The word "tyranny" seems to be popping up these days when talking about education. Don Powers, an attorney reviewing how education operates these days, wrote:
Check out the heading on our blog and its reference to living in a totalitarian democracy, which could be considered as living in a tyrannical society.“What we discovered is a transition to a tyrannical form of government. Sections of the USCA that supported local, states’ rights and local control of schools as well as sections that placed restrictions on the Federal DOEd were being repealed all together and in instances replaced by sections that grant more control to the federal level. We also checked other areas of the USCA and found this to be the rule, and not the exception. From the historical records, that we could check with our meager resources, it has apparently been going on since before the1960’s.”
Here's a blog by Mark Garrison about how common core standards equal tyranny. What is the theme running through Mr. Powers' assessments, living in a totalitarian democracy, and equating common core standards to tyranny?
Think of the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy and company were helpless and powerless when their destiny and decisions were in the hands of the "all powerful Wizard of Oz". Remember when he was discovered and he plead: "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" He knew he was all talk and could not provide Dorothy, The Tin Man, The Cowardly Lion and The Scarecrow what they needed. They had to find the answers themselves. By pretending he knew the answers when he was truly powerless made him a tyrant. He had no solutions but he had the power to bluster and scare folks into thinking he was the all powerful Wizard of Oz.
This is a description of the Federal Government and its current role in education: it has all the power and no answers. We don't even know who or which interests are writing the standards for our children. We are told "pay no attention to those who have the power over your childrens' education". Don't peek behind the curtain, otherwise the charade might be up.
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The Common Core: Whose Standards Are They?
But the idea — let alone the adoption of — a national curriculum appears as a sharp break with the foundation of the American Republic, the commitment to “state’s rights,” to decentralization and a relatively weak central government.
Thus begins the introduction of my forthcoming book, Testing for Tyranny: The Political Significance of a National Curriculum and Testing Regime in the United States.
At present, the push to implement the so-called Common Core Standards (not federal, not national, as Diane Ravitch would have it, but “common,” and so the choice of language is significant) represents a turning point in American history. There are many questions that must be answered about this initiative, the most important one being this: Whose standards are they? Whose interests do they serve?
This question is being posed from a variety of perspectives. For example, a Tea Party activist noted this:
The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers (collectively, NGA Center/CCSSO), as the owners of the Common Core State Standards (College- and Career-Readiness Standards and K-12 Standards in English Language Arts and Math), grant this license to the Licensee identified below, subject to the terms set forth herein. The Common Core State Standards are protected by copyright and/or other applicable law, and any use of the Common Core State Standards other than as authorized under this License is prohibited.
And so:
As a parent, where will you go if you feel a change should be made to the ELA or math content to be taught to the students in your neighborhood and community schools? To the school? the local school board? to the state education dept or the state school board? to the federal government? Sorry, it is out of their hands. They no longer have control over the content for ELA and math that is to be taught to the students in the states that have adopted the CCSS.
This line of questioning might help explain the choice of language and the administrative mechanisms used to push the standards. If they were national, this notion of ownership would seem counter productive (who owns the American Flag)? If they were federal, clearly they are in the control of the federal government, owned by it, but presumably on behalf of the people as a whole.. But they are merely “common” — ushered in and controlled by an “association” of associations that is neither federally constituted nor bound to a state, a “public/private partnership” of government leaders and business interests; an entity that does not report to a legislature or even a defined constituency.
And now the Schlechty Center releases, Whose Standards Are They?
Offering a broad minded and thoughtful presentation of standards and their role in education, the paper is particularly significant for the guidance it provides school personnel in organizing discussions about the Common Core Standards in their schools and communities. It offers a concrete guide for evaluating the Common Core Standards, affirming the right of communities to have a say over the nature and function of the education provided to their youth.
Asking the “who decides” question is by far the most important question to ask when examining the Common Core initiative. Discussions narrowly fixated on implementation, or even concerns about whether national standards and tests will improve education, serve to veil consideration of how contemporary education reform (such as the Common Core) serves to re-articulate governing arrangements such that the vast majority — parents, teachers, administrators, local school boards, and youth — are excluded from involvement in decisions that directly affect their lives, and their future.
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TAGS:
national standards, school governance, standards and testing
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One point I'd like to make. Garrison writes:
Asking the “who decides” question is by far the most important question to ask when examining the Common Core initiative. Discussions narrowly fixated on implementation, or even concerns about whether national standards and tests will improve education, serve to veil consideration of how contemporary education reform (such as the Common Core) serves to re-articulate governing arrangements such that the vast majority — parents, teachers, administrators, local school boards, and youth — are excluded from involvement in decisions that directly affect their lives, and their future.
This is how the original 800 page Race to the Top document was produced as well...parents, taxpayers and youth are excluded from involvement in decisions that directly affect their lives, and their future.
It is time to cast aside the curtain and expose this bluster for what it is: Nonsense.
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