From the pamphlet — Let's Tallk About Schools — which help frame discussions (BUT not limited just to these items) here are more os the 41 issues:
20. Is the separation of authority to govern the public schools suitable in light of current conditions? Should school
board requests for greater autonomy be met? Should school board powers be reduced, expanded, or remain
the same? Would enlargement of school board autonomy Improve the effectiveness of schools?
21. What processes and mechanisms might be devised to ensure that the Provincial Government and school boards
remain accountable to society at large, and responsive to the needs of local communities?
22. Is the current system of political accountability satisfactory or should new instruments of accountability, such
as recall and local initiative be considered?
23. Should individual schools be permitted to have a school council made up of parents and other community
members? To what extent should such councils have powers delegated by school boards?
24. Should all school board employees be covered by the same collective bargaining rules?
25. Should the present system of bargaining be retained? If not, how should it be changed? Should the scope of
bargaining be expanded?
26. Should compulsory and binding arbitration be retained for teachers? Should strikes and lockouts be permitted
as an alternative to arbitration?
27. Who should set levels of school board spending? The Province? Local school boards? The Province and School
boards together?
28. Should school boards be allowed to raise taxes above those required to sustain basic levels of school service
determined by the Province?
29. Is the goal of equality in schooling best served by the Province establishing a basic level of service that must be
provided in all school districts?
[more later]
Tunya Audain
It’s International !
These “common core” goals are being imposed, under different guises, in different parts of the world. Australia developed a New National Curriculum — six years in the making under Labor — which is now under Review by a new conservative government.
In Canada we have different provinces moving to 21st Century Skills but they’re on par with CC due to their radical shift from the 3Rs to competencies — collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, global citizenship, etc.
The one statement of Huckabee’s I do agree with is this: “I am steadfast in my belief that parents – parents – should ultimately decide the best venue for their children’s education, whether it’s public schools, private schools, religious schools, or home schools.”
It’s this viewpoint that needs much stronger advocacy from politicians and public. Anyone watching CC and its implementation will clearly see a lot of agents and private businesses far-removed from the local ground level in education. They will clearly see how these international efforts at standardizing — effectively dumbing down — are being coercively imposed. These methods and the “who’s who” alone should condemn CC and its spinoffs.
Parents are the very last to comprehend this radical usurpation of their primary role in education.
A professor at Hillsdale has done us all a great service because he not only studied the curriculum path but also the Teacher Guides. Terrence Moore, in his videos and book, describes part of the material on “Frankenstein”. A “hands-on” experience is to view a skit from “Saturday Night Live”. In the skit the word “fascist” is used. This is the instruction to the teacher:
“Point out the use of the term ‘fascist’. Explain its traditional political meaning and how it has been extended to refer to any right-wing extremist group.”
Naturally, some CC critics refute this “fascist” label and are taking this rather personally. However, some might simply see this as classical projection — the kettle calling the pot black. So, in a way, this is very revealing! It’s certainly adding to the mounting anxieties about 21st Century Learning campaigns
.