have been proven to have volunteered to be arrested, knowing full well the legal consequences they would face. Now, a judge has lessened those consequences.

Hilariously, the leader of Moral Monday characterized the arrests of those who volunteered as ‘unjust’.

WNCN reported:

RALEIGH, N.C. –Moral Monday protesters, who were arrested April 29, were in court Monday where the judge modified each person’s bond to a $500 unsecured bond and set their next court appearance for Aug. 28.

A lawyer for the protesters argued that the arrests of the 20 protesters were unconstitutional. Police say the protesters, facing 2nd degree trespassing and violation of the fire code, refused to leave an area of the state House.

Rev William Barber, the leader of North Carolina’s NAACP, created the Moral Monday movement and says the arrests were unjust.

“We are here on matter of principal,” Rev. Barber said. “We refuse to give up our constitutional rights on matter of arrest.”

ABC 11 also reported on the story, but the link is dead. A cached copy of the ABC 11 article can be found here. An excerpt of the story reveals who is defending the arrestees:

After the judge told the group their next court date will be Aug. 28th, they then faced another judge who heard a motion to reduce the $500 secured bond set for some of the defendants based, according to their lawyer, on prior moral Monday arrests.

The motion was granted.

“Their bonds are now unsecured and basically, those prior arrests for doing exactly what they did on April 29th will no longer be held against them,” Attorney Geeta Kapur said.

Kapur sits on the board of the “Southern Coalition for Social Justice“.  She also was part of a panel in 2012 organized by the “Organizing Against Racism Alliance“, in which she spoke about ‘sensationalizing crime in our classrooms’.

Going back to the proven fact these arrestees volunteered, we find Ms. Kapur’s name pops up again. From the Atlantic, emphasis added:

4:09 p.m. Barber gathers everyone who plans to be arrested to the front of the sanctuary for photographs and to provide a backdrop as he delivers his message to the press. “All doctors in the front,” he says, referring to the medical  professionals present to protest the repeal of healthcare measures. Taylor and her husband stand immediately to Barber’s left at the podium.

As the press conference begins, Geeta Kapur, an adjunct professor at Campbell University School of Law, asks me for whom I work because she “hasn’t seen me here before.” I tell her I’m covering the protests for The Atlantic, and she doesn’t relent. I finally show her my North Carolina State Bar card, proving I’m a licensed attorney.

“OK. I trust you wouldn’t lie to me,” Kapur says. “I’m just making sure we don’t have any spies.”

So it would appear not only is Ms. Kapur the one representing the volunteer arrestees, she also was vetting them?

RELATED:

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), LEGAL, Moral Monday, Reverend Barber | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

ACTION ALERT: Public Comment Sign-Up For NC Common Core Commission

Posted on June 8, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Action ButtonThe next meeting for the NC Common Core Commission (ASRC) will be June 15th.

The public is being given limited space and time to speak out.  Only 20 people will be given a chance to speak for up to 3 minutes.

SIGN UP TODAY!

DETAILS:

Academic Standards Review Commission – the Commission will meet from1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the State Board of Education Meeting Room, Education Building, 301 N. Wilmington St., Raleigh. Due to limited time and seating, we invite the first 20 interested parties to express their views on how the Common Core State Standards in English and Math may have impacted themselves, their children or the state of North Carolina. Each participant will be given 3 minutes. Please submit your name, email and phone information to Jo Herrera at Jocelyn.Herrera@doa.nc.gov.

The purpose of the meeting is to continue the Commission’s comprehensive review of all English Language and Mathematics standards that were adopted by the State Board of Education under G.S. 115C-12(9c), and propose modifications to ensure that those standards meet all of the criteria listed in Section 2(c) of Senate Bill 812. For more information, please contact Co-Chairs Andre Peek atAndre.Peek@nc.gov or Tammy Covil atTammy.Covil@nhcs.net.

Please visit http://stateboard.ncpublicschools.gov/live-audio-streaming for a live audio stream of the meeting.

Dont mend it end it

UPDATE: I’ve made the list. Parents, GET ON IT!

Posted in Academic Standards Review Commission, Common Core | Tagged | 2 Comments