My letter to Mr. Howard Walker (R-Traverse City): Dear Mr. Walker, Why, in Gods name, would you even consider voting in favor of Common Core for this State? Why, in Gods name, would you approve of allowing even the slightest federal governmental influence in our states education system? Have you lost your mind? Do some research. Its not hard to find the numerous evaluations conducted by reputable educators that are warning us about the dangers of implementing this experimental, and failing, teaching theory. We should not be allowing ANY federal intrusion into our educational system. PLEASE STOP THIS!! I have 2 children in TCAPS, and after seeing and hearing about numerous parents experiences with Common Core standards, my wife and I will do absolutely everything we can to prevent them from being exposed to this, including removing them from TCAPS. We cannot use our kids as guinea pigs to try out a new educational system, that is already being proven as a failure. See Kentucky and New York. States that had initially signed on to align with CC are now starting to pull back, as well as pass legislation to prevent this from taking root in their states. Michigan should be one of them. Sincerely David Larsen His reply: Dear David: Thank you for writing to share your concerns about the implementation of Common Core State Standards. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue. The Common Core State Standards are a set of standards that were developed by the National Governors Association in cooperation with the Council of Chief State School Officers. They pertain to only two subject areas; English Language Arts and Mathematics. They were not developed by the federal government nor are they a mandate of the federal government. The standards have been adopted by over 40 states and were adopted by Michigans elected State Board of Education in 2010 after it was determined that the previous standards were not adequate to prepare our children to be career and college ready after high school graduation. Development of the standards took many years and included the input of educators, business professionals and state education policy makers among many others. Standards are different from curriculum. Standards are what students need to know at the end of a particular grade level, whereas curriculum is the plan that is utilized to get a child to that standard. Standards have and likely always will be implemented at the state level, whereas curriculum has and will likely always be implemented at the local district level by local superintendents and school boards and without interference by the state or federal government. Adopting the Common Core State Standards will help to align what our kids are taught with what is taught in other states, thus allowing us to benchmark our results with those other states. Doing so will help to determine whether our kids are ready to compete nationally and internationally. They will also help us to measure the effectiveness of our teachers to ensure that the professionals in the classroom are the best and brightest. If we dont allow for the full implementation of these standards, our children will likely be at an additional disadvantage to their counterparts in other states as the ACT and SAT (tests that are required to get into college) will likely be aligned with Common Core as those tests will follow the standards that the vast majority of states have implemented. If Michigan abandons Common Core and has to develop a new set of career and college ready standards, the Michigan Department of Education has indicated it will likely cost over $120 million and take 18 months! Many of our local school districts have already begun to align their curriculums to the Common Core Standards, including purchasing textbooks and other materials, and by adopting new standards, those precious resources will have been wasted. I agree with organizations like StudentsFirst, Great Lakes Education Project, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Republican Womens Federation of Michigan and the Michigan Association of School Administrators that implementation of Common Core is the right thing to do for Michigans children. I hope this correspondence provides some information you may not have known and helps to clarify why I am advocating for the implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Michigan. Again, thank you for writing. If you have any other questions or comments about this, or any other state matter, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time. Sincerely, Howard Walker State Senator 37th District My reply: Mr. Walker, With all due respect, I know the difference between standards and curriculum. Instead of presuming that I do not know what I am talking about, why dont you respond to me with the presumption that I, in fact, DO know what I am talking about and have done at least a minimal amount of research to understand what the proponents and opponents of CC have been saying. The Standards were developed by two agencies that are being FUNDED by the federal government. The standards were initially adopted by 48 states - which you fail to mention - and since then, 8 of those states changed their minds. Have you stopped to consider why? If the previous standards were determined to be inadequate, why did it take the Race to the Top funding to figure this out? Seems suspiciously odd... And in such a short time? How long has it been inadequate? Why did the State Board of Education suddenly decide it was inadequate after the RttT funding was announced? No teacher and no school board member was asked to contribute to the Common Core standards. Nor was any State Legislature involved in its creation. There were also no state administrative or legislative staff involved in creating the standards. Common Core State Standards were not developed by the states. Two trade associations, the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) together formed the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) in 2009. These trade associations are unelected associations based in Washington D.C. The role of state governments was literally restricted to signing onto the standards created by the two trade associations, the NGA and the CCSSO. In spring 2009, 48 states signed a Memorandum of Agreement committing to voluntary participation in a process leading to adoption of the CCSS. Many of the states that did sign onto Common Core State Standards did so to receive waivers to No Child Left Behind requirements or to qualify for Race To The Top money. They (YOU) were bribed into signing onto the standards before they were even drafted. Did our State Board of Education think that it might be prudent to have anyone, any independent committee, study or analyze these standards before deciding to sign on the dotted line of the Memorandum? You stated that Standards have and likely always will be implemented at the state level, whereas curriculum has and will likely always be implemented at the local district level by local superintendents and school boards and without interference by the state or federal government. Sure, theyre implemented at the state level, but who developed those standards? NOT OUR STATE! Two federally funded agencies did. And who develops the tests? The same federally funded agencies. So in order to pass the tests, students must be taught the content of those tests. (i.e. the curriculum is being indirectly dictated!) THEREFORE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS INTERFERING!!! Under this plan, every teacher will teach the same material with much of the same teaching strategies as every other teacher. This One-size-fits-all standard is ludicrous. Some states standards have been shown to be HIGHER than CCSS, and others lower. So now we settle for mediocre? Why do we care what other states are teaching their kids anyway? If our standards are truly inadequate, why do we not take the initiative, preserve the 10th Amendment, and do something about it - within our own borders - instead of once again letting the Federal Government slowly take control, INTERFERE, one quiet step at a time? You discuss the cost, time and materials it will entail if MI abandons CC and develops its own higher standards. Have you thought about what the cost - to our children - will be if/when this is shown to be a failure? Has anyone took the time to evaluate the textbooks and other materials that is provided by CCSS? I have seen numerous examples. Story problems describing infidelity, abandonment, dependence on the state, etc. And those are only the ones that have been brought to light. What else is being taught that we havent seen? When parents start seeing these examples of HIGHER, RIGOROUS STANDARDS come home with their children, you, among others will be responsible for it. Im sorry, but your correspondence did NOT provide any information that I did not already know. As I said, I did my own research, from both sides, and my conclusion is this: You are naïve. You, along with the State Board of Education have not done YOUR homework. You have willfully ignored the evidence that the opponents of CCSS have been shouting. You have not looked at credible sources that HAVE studied and evaluated what these standards will accomplish, to the detriment of all of our children. I have not been able to find any parent that knows what CCSS is, and most school staff I have talked to either have not heard of it, or have not research what it means, which tells me that this ADOPTION was done in haste, likely intentionally, and without enough information being disseminated to US, the PARENTS of those children. CCSS is not only bad for Michigan students, it is dangerous for this country. Sadly, if this is fully implemented across the U.S., it will not be recognized for years, likely decades. Hindsight... Sincerely, David Larsen
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 02:09:40 +0000
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