ACT 10 NEEDS TO COVER MORE STATE EMPLOYEES

Act 10 was no mistake; in fact, it should be expanded 
Journal Sentinal - Edmund Henschel And Russell Knetzger - 10/4/2014
 http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/act-10-was-no-mistake-in-fact-it-should-be-expanded-b99361706z1-278086621.html 

Where bargaining has been especially deleterious for taxpayers is unions began focusing on fringe benefits, which are hidden from public view and often hidden from employees themselves and under-appreciated by them. It is now common for public employees to receive benefits that cost 50% of their total pay, whereas the private-sector ratio is around 25%. This "fringes strategy" has paid excess dividends to public workers in two costly areas: health insurance and pensions. 

In health insurance, public employees were shielded from the huge run-up in health premiums because they were able to bargain 100% employer pickup of the cost. Such premiums between 1978 and the 2008 economic slump rose 600%, or double the 300% rise in general inflation.

For teachers, they achieved an extra bonus from their employer-paid health insurance. The local unions bargained, and won in 60% of Wisconsin school districts, that the no-bid contract for health insurance go to the insurance company owned by the state teachers union.

That insurance can be called "cadillac coverage." Not only did it have five-way coverage — doctor, hospital, drugs, vision and dental — each was top of the line. For example, in private-sector dental insurance, when it existed, $1,000 per year was the typical limit per patient in the family. A few companies offered $1,200, and a very few $1,500. Some teachers' coverage: $2,000 per patient per year.

In pensions, most private-sector employers contribute up to 3% of wages into the company 401(k) plan, and under 401(k) rules, employees may add another 3%, a total of 6% between them. But because the early retirement feature of the Wisconsin plan is so costly, the plan specifies total contributions as high as 16% a year.

 

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

WISCONSIN WANTS SCHOOL CHOICE FOR ALL CHILDREN

Poll finds strong support for school choice in WI swing districts

http://watchdog.org/170158/school-choice-poll-wisconsin/?roi=echo3-22302545641-22339112-9c295636638ec303508c7e273795c928

Wisconsin Reporter – M. D. Kittle – 9/12/2014

The poll of 500 likely voters, conducted by NMB on Aug. 20-21, found 63 percent of respondents favor allowing education tax dollars to be used for choice programs in private schools. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.38 percent.

 

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

COLLECTIVISM AND SOCIALISTIC CONTROL

Control is the key focus of collectivism

http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/09/control-key-focus-collectivism/

Freedom Outpost – Dale Pflug – 9/5/2014

Americans have been in a 100+ year war to resist the transformation of our republic into a democracy, then to socialism. The American shift to socialism has reached an alarming stage with the move to a powerful centralized federal government. States' rights have been surrendered. During the past 50 years, we have watched socialism increase with the federalization of education, environment control and adoption of national health care with the addition to ObamaCare. (A more appropriate name might be DemocracyCare!)

Individualists, particularly freedom loving Americans, learned the importance of a republic from their Founding Fathers who insisted on maximum freedom and limiting government to its most basic functions. Today, the state has become more powerful while allowing a large role of big corporations with central planning and crony capitalism. Coercion plays an increasing role in ensuring individuals is control by, and serve the will of the state. Nationalization of health care, for example, has forced people to buy health insurance. Big government has invaded every aspect of our lives.

Federal control of the educational system has provided the necessary dumbing down of the citizen that has increased surrender of individual freedoms. Individualism is best characterized by freedom of the individual while control is the key focus of collectivism. Many people wonder if the fate of America is destined to collapse as every collectivist societies that have gone before it. The risks associated with this change are huge. A massive effort to stop this collapse would be costly and take decades to achieve if even possible. Each citizen should study the contrast between individualism and collectivism. There is extensive information available about collectivism on the Internet. A good starting point is: www.freedomkeys.com/collectivism.htm.

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

MILWAUKEE TEACHERS RECEIVE HIGH PAY; STUDENTS NEED HELP

How much are teachers really paid?

http://www.maciverinstitute.com/research/2014/09/report-how-much-are-teachers-really-paid/

MacIver Institute – Nick Novak – 9/3/2014

Elementary school teachers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin are the highest paid amongst the nation's large cities, according to this study from the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy and the National Center for Policy Analysis.

The joint report looks at median elementary school teacher pay, not including fringe benefits, in 60 selected metropolitan areas. Cities were selected on the basis of availability of data, their population and for geographic balance.

Comparing nominal teachers' salaries provides a basic look into educator pay in the United States, but for a true comparison, salaries must be adjusted for the cost of living in each metro area. When adjusted for cost of living, Los Angeles drops from second highest ($74,280 - nominal) to 17th highest ($56,963 - adjusted). New York City drops even further, from third highest ($73,000) to 59th out of 60 ($33,152).

Teachers in Milwaukee do not move from the top spot, however. When adjusted for cost of living, teacher pay drops slightly from $74,540 to $73,078.

While this study looks at median teacher pay, it also questions how well students perform in these cities. Do the metro areas with the highest adjusted teacher pay have students performing at the highest level? The answer is a resounding no.

In fact, of the 19 metro areas that have data available for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) - also known as the Nation's Report Card - the four cities with the worst test scores are the four cities with the highest paid teachers (Detroit, MI; Cleveland, OH; Fresno, CA and Milwaukee, WI).

It is clear that Milwaukee has more work to do when it comes to educational performance. According to the latest statewide standardized testing, only 24.1 percent of fourth-grade students are proficient in math and only 16.8 percent of fourth-grade students are proficient in reading. Both are about half of the statewide average.

While teacher pay varies greatly across the country, Milwaukee makes it clear that higher pay does not always translate into higher test scores. Moving forward, policy makers may need to look to other educational reforms if they intend on better preparing students for success.

Full report – 13-page PDF

http://static.maciverinstitute.com/2014%20Teacher%20Pay%20Report%20-%20NCPA%20MacIver.pdf

 

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

SOCIAL JUSTICE MATH IS REALLY INDOCTRINATION

Is social justice math creeping into your child's math curriculum?
http://www.glennbeck.com/2014/08/28/is-social-justice-math-creeping-into-your-childs-curriculum/
Glenn Beck - 8/28/2014

If you think back to your elementary school years, your math equations probably centered around going to the store and making a purchase or having to make change in some way. Not anymore. Now, progressives are pushing to have themes like climate change and casualties of war worked into these problems. 

“A typical math problem would be you have 13 cents and a green pencil is 3 cents – you know, that sort of problem. They want to get rid of those sorts of problems,” Olson said. “Instead, they want to calculate war deaths, or they want to calculate the number of liquor stores within a particular radius of the school, or problems related to global warming – those sorts of things.”

Ultimately, there is a push to insert a political and ideological bias into areas of the curriculum that should be straightforward and fact-based. 

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

COMMON CORE INSTRUCTION DRIVEN BY PARCC TESTING

As has been stated for over a year, AND during the OCT, 2013 hearings, AND during the SB619 hearings; the goal of the assessments is to drive curriculum per the CEO of PARCC.

In response to PARCC’s press release, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s (R) website published the following statement:

The proponents of Common Core and PARCC continue to insist that tests and standards are not about curriculum, but that’s a ruse. Teachers already know that what is tested at the end of the year is what is taught in classrooms throughout the year. PARCC may not mandate one textbook or one pacing guide, but the CEO of the federally funded PARCC has admitted one thing: PARCC controls instruction and instruction is curriculum.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/08/25/Common-Core-PARCC-CEO-Acknowledges-Goal-of-Assessments-To-Drive-Curriculum

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

IS GOVERNMENT EDUCATION MORE GOVERNMENT THAN EDUCATION?

America’s Socialistic public education system coming under increased criticism

http://godfatherpolitics.com/16115/americas-socialistic-public-education-system-coming-increased-criticism/

Godfather Politics – Dave Jolly – 7/2/2014

In 1979, another liberal Democratic president by the name of Jimmy Carter, separated the education part of the DHEW and made it its own Cabinet position as the Department of Education.

Since that time, the ED (DOE is used for the Department of Energy) has grown from 3,000 employees with an annual budget of $12 billion to nearly 4,200 and annual budget of $77.4 billion and growing.

If you want to know just how vital and important the Department of Education is, consider the fact that in the Sequestration government shutdown last year, nearly 95% of the ED employees were furloughed because they were deemed non-essential. They furloughed 3,983 of their 4,195 employees, leaving a mere 212 people to run the entire department.

Another Rasmussen Report shows that parental support of Common Core has been steadily declining. Last November, 52% of parents with kids in elementary or secondary school favored requiring all schools to adhere to the Common Core Standards. In the most recent survey, only 34% said yes to the same question, a drop of 18% in only 7 months. Seven months ago, 42% of the parents said Common Core would help improve student performance. That has dropped to 37%.

If you are a parent of a child in the public education system, you have the responsibility to find out what your child(ren) are being taught and what they are not allowed to have access to. If the school won’t cooperate, it’s time for you to seriously consider the options of homeschooling or private schooling, if at all possible.

If you don’t take an active role in your child’s public education, you have only yourself to blame. Their future is in your hands. If you blindly turn them over to the public schools, don’t be surprised when he/she/they grow up to be good government loving socialists who turn away from all of your religious and moral values and principles.

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

COMMON CORE IS ENTRENCHED NO MATTER WHAT YOU CALL IT

The Common Core Face-off:  Hiding the Truth about School Choice and Charter Schools

http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/06/the-common-core-face-off-hiding-the-truth-about-school-choice-and-charter-schools/

Freedom Outpost – Anita B. Hoge – 7/1/2014

This is a very long article that shows just how entrenched the federal government is in controlling every aspect of local education.  Does America stand a chance?

Existing state standards? You guessed it! Common Core. Do you see a pattern here? This has happened in several states where Common Core is most controversial. While parents believe Common Core is gone, little do they know those standards were just embedded in the ESEA Title I Flexibility Waivers signed by your state's secretary or superintendent of education. Unfortunately, Oklahoma, Indiana, and South Carolina have taken the bait. Common Core is still there, with other new forceful accountability measures, like Value Added Models (VAM), to be sure teachers are teaching Common Core, and interventions using special education funds from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) called "Response to Intervention." RtI is used for ALL students to make sure they are covered by IDEA to meet Common Core Standards.

The Plan to Use Title I to Expand School Choice to Private and Religious schools

How will EVERY child become Title I? President Johnson's "War on Poverty" gave schools funding, called ESEA Title I, to help those schools where there were concentrations of students who were poor. Interestingly enough, the term was "educationally deprived." So, the issue with the ESEA Flexibility Waiver is that the poverty guidelines were removed. This means that children who qualified for free and reduced lunches, where a school had to have 40% of students that qualified under poverty guidelines, are now in a school where that requirement is reduced to "0%." This means ALL individual children in an entire school can receive federal ESEA Title I funds for EVERY child: the funds "follow the child."

This means that a child is considered "educationally deprived" if he/she does not meet standards. Interestingly, the 'Conservative' organization American Legislative Exchange Council, (ALEC) just released model legislation for choice and charter schools for every state in the country. They refer to students not meeting standards with the term "academically disadvantaged." This is what is needed to move forward with federal "choice." EVERY child must be identified for "choice" funds, no matter where they go to school. Obama has done this through the ESEA Flexibility Waiver.

Now that ALL children in public school are Title I, the Republicans can take over from here. They want "choice" [those Title I funds] for EVERY student who goes to private and religious schools, too! This is a terrible bait and switch deception for those parents and citizens who think that choice means freedom of choice for private and religious education! This is not freedom, nor true choice.

Here is an example of what can happen once your child has the "choice" funds in his/her backpack, with their name allotted to the scholarship, and you (the parent) decide to use this "choice" funding to send your child to Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Washington, Pennsylvania. This school will be mandated by federal law to comply with ESEA, better known as Common Core. This will be disguised as academic standards or College and Career Ready Standards (CCRS). Under this sort of "choice," there can be no discrimination for this Catholic school to turn down a student. [NOTE: This changes the hope that a private school can bypass this issue by just refusing federal funding. The private school must refuse the child. This is where discrimination comes into play.] So, Immaculate Conception must enroll your child. This would be the same for any private school or religious school.

Immaculate Conception will be mandated to administer the federal test. This national test will also evaluate the teachers. If Immaculate Conception School is not teaching Common Core, they will be targeted as a priority or focus school to be brought into compliance with the law. This will be the demise of "private" in your group of "choice" schools. This will be the end of truly private education in America, because your private or religious school just became a government school—it must use the standards passed in your state (Common Core warmed over), and take the assessment aligned to the national curriculum and national test. All schools become government schools with "choice."

Meanwhile, everyone is fiddling around with Common Core, states are taking the caps off the number of charter schools, expanding them, closing down public schools, and sometimes transforming a public school into a charter school. Parent trigger bills are allowing parents to set up charter schools. Charter schools are not private schools. Charters are public schools. They have with no elected boards, but they do have access to public funds.

By supporting the Common Core agenda you have just agreed to diminish our American representative form of government by supporting "choice" and charter schools. Taxation without representation. Will taxes be centralized or regionalized toward a central base? Will the people have any power or voice to change this system?

So, think again. "What is your choice?" Charter schools, private schools, religious schools, and remaining public schools—all conforming to the ESEA federal law with Common Core embedded in the standards. Your state will continue to reduce caps on charter schools, and some public schools will become community "hub centers" or school-based clinics. And lest you forget, SB 1094 also changed the definition of a "Family Member." You, the parent are demoted to a "partner" who is responsible for your child along with many "other" government officials.

Who needs the U.S. Department of Education? Who needs state control of funding when Title I federal funds "follow the child" and do NOT pass through state government? Who needs locally elected school boards when public schools fail?

Removing teacher tenure easily allows traditional teachers who know what is best for children, to be replaced if they do not conform to the Common Core agenda. The Fexibility Waiver is very clear about replacing the principals and the teachers not in compliance. Young, inexperienced Teach For America members are standing on the sidelines ready to jump at the chance to replace traditional teachers. Eager and committed, they will comply with the plan.

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

COMMON CORE BOOTED OUT OF GERMAN TOWN SCHOOLS

Wisconsin school district dumps common core and increases student enrollment

http://politicaloutcast.com/2014/06/wisconsin-school-district-dumps-common-core-increases-student-enrollment/#1PfmIes6OSJvF6xM.01

Political Outcast – Karen Schroeder – 6/25/2014

This will not cause financial problems for the district because Germantown did not purchase Common Core aligned texts. Once the new standards are written, the district will use current dollars budgeted for new texts to purchase curriculum that will meet the expectations of the citizens of Germantown and meet the need of the students in Germantown.

Increased use of technology will be saving the district a lot of dollars normally spent on heavy, quickly outdated textbooks. Medved stated that the district will be relying on the Chromebook, a new, faster computer textbook that is inexpensive to update.

According to Mr. Medved, the Germantown district is considering opting out of the federally aligned tests. If the district finds it cannot opt-out, it will be up to the parents to opt their children out of the testing. Germantown schools would prefer continuing using the MAPS tests to assess student progress. Germantown is working with legislators to obtain a waiver from testing and for finding alternative ways to report progress in the state report card.

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

GOVERNMENT SCHOOL ALTERNATIVES

PUBLIC SCHOOLS ALTERNATIVES
Operation Jericho website:  
www.operationjerichoproject.com 

OPERATION JERICHO RADIO 
http://www.natcure.org/ojp-radio/ 
This is a weekly blog radio program that discussed government schools in America.

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

COMMON CORE TESTING - ARE THE BIDS RIGGED IN FAVOR OF PEARSON?

Bid-rigging lawsuit throws $240M-a-year Common Core testing contract into limbo

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/06/11/core-business-major-testing-company-pearson-lands-controversial-common-core/

Fox News – Perry Chiaramonte – 6/18/2014

Pearson, the largest company in standardized testing, stands to take in as much as $240 million per year if it secures a contract to administer testing of millions of students. But the contract has been stalled by a New Mexico judge after a rival company complained the bidding process was set up to ensure Pearson won.

“The procurement for PARCC Operational Assessments is fundamentally flawed in several critical ways,” reads a summary from AIR’s January filing. AIR claims it could not develop testing materials because it did not have access to necessary information, which PARCC gave only to Pearson. 

Under the contract, Pearson would charge $24 per student, and would test between 5.5 million and 10 million students per year.

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

NORTHLAND PINES GROWTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT CLASS

Input sought from public for Pines’ health classes
http://www.vcnewsreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19157:input-sought-from-public-for-pines-health-classes&catid=28:current-users&Itemid=37

In March, the Vilas County News-Review published a survey that had been distributed to students in health class at Northland Pines, asking teens to discuss with their parents the child’s feelings about engaging in risky sexual behavior. Many adults had concerns about some questions.

In April, the Northwoods Patriots hosted Julaine Appling of the Wisconsin Family Council to explain the Wisconsin state statute regarding the human growth and development (HGD) curriculum. Since 2012, all K-12 schools in Wisconsin are bound by State Statute 118.019.

The statute specifically identifies 7 instructional topics that include:  Abstinence as the only reliable way to prevent pregnancy and STD’s,  medically accurate information about human papilloma virus (HPV), HIV and AIDS, pregnancy, prenatal development and childbirth, parental responsibility and the socio-economic benefits of marriage, abstinence as the preferred choice of behavior for non-married students, criminal penalties for engaging in sexual activity involving a child and sex offender registration requirements. 

The statute requires the school board on an annual basis provide parents of each pupil enrolled in the school district with an outline of the human growth and development curriculum used in the pupil’s grade level and information regarding how the parent may inspect the complete curriculum and instructional materials.  In addition, the curriculum and instructional materials must be made available for inspection at any time upon request.

Students can be exempted from HGD instruction if the student’s parent files a written request with the teacher or school principal.

In addition, this statute requires that any school district that offers a HGD curriculum must appoint an advisory committee composed of parents, teachers, school administrators, pupils, health care professionals, members of the clergy and other residents of the school district to advise the school board on the design and implementation of the curriculum.

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction:  Section 2: State Statutes 2

The first meeting for the Northland Pines committee is scheduled for June 24 and I will be on that committee, participating as a local resident, and would like to be your voice for the entire committee.

Please contact me if you have concerns about what had been taught at Northland Pines this past year. In addition, please send me your suggestions for future health classes at Northland Pines. My address and phone number are in the telephone book.

Shirley Kufeldt - Conover
northwoodspatriotscomm@gmail.com

http://www.vcnewsreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19157:input-sought-from-public-for-pines-health-classes&catid=28:current-users&Itemid=37

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

SEX ED - NOT YOUR MOM AND POP EDUCATION ANYMORE

Reading, Writing, Recreational Sex - The New Curriculum
http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/06/sex-education-curriculum-americas-kids-reading-writing-recreational-sex/
Freedom Outpost - Lily Dane -  6/9/2014

Parents are having problems with trusting public schools as safe havens for their cihldren

In recent years, the news has been flooded with more and more stories of sex infiltrating our schools. The stories range from those about questionable sex education curriculum to teachers having inappropriate relationships with students.

Since when is it up to schools to do that? Now they want to dictate what parents and their children talk about regarding personal relationships? Who gets to decide what “dating expectations” are for any given age group?


Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

COMMON CORE - DR. DUKE PESTA

Dr, Duke Pesta - YouTube - Common Core - Two Hours

Just turn the video on when you're near your computer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si-kx5-MKSE#t=7299 

Common Core seeks to separate children from their parents - STATISM

Freedom Project Education
www.fpeusa.org

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

COMMON CORE - PEARSON EDUCATION HOLD THE COPYRIGHT

10 Common Core exercises that will make you tear your hair out

http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2014/05/13/10-common-core-exercises-that-will-make-you-tear-your-hair-out/

The Blaze – Benjamin  Weingarten – 5/13/2014

Scroll down to view the school children’s workpages. 

Makes no sense to rational adults.

Copyright by Pearson Education.

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNTS – MORE STATES SHOULD SIGN ON

How Far School Choice Policies Have Come in Two DecadeS

http://blog.heritage.org/2014/05/12/far-school-choice-policies-come-two-decades/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningbell

Heritage – Lindsey Burke – 5/12/2014

It’s amazing how far school choice options have come in a little more than two decades. From Milwaukee’s first-in-the-nation school voucher option in 1990 and the first charter school opening its doors in Minnesota in 1992, parental choice in education has advanced considerably, and innovation in school choice policy has taken shape in ways that were inconceivable in those early years. Today, 39 private school choice programs operate in 18 states and Washington, D.C.

When it was enacted in 2011, the Arizona ESA option was available only to children with special needs. Every year since has brought expansions to the program. Today, children with special needs as well as children from active duty military families, children of fallen soldiers, children in Arizona’s foster care system and children from low-income families assigned to underperforming public schools are eligible for the accounts.

Just as parents have looked to one another in the ESA program for advice about what works well for their children, so too have states begun to take cues from one another, replicating the most promising policy innovations. Last week, the Florida legislature passed legislation to create the Florida Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts—the Sunshine State’s version of ESAs. Florida would become the second state to embrace the most innovative option to date in school choice.

The combination of innovative education financing models such as ESAs, in conjunction with the growth of online learning, allows for education options that are truly customized and student-centered and are a far cry from the one-size-fits-all public education system. School choice policy has come a long way over the past two decades, and as Arizona’s experience has demonstrated, ESAs are the way of the future as states consider how to bring innovation, competition and choice into their education systems.

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

DPI'S HIGHLY COMPENSATED BUREAUCRATS

DPI’s highest compensated employees get richer

http://watchdog.org/143821/dpi-bonus-awards/?roi=echo3-20432738579-19722643-606038dfbb1d25822f3da53e0ea66a9e

Wisconsin Reporter – Ryan Ekvall – 5/9/2014

Since June 2012, the department has handed out bonuses to 117 employees. The department employs 487 people, according to the staff directory. Four employees received two bonuses in the past two years.

In total, the department handed out $398,140 in permanent pay increases and $63,700 in one-time cash payments, records showed.

While most state employees received raises of 1 percent pay, it was best to be in Evers’ inner circle. Seven of 11 in Evers’ cabinet, who already make more in annual salary than 95 percent of Wisconsin workers, received an additional $30,230 in bonus compensation in the past two years.

“We’re sucking up money from poor, rural farming communities and giving it to handpicked administrators on criteria that isn’t even articulated to the public,” said Rae Ann McNeilly, executive director of Taxpayers United of America, a government watchdog organization which works in Illinois and Wisconsin. “The money goes into this big money pot and the bureaucracy grows.”

“Taxpayers need to be aware of where their money is going,” McNeilly said. “The bureaucrats don’t want you to see it. This is the problem with removing local control in education. We are siphoning money away from taxpayers up to a bureaucracy and removing it from the students DPI purports to be collecting it on behalf of.”

Two-page PDF - DPI Compensation Awards since June 2012

http://watchdog.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/05/DPIbonuses.pdf

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

COMMON CORE: WHAT SHOULD IT BE DEBATED?

Common Core – No intelligence allowed

http://eaglerising.com/6073/common-core-intelligence-allowed/

Eagle Rising – David Whitley – 5/9/2014

There are two things stand out in this explosive news story that has been all over the internet that should get the attention of parents of school age children everywhere.

The first is just how clearly Common Core shows itself to work, (the horror stories are legion) pushing kids into finding their own answers, versus learning true facts and gaining true knowledge. Facts of history are objective truth. What these Common Core exercises accomplish, what they are meant to accomplish, is to give comfort to students’ personal, subjective, and emotional conclusions.

The second thing we see is that Common Core -- rather than enhancing thinking -- is actually replacing critical thinking skills with emotional based outcomes. This is something liberals have perfected -- basing decisions on emotion and not rational thinking. Is Common Core the final tool of the left to wrestle full control of our children from their parents?

Do high school students no longer need to read Plato’s “Republic” in the ninth grade, or “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” in tenth? Do we no longer need to read the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or Lincoln’s anti-slavery response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision?

Perhaps this is why Common Core is moving towards more "informational texts" and "sexualized stories"

  

So within Common Core, we can debate whether the Holocaust is true, but…

• Can we debate global warming or global cooling?
• Can we debate macro evolution or intelligent design?
• Can we debate Common Core?
• Can we debate the harm of an invasion of illegals?
• Can we debate abortion? Whether it stops a beating heart?
• Can we debate if second hand smoke is actually deadly?
• Can we debate the harmful effects of legalizing marijuana?
• Can we debate the cultural harm of same-sex marriage?
• Can we debate the personal harm of homosexuality?
• Can we debate whether a property owners rights trump a rat or tortoise?
• Can we debate historical fallacies in the History Alive! textbook?
• Can we debate the 1,400 years of Islamic terror, slavery and murder?
• Can we debate whether jihadists are actually following Islamic holy texts?
• Can we debate whether or not the First Amendment applies beyond Congress?
• Can we debate whether or not the Second Amendment protects an individual right?
• Can we even debate at all in America anymore?

The simple answer to these questions is no.

You see, liberals have a copyright on "Intelligence" and anyone trying to use it; is to be shouted down or sued.

The left will shut you down -- not with speeches, but with single words, slung like arrows, shot like bullets.  They will label you racist, sexist, bigot, prejudiced, intolerant, homophobic, or Islamophobic.

How do these words shut down debate and take effect, you might ask? You might recall the poetic words of yesterday, "Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never harm me." But today these words are no longer valid, for the words used by liberals are more than mere descriptions -- they are weapons, like the exploding money bag that splatters the thief with purple dye. Your name is discolored and you are thereby deemed a political leper forever more.

I RECOMMEND EVERY PARENT SEEK OUT THE READING LIST FOR THE SCHOOL IN WHICH THEIR CHILD ATTENDS AND MAKE SURE THE STANDARDS OF YOUR SCHOOL ARE HIGHER THAN THE STANDARDS OF COMMON CORE OR THE SUPERINTENDENTS WHO DEFEND IT.

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

OBAMA-CONOMY - NOT HIRING THOSE NEW COLLEGE GRADS

Obama’s Economy in Action !  Just 17 PERCENT of college grads have real jobs waiting

http://dailycaller.com/2014/05/08/obamas-economy-in-action-just-17-percent-of-college-grads-have-real-jobs-waiting/?advD=1248,47631

Daily Caller – Eric Owens – 5/9/2014

Overall, the survey says, a paltry 17 percent of students have managed to land any kind of real job. That’s as of April.

Not surprisingly, given the need to make a living and pay off onerous student loans for the next few decades, 73 percent of the college seniors surveyed said they would very much like to have a job.

Even students who chose to major in in-demand career fields have reported serious trouble finding work, according to the AfterCollege survey. Among seniors who are about to get degrees in engineering, math and technology, for example, 81.6 percent are still seeking jobs.

Among business majors, just over 85 percent are still furiously and fruitlessly sending out resumes.

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country

EDUCATIONAL CHOICE - KANSAS

Educational opportunity continues to expand:  Kansas now a school choice state

http://blog.heritage.org/2014/05/03/educational-opportunity-continues-expand-kansas-now-school-choice-state/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_content=DD140505&utm_campaign=dailydigest

The Foundry – Brittany Corona – 5/3/2014

Last week, Governor Sam Brownback (R) signed into law Kansas’ first school choice scholarship program—making it the 24th state to adopt private school choice.

Corporations that contribute to scholarship-granting organizations (which provide vouchers to low-income children and children with special needs to attend a private school of choice) can receive up to a 70 percent credit for their total tax liability. The credits are capped at $10 million, and eligible students can receive scholarships of up to $8,000 to attend a private school of choice. In order to be eligible, students must be assigned to a public school deemed “failing” by the state board of education and be from families who have a gross-income less than or equal to 130 percent of the federal poverty level or $30,615 for a family of four.

A conservative estimate offered by the Friedman Foundation suggests that some 35,000Kansas children could receive scholarships thanks to the new law.

“This is a win for Kansas students. This is a win for parents. … And it’s a win for property taxpayers,” said Brownback. These are “some of the most significant reforms we’ve seen for several years in the state.”

The new school choice program was part of a larger school-financing package that addresses the state Supreme Court order in Gannon v. Kansas. The court held that funding disparities between school districts violated the state’s Constitution. The legislature bridged the gap by providing choice to parents, raising the base aid per student to $4,492 (a 17 percent increase over current level), and ending teacher tenure.

With this reform Kansas is “putting the parent back in the driver’s seat of their kid’s education,”says James Franko, policy director of the Kansas Policy Institute.

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country