IS THAT WHERE YOU WANT YOUR MONEY TO GO?

I have always been against the idea that my union dues go to causes that I fundamentally disagree with. If anyone wants to make a donation to any of those causes, more power to them. Just not with my money, my union dues. Because of the spiteful and brutal manner that they routinely and smugly operate with I am hesitant to go through the process (I attempted it once). 

Neil McCabe  wrote a pretty good article on this. Give it a read and tell me what you think. http://townhall.com/columnists/neilmccabe/2013/05/12/chalkboard-rebellion-in-the-golden-state-n1591943/page/full

Have a great day! 

PTVoice

Common Core or just another con?

Common Core standards. Another "gift" from the federal government. As an educator anytime someone out of the classroom comes up with an idea, I get nervous. The further they are away from the actual classroom with real live students the more dangerous the directive. Common Core Standards fits right in with all the other "great ideas" from those who don't know or should know better. Rachel Alexander has written a great peace entitled 

"Common Core: What's Hidden Behind the Language".

"Conservatives are in an uproar over Common Core, an educational curriculum being forced upon the states by the Obama administration, which is scheduled to be mostly implemented this year in the 46 states that have adopted it. Common Core eliminates local control over K-12 curriculum in math and English, instead imposing a one-size-fits-all, top-down curriculum that will also apply to private schools and homeschoolers.

Superficially, it sounds good. It creates universal standards that supposedly educate all children for college. But along with the universal standards come a myriad of problems, which the administrators of Common Core are disingenuously denying. The American Principles Project released an analysis last year of Common Core, exposing the duplicitous language. Common Core describes itself as “internationally benchmarked,” “robust,” “aligned with college and work expectations,” “rigorous,” and “evidence-based.” None of this is true."

http://townhall.com/columnists/rachelalexander/2013/03/18/common-core-whats-hidden-behind-the-language-n1537017?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

The more I read about it the less I like them. What's the old saying, "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts"? How about beware of your federal government taking over your state and local governments choice to teach your students as best as you see fit.

OK my fellow educators, do you know what the common core standards really are

WE NEED AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM

I am deeply concerned about the state of our American educational system. I have been in education of over 23 years now and I have seen quite of few exceptional educators teaching in some very difficult situations. I have one son who is now part of the working class. One son who is putting himself through college. A daughter in middle school and a son in elementary school. Education is all around me. 

What is raising the warning flag for me is the Department of Education and it's current influence. I believe it is a financially silly practice to send money to the federal government to have them redistribute it where they see fit. To do so assures that a certain percentage of local tax dollars will never see a school or a classroom because it will be used to finance the people who redistribute it. That is just a plain waste of taxpayer money. 

Candice Lanier in her article Government Information Documents Replace Traditional Curriculum as Feds Seize More Control of Schools (http://redpillreport.net/2012/12/17/government-information-documents-replace-traditional-curriculum-as-feds-seize-more-control-of-schools/) describes how teachers are having to sacrifice some classic texts for what I can only describe as government propaganda. The race to the top has turned out to be trap. It is not about teaching to standards and test score which has been a source of discontent for many educators for the last decade, it is about teaching a very narrow indoctrination. That is where I am afraid this government is now headed. 

Now I am going to get down to my real concern. This is not about Democrats opposed to Republicans, this is about the American ideals opposed to socialist ideals. It is no secret that most universities are run by left leaning (to say the least) elitists. They use revisionist history to rewrite history to suit their political agenda. They have swallowed the media by training journalist to be liberal propagandists. High school teachers feel the need to push their opinions on children with brutal force. I know. I fought it even 30 years ago. Now it is only worse. 

In Los Angeles they are naming Elementary schools schools of social justice! Are you kidding me? Social justice!? I taught through the whole multicultural charade. What it produced was culturally aware illiterates who could not think by themselves but were easily manipulated by emotional pleas. You know, "the rich people don't pay their fair share!" "Those tea party people are bigots!"It is just like being on a schoolyard when some manipulative punk plays a sucker with the old "Did you here what he/she said about your mama?" maneuver. It was very successful politically. The last two elections demonstrate this to the tee. 

I have come to the place where I think our educational system is hopeless. I don't think that the universities can be won back over. I believe a new group of universities need to be formed. I think they need to be financed by the business community. I believe that they must be cost effective. Meaning affordable and well run. America needs places of higher education where the constitution is taught with respect and an understanding that it is no simple compilation of ideas. There must be an alternative to the current university system because if we don't be just be another socialist state.