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‘Obstacles’ Category

  1. Race to the middle

    March 3, 2014 by Tunya

     

    Congratulations, TDSB!  Flat is in!  Right in the middle!  Is this happenstance as TDSB apologists claim or is it deliberate dumbing down?

    Was this a leadership project guided by graduates of the FLAT CURRICULUM PROGRAM?

    Consider this:  Al Gore comes to Toronto for some coal fumes alleviation ceremony with Kathleen Wynne, Ontario Premier.  See the headlines for Nov 21, 2013 Al Gore and Kathleen Wynne to hold love-in.

    But, is it a coincidence that a day after Al Gore’s visit, Wynne announces: “Ontario education needs to move beyond focus on 3Rs to foster skills like creativity, collaboration, community and critical thinking.”?http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/11/21/premier_kathleen_wynne_ontario_education_needs_to_move_beyond_focus_on_3rs.html

    Why do I mention Gore?  Because he connects with the movements that want to curtail prosperity in aid of sustainability programs.  Because he has connections with the Fabians, the 130 year old organization dedicated to spreading global socialism — incrementally and irreversibly — motto:  Educate, Agitate, Organize.

    I was alerted to the global agenda last year when an education official from our Ministry of Education spoke to parents.  This was one month before our provincial election May 14, 2013. The message was to this effect:  Be prepared for a shift in education, a transformation, from content to competencies.  We must test what we value — the competencies: collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking.  It doesn’t matter who wins the election. The changes are going ahead. It’s international.

    Coming back to the FLAT CURRICULUM.  Is this a joke?  No.

    It’s a full-fledged program originating with a professor in Australia, Julie Lindsay, providing credit courses and presentations on global education and related to UNESCO programs.  Here is her book:

    “Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time (Pearson Resources for 21st Century Learning). 

    So does TDSB fit?  For those of us outside the TDSB orbit, will there be a “flattener” come to our town soon?  Remember what I keep saying about Alberta education — the tall poppies needed to be cut down.  Alberta’s former exemplary international school performance rating has now suffered significant slippage. The gurus have left town and the levelers carry on.

    Category Education Reform, Obstacles, Parent Tribal Memory | Tags: | No Comments

  2. Limbo Is Normal For BC Education — Chapter TWO

    March 2, 2014 by Tunya

    Continuing to develop and prove that outright collusion between our two warring parties in BC education — BCTF vs government-of-the-day — is the norm and a DESIRED state for the reasons of mutual dependence by the two parties on a relatively stable monopoly system.  We can track when this contest started. A contest, which I keep reminding readers, leaves the consumer — students, parents, and taxpaying public — sidelined and forsaken — in limbo.

    Our BC education historian, Prof Thomas Fleming, wrote an article that lays out the scenario.  As in his book, Worlds Apart, this article goes to 1972 when BC voted in its first socialist government, the NDP. BC has a rather exacting bi-political demographic — 25 % committed socialist, 25% committed conservatives, and 50% floaters. Teachers, with the aid of their unions, generally rally to the left and in this case helped bring in the new government.  Quote from the section Teacher Power:

    “The BCTF executive was by now firmly in the hands of militants, notably supporters of the “radical Marxist” Jim McFarlan, to use historian F. Henry Johnson’s description, who was twice voted Federation president in the early 1970s. McFarlan and his group within the Federation believed schools should be used as instruments of social change, a view earlier espoused by American educational reconstructionists in the 1930s. McFarlan was not at all shy about exercising his political clout.”


    http://library.queensu.ca/ojs/index.php/edu_hse-rhe/article/viewArticle/454/611

    Radical unions, including teacher unions, believe in worker control of the workplace.  It was from 1972 that our perennial school wars started which carry on to this day. 

    Despite all their feuding, the BCTF and government-of-the-day remain an exclusive club to this day.  How independent schools began to thrive in this climate is an untold story.  Perhaps there was some backroom deal to obtain the acquiescence of the union.  Whatever, canny intelligence within Headquarters has usually succeeded in calling the shots, yet helping retain the institutional status quo.

    Literature pays tribute to the sophistication of the BCTF in their struggles.  Lois Weiner in her book, “The Future of Our Schools”, says, “The British Columbia Teachers Federation is a fine example of how to organize for a successful strike, even when defying the courts.”

    Use of psychological warfare and propaganda techniques is also employed.  In the article,  “Structuring reality so that the law will follow”, Sara Slinn quotes Larry Kuehn, ex BCTF president, as saying: “The key to our strategy was to restructure ourselves in a way which assumed that we had the right to bargain the whole range of things and then to try to take that into the bargaining arena … the strategic view was that if we did that for a period of time and we have restructured the reality then the law would follow. “http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Structuring+reality+so+that+the+law+will+follow:+British+Columbia…-a0274699540

    Sure, today we again see the saber-rattling, but looks like the two parties are still playing footsie.  Yesterday’s Globe and Mail article on the topic of Math in Canada produced this precious comment:  “In BC, the worst math teacher I know, the one who confused my kid so much we had to hire a tutor, is now part of the panel developing the math curriculum. Why? Not because of any math knowledge, but because he’s high-up in the union.”  So even while teachers and parents are having “misgivings” about a new curriculum being developed behind closed doors, by this comment it may seem that unionists are getting spots on plum committees as a method to gain union cooperation and forestall obstacles.

    Producer capture reigns supreme.  Consumers get shorted as these two parties do faux battles to again manufacture “labour peace”.  Trust us! 

    Category Education Reform, Obstacles, Parent Tribal Memory | Tags: | No Comments

  3. Limbo is normal for bc education

    March 1, 2014 by Tunya

    Limbo — the state of being disregarded or forgotten, neglected, abandoned, forsaken, deserted, disregarded.

    The latest court cases, appeals, and collective bargaining muddles in BC have caused a news article to conclude that we could be in “limbo for months to come.” That’s nothing new.  Seems we’re always in limbo.

    The “limbo” status in British Columbia specifically applies to parents and students in the public education system.  For over 40 years the education system has been a contest between two strong foes vying for supremacy — the teacher’s union (BCTF) and the government of the day. It doesn’t matter the political stripe of the government — socialist, conservative or liberal — the union presents as Alpha Males.

    It’s not just collective bargaining times that are fraught with turmoil.  There are regular disputes, protests, and grievances to contend with.  The media treats all this as a blood sport, because it’s all so “quotable” and makes headlines.

    This 4-decade battle has been well-chronicled in education historian Thomas Fleming’s book, “Worlds Apart: BC Schools, Politics and Labour Relations Before and After 1972”. http://www.bendallbooks.com/catalog/publications/worlds-apart-british-columbia-schools-politics-and-labour-relations-before-and-after-1972/

    BUT, regardless of how flagrant the School Wars figure in our landscape, these two foes, like spatting spouses, do NOT take much notice of any third party. Of course, lip service is paid — “We want the best for the children”, but that rings hollow.

    What is acutely evident from having lived here all this time is that this is a well orchestrated collusion.  Neither party wants to upset “the monopoly system” which provides so much security and a steady captive audience from which they enjoy mutual benefit.  Whether it’s “labour peace” or “quiet during the Winter Olympics 2010” they usually arrange some sweetheart deal because of blatant “MUTUAL NEED”. 

    Alternative schools, choices, charters, education savings accounts where the education dollar follows the child — all these proven and innovative options are dismissed and discouraged.  At a time when so much is known about how different approaches are working, especially for special needs students, and with the challenges ahead because of technology and a demanding world, it is truly a pity that we have to be stuck perpetually in this catfight, this limbo.

     

    Category Education Reform, Obstacles, Parent Tribal Memory, Teacher Unions | Tags: | No Comments

  4. Soviet Psychological Warfare — a factor in education subversion ?

    February 26, 2014 by Tunya

    Water off a duck's back.

    Why do sane, sensible people — those with tons of evidence about the folly of imposing untested and dubious education experiments on our young people — get so easily dismissed and cast as troublemakers, or worse?

    Could it be that we've been taken over by an alien ideology whose very proof of its entrenchment is the easy destruction of its critics?

    An old video of an interview with a Soviet Defector during the Cold War explains the techniques the KGB used to infiltrate the US.  What this video demonstrates is not just American penetration but also that of other Western nations, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Australia.

    Here are some clips from the video

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlmEp3s6lwg#t=192

    " . . . the main empahsis of the KGB is not on intelligence at all.

    85 % spent on a slow process ideological subversion, or active measures, Or psychological warfare  — to change the perception of reality of every American to such an extent, that despite the abundance of information no one is able to come to sensible conclusions — in the interests of the  family,  themselves, their families,   their community and their country.

    It’s a great brainwashing process, which goes very slow, and is divided into 4 basic stages

    1          DEMORALIZATION of a nation, takes 15 – 20 years.  That is the minimum.  Why, because it takes that many years to educate one generation of students in the country of your enemy  — expose to the ideology     of Marxism/Leninism 

    It’s being pumped into the soft heads of three generations of American students  — without being challenged or counterbalanced by the basic values of Americanism,  American patriotism.

    The demoralization process in the United States is basically completed already  — for the last 25 years.

    Actually, it’s over-fulfilled because demoralization now reaches such areas where previously [Russian leaders} wouldn’t even dream of such tremendous success

    Most of it is done by Americans to Americans, thanks to lack of moral standards. 

    Exposure to true information doesn’t matter any more.  A person who is demoralized is unable to assess true information. The facts tell nothing to him. Even if I shower him with information, authentic truth, documents, with pictures — even take him by force to show him Soviet concentration camps, he will refuse to believe it — until he gets a kick in his fat bottom.

    2 The next stage is DESTABILIZATION.  This time the subverter does not care about your ideas and the patterns of your consumption,,,,,,  this time 2-5 years  to destabilize a nation

    what matters is essentials — economy, foreign relations, defense system. In such sensitive areas as defense and economy, the influence of M/l ideas in the Un St is absolutely fantastic, I could never believe it, 14 years ago when I landed in this part of the world, that this process would come this fast.

    3  The next stage of course is CRISIS. Could only take six weeks to bring a country to the verge of crisis, and with a valid change of power, structure and economy, you have the so-called period of

    4 NORMALIZATION.  Which can last indefinitely.        normalization, is a  cynical expression, borrowed from Soviet propaganda  —  When the Soviet tanks moved into Czechoslovakia in  ’68 Brezhnev said  “Now the situation is normalized.”  This is what will happen in the United States if you allow all the schmucks to bring the country to crisis, to promise the people all kind of goodies, a paradise on Earth, to destabilize the economy, to eliminate principle of free market competition, and to put a Big Brother government in Washington, DC

     

     

     

    Category Obstacles, Parent Tribal Memory | Tags: | No Comments

  5. Teacher Training Under Increasing Scrutiny

    February 23, 2014 by Tunya

     

    “Transformation” is the “IN” word for changes to school curriculums in a good number of Western nations in this, the 21st Century.

    Some changes are occurring simply to stay in tune with changing technology — and to capitalize on its ability to assist learning and teaching.

    Some changes are being prescribed for purposes of globalization — employment, trade, peace, understanding of different cultures, etc.

    Other changes such as come under names as Common Core or Personalized Learning or 21st Century Skills are presumed shifts being imposed to change mindsets in preparation for more central control, either by nations themselves and/or United Nations style of world governance.

    Yet other changes are originating directly from teacher training facilities for left-wing ideological and political purposes.

    It is the latter change that is now gaining some concentrated appraisal as being out of step with what a democracy purports to be about, that is, informed citizens consenting to their governance structures. That is, NOT having one political philosophy implanted into a population through compulsory monopoly government schools.

    Here are just three recent signals that teacher training will be under greater examination in the future:

    1  Denver, Colorado, school system is training new teachers in new ways for their expanding demands, ways that will speed up the process and avoid politicized teachers: “Universities and colleges design their teacher training programs to stress radical left-wing social and political ideals, just like the unions. The colleges are also generally pro-union and work to instill that idea in students.”

    http://eagnews.org/denver-schools-operating-alternative-teacher-training-programs-for-professionals-who-want-to-switch-to-the-classroom/

    2  Australia has just announced —Education Panel to Review “Faddish” Teach Training. Feb 20, 2014

    “‘And there is evidence that our teacher education system is not up to scratch. We are not attracting the top students into teacher courses as we once did, courses are too theoretical, ideological and faddish, not based on the evidence of what works in teaching important subjects like literacy.’‘

    http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/2100816/education-panel-to-review-faddish-teacher-training/?cs=24

    3  The Lexington Institute, Lexington, Virginia has produced a study: Radicalization of Teacher Education Programs in the United States, 2012.

    “ . . .do parents who entrust their children to the government-controlled schools have a clue about the radical agendas that many ed-schools are pushing upon teacher candidates? . . . so it is that schools gradually concentrate less on their traditional mission of teaching useful academic skills and factual knowledge, and more on leftist indoctrination of the nation’s youth and radical transformation of schools and society.” (4,5)

    http://free.download2.net/r/radicalization-of-teacher-education-programs-in-the-united-states-e1921-pdf.pdf

    The Lexington Report is direct, gives names, texts, and considerable evidence of the pervasiveness of this left-wing project.  Worth a serious read if you care about your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. 

    Category Education Reform, Obstacles, Parent Tribal Memory | Tags: | No Comments

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