I’m mad because of everything you described, and more.

I’m mad because Obama will (not might WILL) be O-bombing our schools when his US Dept of Education issues national academic standards and mandates then for every school in the country in December, and no one seems to give a hoot – even conservatives.

President gives a speech to kids and we’re up in arms. The President convenes and funds a committee dictate a national curriculum and we do and say nothing (the committee is called the Common Core State Standards Initiative, it’s backed by the US Dept of Education, and 48 states have singed onto the effort because they were threatened by Secretary Duncan with the loss of federal funding for education is they didn’t). Which issue has the greater potential to harm children in the long run? Yet that issue hasn’t gotten one breath of attention. That makes me very angry.

I’m glad Obama and his fellows on the left showed their true intent, because that woke the sleeping giant. The American people are paying attention now, close attention, for the first time in a long long time. Conservatives are fighting back, against false and baseless accusations and claims by liberals.

Had McCain been elected (and I manned the phone banks and knocked on doors for him) the liberals wouldn’t have been able to be as overt in their efforts. We might not be as angry, but that slow incremental loss of liberty would be continuing without us muttering a sound. Because Obama was elected and the Democrats got their super-majorities, they can do pretty much whatever they want. And they are – or at least they’re trying to.

In a weird sort of way, I’m glad for that. Because the sleeping giant wouldn’t have been awakened had Obama not been elected and the Democrats gotten a super-majority.

I posted a couple of overviews on my diary.

http://www.redstate.com/monstermom/2009/06/20/three-blind-mice/

http://www.redstate.com/monstermom/2009/06/15/nationalizing-public-schools/

Here’s a link to a blog that spells the issue out better than I can with fewer words, lots of quotes, and citations for everything.

http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/2009/02/translating-arne-duncan.html

Here’s a link to Arne Duncan’s testimony before the House Education and Labor Subcommittee where he says that federal “stabilization” funds will only be provided to schools and districts which “promise to improve the quality of their academic standards”

http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2009/05/05202009.html

Here’s a link a Bloomberg article noting where Duncan threw his support behind the Common Core Standards initiative and suggested that the $5 billion in stimulus funds will be available to those schools which play nicely.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aXp_0t1dgo_Q&refer=us

Here’s a link to the Washington Post article noting that Secretary Duncan has released $350 million in federal stimulus funds to facilitate the development of a new national assessment.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/14/AR2009061402660.html

Here’s a link to the CCSSO release announcing the state which have joined the initiative.

http://www.ccsso.org/whats_new/press_releases/13359.cfm

Here’s the link explaining what the initiative is doing and what it requires – Page 2 explains that states which have joined the initiative have agreed to adopt at least 85% of the standards developed by the initiative.

http://www.corestandards.org/Files/CCSSIOne-Page.pdf

Here’s a link to the initial draft of the high level objective for the standards.

http://www.corestandards.org/Standards.htm

Here’s a very long link to the members of the Work Group who are drafting the standards. A small group of folks have been trying to follow the money behind the effort and have discovered that many of the people on the work group either were part of Obama’s campaign or were major contributors and many work for assessment companies which are set to make a bundle with the new national assessment they’re developing.

http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.6c9a8a9ebc6ae07eee28aca9501010a0/?vgnextoid=60e20e4d3d132210VgnVCM1000005e00100aRCRD&vgnextchannel=759b8f2005361010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD

Here’s a link about the process being followed to draft the national standards from a contributor to Education Weekly.

http://jaypgreene.com/2009/06/09/the-national-standards-sausage-making/

Here’s a link to the Washington Post article about the effort.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/31/AR2009053102339.html

Here’s a link to the Common Core State Standards Site

http://www.corestandards.org/

As you can see from the site, they are keeping their deliberations very quiet and there is no mechanism for feedback and adjustment once the standards are drafted.

The initiative is being sold as a state lead effort,but with $5 billion in federal stimulus funds behind it and Obama followers all over the group drafting the standards, that assertion is difficult to buy.

It is a complicated issue, and there is some merit to what Duncan is saying. But national standards is frightening. It’s hard enough getting rid of a crummy textbook when your local school picks one. Imagine trying to convince the federal government when it’s got the NCTM behind it that giving calculators to 5 year old’s is bad.