Common Core

The more I learn about Common Core, the more I loathe it.  Just like ObamaCare is the control of our healthcare, Common Core is the control of our education and our children.  This page shines the light of truth upon Common Core.  This page also has links to articles about Common Core and what parents are doing to fight it.  The goal of this page is to educate parents and citizens about what Common Core is and then provide tools to fight it.  Please post additional links in the comments.  This is a work in progress and no one person can uncover all there is to learn about Common Core.  We need to help each other.

Thomas Jefferson told Mrs. Powel after the Constitutional Convention that they had given us "A Republic if you can keep it."  This page is all about empowering citizens to reclaim our Republic and our educational system.   


First of all, we need to define what Common Core is.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSS) is a set of common national K-12 content standards in English Language Art and Math; ideally to be adopted in all 50 states, so that education will be standardized across the country.  So far they have been adopted in 45 states and the District of Columbia.  

Trying to untangle the web that is Common Core is a herculean task.  Investigating one aspect of it leads to more questions and requires more research.  I have yet to find anything that is good about it.  I will attempt to highlight briefly here the basics and then link to other articles that go more in-depth about the various tentacles of it.

One of the biggest myths that Common Core proponents try to confuse people with is that Common Core was developed by governors and educators.  I mean, what could be better than that?  Governors are of the people and educators know what they are doing, right?  The truth is that the Common Core State Standards were written by Achieve, Inc., the NGA Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers.  The National Governors Association ~NGA~ and the Council of Chief State School Officers are trade organizations and lobbyists.  Don't take my word for it.  Go to their websites and research for yourself.  Achieve has moved on to being the Project Management Partner for PARCC.  PARCC is one of the testing consortia that states pay to do all the testing that Common Core requires.  It is the consortium that Tennessee is a part of.

The copyright for the Common Core State Standards ~CCSS~ is held by the NGA Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers.  Think about this.  If CCSS are really state-led, why can't states amend or change them?  Know who can?  Why the NGA and CCSS of course.
"The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers will continue to serve as the two leading organizations with ownership of the Common Core and will make decisions about the timing and substance of future revisions to the standards in consultation with the states."

States can however add up to 15% of their own standards, from the Race to the Top Application under definitions,
"A State may supplement the common standards with additional standards, provided that the additional standards do not exceed 15 percent of the State's total standards for that content area."

Who really controls Common Core Standards?  The entities that own the copyright or the states who can add up to 15%?  Are they really state standards?  I'll leave you to draw your own conclusion, but I bet you will agree with me that it isn't the states.

Articles Explaining the Various Aspects of Common Core:
Videos on Common Core:
  • A 3rd grader explaining how to find the answer to a "hard" addition problem.
  • An educator explaining how to subtract using Base 10 strategy.
  • Teacher Mercedes Schneider Shreds Common Core
  • Watch George Will Demolish Common Core in Under 2 minutes
Actual Common Core Lessons:
Articles on what States are doing:
There are many great resources out there about Common Core.
Here are some of them.

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