Post-Mortem of February NC Common Core Commission Meeting

Posted on February 17, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Dont mend it end itDue to inclement weather, many were not able to attend the NC Academic Standards Review Commission (ASRC) meeting yesterday in Raleigh.

I listened in to the live stream of the meeting after fighting with RealPlayer for a bit.

For those who want to see a play by play, check out the Storify Article: NC Common Core Commission meeting 2/16/15

The meeting itself was scaled back and agenda revised.  This meant cutting Dr. Koschnick’s presentation on developmental appropriateness of the Common Core.
*Update: Coastal Carolina Tax Payers Assoc. has sent me their minutes they took of the meeting.

Most of the time was spent on information regarding assessments and the State Board of Education’s testing taskforce.

After the assessment piece was over, they brought in Dr. Blessing from Kentucky to tell us about how Kentucky ‘engaged their community’, in particular there was mention of surveys they did in the state.  Frankly, this presentation was a huge waste of time and a regurgitation of what NC DPI has already said and done.

Major Highlights:

1. Jeannie Metcalf stepped down as Co-Chair. Tammy Covil was elected to take her place.

2. Parent/Stakeholder Survey released.

You have to review the standards line by line and either approve of the standard or say it needs revision with a spot for revision suggestions/comments on the standard at hand.

There is no way to save your spot and come back. You have to complete the section in one shot.

No identifiers are present; anyone can take this survey from anywhere – just like the teacher version.

Be prepared to sit a long time if you do the survey, I did just one grade level in the ELA and it took me over 40 minutes and was over 20 pages long. One has to wonder if the protracted time it takes just to do one grade level in one subject is a bug or a feature?

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Academic Standards Review Commission, Common Core | Tagged | 3 Comments

Policy Wonks. They Just Don’t Get it.

Posted on February 17, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

“Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.”

-Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals

After reading the latest diatribe,  One Size Fits Most, Even in the Suburbs,  from Michael Petrilli, I have a feeling the quote above is on a plaque on his desk. In a nutshell, he now has pulled ‘liberal’ and ‘likely atheist’ suburban moms into the insult fold.

Following Alinsky still, in that article Petrilli is trying to “pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it”. Well, he’s doing it wrong.

Your target has to be specific. Mr. Petrilli is just flailing wildly at any parent he can hit with his mud. In most cases, Alinsky is right and ridicule is a potent weapon.

Moms are not ‘most cases’.

I am a mom hurricaneAttempts to marginalize, smear, belittle, label or intimidate us are futile. You’re actually motivating us, not silencing us.

Moms take a lot of crap (sometimes literally) on a regular basis. We do research better than the FBI.  You are messing with our kids.  When you mess with our kids, we don’t give up until it stops.

Figure it out. Do the math.

I can lay it out as bluntly as possible and the wonks still don’t really get it. Likely they never will. Why? Because they are the “experts”. We are just the “moms”.  We can’t possibly know what is best for our own kids.

Missouri Education Watchdog took Mr. Petrilli to task quite eloquently.  Here’s a quick sample, but do read the whole thing:

So now the narrative is changing from anti-CCSSI suburban (and mostly white) moms being confused, frustrated, Tea Partying Republicans to now moms being labeled liberal atheists who can be satisfied with enrolling their children in charter schools.  Here is my response to Fordham and its solution:

You write:We will never convince them of Common Core’s value, nor should we expect to. Instead, we should allow them to opt their kids out of traditional public schools and into schools (including charters) that are proudly progressive.”

Question: who are the ‘we’ you refer to? And the ‘we’ should ‘allow them to opt their kids out’? Does the ‘we’ include The Fordham Institute? Last time I looked, Fordham is a NGO and has no legal authority in states/school districts. Education reformers seem to have a magnified and delusional role in their minds that they can run roughshod over state constitutions and schools to set their own policies.

I was not as eloquent and I decided just call it like I saw it:

 

RELATED: Parents Against The Common Core: Moms are wiping the floor with Policy Wonks

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core, EDUCATION | 1 Comment

More PR From EducationNC

Posted on February 16, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

More narrative driving.

Let’s look at the 2 major outfits cited in the article as written by John Dornan, of Common Core supporting NC Public Schools Forum:

“John Dornan was the founding executive director of the North Carolina Public School Forum, serving from 1986 to 2011. A native of Pennsylvania, Dornan’s career spanned a variety of positions related to education over 46 years.”

North Carolina New Schools – “A public-private catalyst for Education”

I’ve written about this one before.

It’s costly to be a ‘partner‘ with NC New Schools.
The list is a who’s who of Common Core funders and supporters.  Top “partners”:

Corporate and Foundation Partners INNOVATOR ($500,000+) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation GSK Golden LEAF Foundation Carnegie Corporation of New York

In fact, NC New Schools initial start-up funding of $24 million came from Gates. Government and Community Partners includes the other major outfit cited in the EducationNC article: NC Business Committee for Education (NCBCE).

The president is Tony Habit, the same man advising the NC Superintendent’s Large District Consortium who recommended a “7 year lock in” of Common Core for North Carolina.  Superintendent Frank Till sits on both the Large District Consortium and the NC New Schools leadership staff.

NC Business Committee For Education (NCBCE)

The North Carolina Common Core Academic Standards Review Commission (ASRC) is chaired by Andre Peek, Chair of NCBCE. The NCBE has strong ties with the Jim Hunt Institute, of which has received millions to push Common Core. Peek was picked by Governor McCrory to serve on the ASRC.

In fact, Peek and McCrory sat down and talked about Common Core. It was captured on video.

At 22:10 mark, Peek proudly states the NCBCE has stated that they support the Common Core Standards and they are “standing behind it”. Immediately following that remark by Peek, McCrory tells a story about how he talked to Mrs. Gates on the phone the other day.

Now that you know more about the groups cited, re-read the EducatioNC article.

Related Reading:

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core, EDUCATION | Tagged , | 2 Comments

NC Supreme Court To Hear Opportunity Scholarships Case on 2/17

Posted on February 16, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

According to the NC Supreme Court’s docket list, the Opportunity Scholarships case is slated for Tuesday, February 17th*.  The Opportunity Scholarships are for low-income children and the vast majority of those who applied are minority students.

The lead plaintiff is Alice Hart, of Buncombe county. Other names in the plaintiff list include some of the individuals and statements from the two major organizations filing the suit, the NCAE and NC Justice Center.   NC Justice Center is currently creating public relations-style video testimonials of the plaintiffs.

The main thrust of the original complaint was that these scholarships were unconstitutional and took money from public education budgets.  The complaint also calls these scholarships “vouchers”.

The original complaint did not mention objections specific to religious schools. Now it appears the plaintiffs are going that route.

The News and Record notes the large number of schools having some religious affiliation:

“Three-quarters of the schools accepting voucher students identify a religious creed.

Twenty-six of the 28 schools enrolling at least 10 students are Christian or Muslim.”

The plaintiffs filed an Amicus brief in late January 2015 which has two parts and includes religious instruction language.

Part one, “Taxpayer-Funded Private Schools Do Not Fulfill A Public Purpose” and part two,  “The Constitution Does Not Require The Public To Fund Private Religious Instruction”.

The first part, “Taxpayer-Funded Private Schools Do Not Fulfill A Public Purpose”, includes the following subsets:

  • The voucher program uses taxpayer dollars to support private religious instruction
  • Taxpayer-funded private schools receive minimal public oversight
  • Taxpayer-funded private schools exclude students on the basis of religion, disability, and other characteristics

* Due to weather, the case is postponed.

Plaintiff List for those who wish to look into who is behind the suit:

  • ALICE HART
  • RODNEY ELLIS (NCAE)
  • JUDY CHAMBERS
  • JOHN HARDING LUCAS
  • MARGARET ARBUCKLE
  • LINDA MOZELL
  • YAMILE NAZAR
  • ARNETTA BEVERLY
  • JULIE PEEPLES
  • W.T. BROWN
  • SARA PILAND
  • DONNA MANSFIELD
  • GEORGE LOUCKS
  • WANDA KINDELL
  • VALERIE JOHNSON
  • MICHAEL WARD
  • T. ANTHONY SPEARMAN
  • BRITTANY WILLIAMS
  • RAEANN RIVERA
  • ALLEN THOMAS
  • JIM EDMONDS
  • SASHA VRTUNSKI
  • PRISCILLA NDIAYE
  • DON LOCKE
  • SANDRA BYRD
Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION, LEGAL, NCAE, Opportunity Scholarships (OSP) | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

#DM7: What You Think You Know

Posted on February 15, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

This is a reposting of my weekly Da Tech Guy Column, What You Think You Know.

By A.P. Dillon

You read an article. It raises a question or talks about a particular topic.

You Google. You browse the results, checking out a couple with promising titles. You check Wikipedia. You read quotes from ‘experts’. You do your homework. You think you’ve got the facts and know the truth.

You thought wrong.

What you likely found was misinformation.

Sharyl Attkisson recently gave a talk that outlines this very scenario using the example of a cholesterol drug.

Attkisson explains in the video:

“What if the reality you found was false? A carefully constructed narrative by unseen special interests designed to manipulate your opinion. A Truman Show-esque alternate reality all around you.

Complacency in the news media combined with incredibly powerful propaganda and publicity forces mean we sometimes get little of the truth.”

An applicable recent story combining ‘propaganda and publicity’ would be that of the imposition of environmental regulations based on climate change ‘experts’ and the associated scam.

Sometimes misinformation is really about lack of information or rather, what the media won’t cover. Remember the Gosnell trial? Media? What media?

Shift gears to education for a moment.

Consider the messaging from Common Core supporters. Buzzwords and slick catch phrases sing the praises of these Standards.  Dig deeper, beyond the sales job by ‘experts‘, non-profit and special interest websites, and you find out what a train wreck it really is.

Think of the Common Core, and the related public relations designed to support it, like a brand new house.

It looks great on the outside; impressive even. Most people continue on, admiring it from the outside. A few, however, walk up to the front door to peer inside. That is when things change.  The inside is empty, messy and not at all what the outside represented.

 

DM7 small LL1885A.P. Dillon resides in the Triangle area of North Carolina and is the founder of LadyLiberty1885.com. Her current and past writing can also be found at IJ Review, StopCommonCoreNC.org, WatchdogWireNC and WizBang. Her current writing project is a children’s book series.

 

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION, Media Bias | 1 Comment

It Started With A Tweet About The #NCDEMS

Posted on February 15, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

I received an email from George Fisher this morning in my inbox. The email pointed me at a tweet:

That tweet referenced at Facebook post from Mr. Fisher that read:

Things to consider as Democrats:

As we embrace HKonJ and also Valentine’s Day: let’s not forget that one of the first things the new leader of the North Carolina Democratic Party did in her official capacity was to fire a single mother with two children and a pregnant woman. ‪#‎newNCDP‬ ‪#‎ncpol‬ ‪#‎gotyourback‬

Oh my.  War on Women?

Read all the comments. Fisher has both detractors and supporters weighing in.

A few excerpts from the Facebook Post, including references to NC Dem infighting with ‘circular firing squads’,  ‘spoiled children’ and inferences that the ‘Moral March’ was an echo chamber:

Wayne Abraham George remember our promise to no longer form a circular firing squad? Casey is my friend and even I am sticking to that promise.

Bibi Bowman That disgusts me, and it disgusts me even more that the party would elect someone with those negative “values” to run the party. How can I logically and in good faith remain affiliated with a party whose elected chairperson’s values are so antithetical to mine?

Wayne Abraham No more circular firing squads people. Attack Republicans.

Bibi Bowman Wayne, I can’t see a meaningful difference between PK and a rethuglican. Can you point any out?

George Fisher The day Democrats started going after each other for speaking our minds is the day we put down our Democratic principles and picked up the our enemies ideology. It should not be considered a circular firing squad when we say what we deem appropriate in good consciousness. But, perhaps I’m not dealing with the same Democrats I once considered appreciative of different opinions – other than their own. Whatever happened to creative expressions and dialog? Or, do we now just want to set down at the table with no one other than ourselves?

Grace L Galloway Let’s be real. Emily Frazier brown and her gang of spoiled children are a major cause of the rift in the party. They didn’t get what they wanted and threw a years long tantrum now expecting those they disenfranchised to ” play nice”. I respect the hell out of Wayne Abraham but have found that I can get s whole lot more done as UA. So go for it Bibi Bowman

Chris Telesca That’s ok. Today I was at HKonJ and ran into a former candidate fir NCDP Chair. He said a PK supporter hurled an obscenity at him in front of witnesses. Such sore winners! I’ll believe in unity when I see Keever supporters practicing it when they encounter respectful dissent – not the type that Voller got for two straight years up until last weekend

David W Moore You’ll have to wait until the next quarterly report to analyze the financial health of the NCDP. As for today’s Moral March; I would classify it an utter failure as it gained NO AUDIENCE outside the group members themselves.

David W Moore Chris, 140 groups came together with themselves and attracted some of the Krispy Kreme people over to watch, but remains ineffective on actual voters.

Like I said, go read the whole set of comments. One might observe that the bickering in the comments looks like Establishment GOP arguing with the Tea Party or true Conservatives.

Local media reported that Casey Mann had ‘resigned‘ at the February 7th SEC meeting in order to give the party and it’s new leader, Patsy Keever, a “clean slate“.  Mann was selected by Randy Voller last March.

However, it would appear from his Facebook post that perhaps Mr. Fisher thinks she was forced out?  If Mann is one of the women Fisher is referencing, who is the other?

Ironic? According to Citizen-Times, “The party tried to rebuild unanimity Saturday, as former Chairman David Parker led the crowd in singing “We Are Family,” and speakers criticized GOP policies.”

 

Related: Patsy Keever – Build a Bridge Not a Wall

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Moral Monday, NC Dems, POLITICS NC, Twitter | 1 Comment