Common Core 3rd Grade Benchmarks for Citizenship. And You Still Believe the Standards Don't Drive the Curriculum?

The new definition of being a "good citizen"? Common Core 3rd grade standards benchmarks to promote the "common good". 

What is your definition of a good citizen?

Let's travel back in time and revisit the 1954 World Book Encyclopedia's definition of citizenship:

Citizenship carries both rights and duties.  Each citizen owes allegiance, or loyalty, to his country.  It is his duty to obey the law, vote for officers, pay taxes for the support of government, and give military service in the defense of the country.  In turn, the country owes protection and gives privileges to each of its citizens.

Citizenship dealt with relationship between the individual and the government.

Fast forward to 2012.

What is the current definition of a good citizen?  Look at this public school 3rd grade worksheet (below) on citizenship,  the vocabulary words used and the new meaning of being a good citizen.  It has moved from the relationship between the individual and the government to the relationship between individuals and the good of the community. 

(From the teacher providing this information: this is curriculum from a school in Ohio)

Questions:

• When did becoming a good citizen (obeying the law, voting, paying taxes, serving in the military) change into being a "good person"?  Do you have to have good character to be a good citizen to follow the law or vote?  
• Does a "weak" sense of justice make one less of a good citizen?  Whose/what sense of justice should a good citizen follow: a specific group or his/her own sense of what is right and wrong?  Is speaking up for people who have trouble speaking up for themselves a citizenship issue or a moral issue?
• Who/what agency decides exactly what is the "good of the community"?  What happens if the "good of the community" tramples on individual rights?  Is lack of cooperation then a mark of a bad citizen?
• Is the boycotting of a company to support another's agenda a good citizenship move if the company is then forced to layoff employees and those employees have to go on public assistance?  Does a boycott really make life better for everyone or select groups?  Is a boycott a citizenship duty or a moral decision in protesting a company's decisions/operating method?  Is learning how to boycott and petition a good benchmark of being a good citizen?   Whose benchmark is boycotting and petitioning, the school's or the consortia's?
• Are there different levels of heroes?  Is a person more heroic who risks his/her life vs a person who protests a perceived injustice?
• Do good citizens really make life better for everyone?  Is that the role of a "good" citizen or a "good" person?  Are the lines between political relationships (individual and government responsibilities/duties) and moral responsibilities (traditionally defined by religious institutions) being erased and redefined as a legal responsibility to a collective community?  Who/what is defining these responsibilities to a collective community?

Do you have examples of what students are learning today in public schools about citizenship?  If you ask your administration about CCSS and it insists the standards are not driving curriculum, ask to see worksheets and benchmarks on citizenship.  See how they align with each other or not.  You'll have your answer.

Mama, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be Brainwashed.

Here is a recording of "Mama, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys" by the Highwaymen (Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferon):




With all due respect to these fine musicians and songwriters, I have an idea of changing the song to "Mama, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be Brainwashed". With the discovery of Communists lecturing in Labor class through University of Missouri advocating violence and civil disobedience as a means to an end, parents need to be aware of what their children are learning in schools.

But don't think this is contained at the university level:

On Tuesday, across the state of Pennsylvania, unions and other Left-wing organizations will be boarding buses and heading to the state capitol in Harrisburg to engage in a mass rally to fight for economic and social justice and against budget cuts. n Lancaster, PA, concerned parents contacted the local newspaper with their concerns, which caused one school to cancel the “field trip”:

Plans to have Wickersham Elementary School students participate next week in a rally opposing cuts in the state education budget have been canceled in the wake of complaints from parents.

The school Wednesday sent home a permission slip asking parents to allow their children in grades three to five to attend the Rally for a Responsible Budget in Harrisburg Tuesday.

“The fact that they’re taking kids and teachers out of school to attend this rally is just plain wrong,” said Julie Zug, whose son is a fourth-grader at Wickersham.

“I have no idea how many schools or districts in Pennsylvania are participating, but it sounds like an awful expense to prop up the teachers’ union.

“How many parents are unaware their kids are being used in this manner?”

The rally is being sponsored by the Coalition for Labor Engagement and Accountable Revenues, a group that includes the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and several other public-service unions that are planning to bus hundreds of members to Harrisburg.

In a letter to parents accompanying the permission slip, James said the trip would provide an opportunity to “model the role of good citizenship, free expression, fairness and thoughtful deliberation.”

“Please join us as we … travel to Harrisburg to let our voice be heard for a responsible budget for public education,” he urged parents in the letter.

In addition to the permission slip, the school sent home a sample letter for parents to send to lawmakers opposing education funding cuts, as well as a sample script for parents to read when calling their legislators, according to parents.

It’s unknown how many parents will be having their children be used as a government-union prop. What is also unknown, as referenced above, is the number of parents who may not know that their children are being used as government-union props next Tuesday.

Schools recently celebrated "Earth Day" and a rap song was sung at one school extolling people to save the world and not use plastics (which, by the way, is a legal product and is recyclable). We previously blogged about this brainwashing as "One Word: Plastics. The Gentle Art of Seduction".

As Youtube removed the video, here are the words as recorded. You get the gist:

"The sky is high and the ocean is deep,
But we can't treat the planet like a garbage heap,
Don't wreck it, protect it, keep part of it wild,
And think about the future of your great-grandchild.
Recycle, bicycle, don't you drive by yourself,
Don't buy those plastic products on the supermarket shelf.
Boycott, petition, let the big business know,
That is, we mess it up here, there's nowhere else we can go.
Don't shrug your shoulders, say "what can I do"?
Only one person can do it, and that person is you!"


What do these two instances of a field trip to support unions and a skit at school have in common?

• Your children are being led to believe an important aspect of education is to learn how to boycott and petition.

• Your children are being taught to demand based on their desires.

What happened to teaching children how to be proud of their country, make positive contributions because they are proud of their country and become a good citizen? If the definition of a good citizen today is to petition, boycott, and demand "rights due them" ....heaven help this country.

This is the entitlement society and Nanny State on steroids. This is the government instilling personal values into your children. This is the government deciding appropriate behavior and moral judgments for children, usurping parental authority. Academia isn't waiting until college to snag your kids...it's starting in elementary school now...or earlier.

Parents, don't let your babies grow up to be brainwashed. You have your work cut out for you. I'd much rather our children grow up to be cowboys and cowgirls; they are individuals who are self-sufficient and don't need to boycott or petition or follow someone else's agenda. I propose children SHOULD grow up to be cowboys and cowgirls. THIS should be the primary educational goal for students in Arne Duncan's "Blueprint for America": Children growing up espousing individual liberty and responsibility...imagine that.