30 years ago in BC we had province-wide discussions about education and changes recommended.
A well-prepared pamphlet laid out the scenarios and issues — Let's Talk About Schools.
This is my third post itemizing the 41 specified issues — though people were encouraged to add anything else to the discussions they felt needed attention.
30. Should funds to schools be targeted for specific purposes?
31. Should financial resources be shared equally between elementary, intermediate and secondary schools on a per capita basis? Should school districts utilize school-based budgeting systems?
32. Are existing levels of funding adequate to meet current public expectations for schools?
33. Should parental and pupil responsibilities be specifically codified in law?
34. Should parents be allowed to keep their children at home and provide schooling for their youngsters
themselves? Should parents receive assistance in schooling children at home?
35. Should a period of compulsory schooling exist or should pupils be required instead to attain certain levels of achievement? Is the present period of compulsory attendance for children aged seven to 15 satisfactory? If not, what should be the period of compulsory attendance?
36. Do current training programs for teachers offer adequate preparation for careers in the classroom? Who should set policies for teacher education programs and certification? Are current provisions for in-service or professional development adequate?
37. Should professional development or the "upgrading" of teacher qualifications be made a condition of continuing employment? Should teachers be permitted to teach only in the subject and grade areas in which they are trained?
38. How can teacher professionalism be demonstrated? How can it be monitored and evaluated? Who should monitor and evaluate teacher professionalism?
39. Should school principals be granted greater authority in designing school programs? Or in administering resources allocated to their schools?
40. If individual schools had their own school councils what would such a development mean to the role and responsibilities of principals?
41. Should school principals be part of an employee bargaining unit? If so, should this bargaining unit be the same one that represents teachers?
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
.