Common Core Is A Combination of Federal and UN Curriculum On Steroids
Debbie Pelley |
Remember Janet Napolitano - Obama's Secretary of Homeland Security, the official issuing the bulletin warning law officials across the nation to watch for rightwing extremist activity - labeling returning veterans, and citizens opposed to abortion, firearms restriction, illegal immigration, homosexuality, high taxes, government control, etc. as possible violent antigovernment groups.1 Napolitano was also attorney for Anita Hill who trumped up sexual harassment charges against Clarence Thomas in 1991, hoping to prevent his appointment to the US Supreme Court.2
A press release states that the centerpiece for Obama's Common Core (Race to the Top) includes "adopting internationally benchmarked education standards." "Internationally" suggests just what it means - curriculum developed through the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Ten billion dollars in grant money from the stimulus bill and the 2009 budget were made available to states and districts that would implement Obama's reform (buying our curriculum with our taxpayer money).3
An International Benchmarking Advisory Group was created by three leading education policy organizations to provide the states a roadmap for implementing international benchmarks standards in the US. The Advisory Group was co-chaired by then Governor Janet Napolitano. The organizations that created this Advisory Group were the National Governors Association, Council of Chief State School Officers, and Achieve, Inc.4
The only comprehensive "internationally benchmarked" education standards in existence are those developed by UNESCO and the International Baccalaureate Organization. Schools incorporating these standards are called IB or IBO schools and are found in 31 countries, 1,439 in the United States and 12 schools (not districts) in Arkansas.5 UNESCO provided the funding to create the IBO program.6
"In one of its first efforts in 1949, the UNESCO textbook for teachers, titled Toward World Understanding,' reads, 'As long as the child breathes the poisoned air of nationalism, education in world-mindedness can produce only rather precarious results. As we have pointed out, it is frequently the family that infects the child with extreme nationalism.'"7
So what is IBO? IBO or IB stands for International Baccalaureate Organization. "School board members in a Minnesota district call it anti-American and anti-Christian. Critics argue that IBO's multicultural themes promote values that conflict with traditional Judeo-Christian values. One teacher objects to the program because of IBO's endorsement of the Earth Charter that calls for sustainability of the Earth through, among other things, responsible reproduction and wealth distribution. Many opponents have called it Marxist. Another critic says IBO promotes socialism, disarmament, and moral relativism, and radical environmentalism.8
Obama's Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, has been a leader in implementing IBO schools in the nation and in the world. In 2007 Duncan was one of the keynote speakers at the World Conference for heads of IB [International Baccalaureate] World schools. The title of one of his presentations was "Using IB for Systemic Reform in North America."9 Duncan is former superintendent of schools in Chicago and was previously the Director of Magnet Schools and Programs before he became superintendent of schools. Chicago has the highest concentration of IBO schools in the country - 24 IB schools in Chicago.10
Obama's former controversial White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, now Mayor of Chicago, continues with Duncan's expansion of IB schools, saying in Press Releases in 2012 that the Chicago Schools will create 10 new International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programmes in high schools and some wall-to-wall International Baccalaureate (IB) schools.11
IBO was slipped through the Arkansas legislature by allowing IBO courses to substitute for Advanced Placement (AP) courses in 2005 with not one legislator voting against it. However, in the 2007 session some legislators, who had learned about IBO, fought back legislation to encourage more IB schools in Arkansas. At one point one of the magnet schools in Arkansas was in the process of becoming an IBO school. That too was dropped, at least officially.
As a public school teacher in Arkansas I researched education at the state and national level for 30 years. I learned all the buzzwords, the experts, organizations, and techniques used to deceive the public. But it was only about five years ago that I learned all our US educational reforms were rooted in the United Nations. I discovered 142-page booklet that can be found on the web http://www.esdtoolkit.org/ that spells it out. The booklet is entitled, "Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit, Version 2, July 2002."12
Among many other such quotes, the author says, "Chapter 36 of Agenda 21 calls for reorienting education to address sustainable development. Reorienting education can appear as an insurmountable task that requires reform at every level of education - reform that would require more funding than is currently available in national budgets."13
Despite what proponents say, Common core and Race to the Top curriculum do not consist of rigorous internationally benchmarked academic standards. But like other educational reforms in the last 30 years, they are designed to gain government control over education so as to implement the liberal curriculum. The names of reforms have changed, but the basic philosophy has not. The reforms began with Outcome Based Education, then Standards and Accountability, School to Work, NCLB, and now Race to the Top and Common Core.
The main difference now is that Obama's Common Core Curriculum is a combination of federal and United Nations curriculum on steroids.
Documentation:
1. Washington Times: Napolitano bulletin on right wing extremists.
and ARRA News Service:Janet Napolitano Has a List - We Are Wearing Yellow Stars
2. Anita Hill when Hill testified against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.”
3. Press Release on international standards centerpiece of Obama's Race to the Top. US Department of Education, July 24, 2009, "President Obama, U. S. Secretary of Education Duncan Announce National Competition to Advance School Reform."
4. Napolitano co chair of International Benchmarking Advisory Group "Top State Education Policy Organizations Form Expert Advisory Group on International Benchmarking" September 8, 2008
5. IB Schools in Arkansas. 12 schools and Number of IBO schools in various countries and the US
6. UNESCO provided funding for IBO "U. N. influence in U.S. schools by Henry Lamb" See this link for further partnership of UNESCO & IBO
7. See # 6
8. See # 6 and IBO - A Controversial UN Global Education Program . . .
9. Arne Duncan, Sec. of Education spoke at World Conference for heads of IB World schools in 2007 Topic: "Using IB for Systemic Reform in North America."
10. Arne Duncan, supt of Chicago schools, magnet schools & highest concentration of IB schools in the country. "Follow The Bouncing Ball ...From Obama, Ayers And Duncan To Ibo, Bellamy And Soros" and 24 B schools in Chicago
11. Rahm Emanuel & Ten new IBO schools in Chicago press release 2012 and Rahm Emanuel & wall to wall IB schools in Chicago press release
12. The 142 page booklet entitled, "Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit, Version 2, July 2002."
13. page 42 in booklet in number 12
14. Other articles author wrote on IBO:
- IBO UN Global Education Program With Ties to Earth Charter in Arkansas
- IBO promotes Total Disarmament but praises Islam
- IBO - Excerpts from IBO Director Himself, G. Walker
- IBO - Results in Low Scores & Performance
-----------
Debbie Pelley is Retired Arkansas Teacher of 27 years. She is presently a grassroots citizen activist, researcher and writer who advocates for the Arkansans and for transparent and limited government.
Tags: Common Core, Combination, Federal Curriculum, UN Curriculum To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
6 Comments:
I am a high school math teacher in Arkansas, and I have to disagree with the paranoia over CCSS among so many of my conservative friends.
Granted, I have not paid much attention to the English Language Arts standards, but the math standards are absolutely apolitical. There are a lot of really good things in them that encourage deeper understanding of mathematics, especially the basics at an early age.
Many point to CC lesson plans they have found on the internet as proof of some sinister Socialist plot embedded within the CCSS, but that's just wrong. Those lesson plans were created and posted by teachers. Since the teaching field is dominated by leftists, it should be no surprise that most lessons they design will have a left-wing slant. But they were teaching lefty lessons before CCSS and they'll continue to do so after the standards are implemented.
Everything I've seen and read on CCSS gives teachers the freedom to design their own lessons. Right now, there are only standards for Math and Language Arts. Teachers in other disciplines are expected to integrate these standards into their own curriculum to create a classroom that focuses less on regurgitation of information and more deep thinking on the lessons covered in the course.
CCSS, with common standardized tests taken by all students in participating states, will offer a much more "apples-to-apples" comparison of the quality of education among the states. I can tell you with certainty, that an "Advanced" score on the current End-of-Course Algebra I or Geometry tests in the state of Arkansas don't mean a student is adequately prepared for higher level math classes. The current EOC tests are a joke. In contrast, the AP courses require much deeper focus on understanding concepts in their curriculum, and passing their exams is proof of that much deeper understanding. It is my understanding the common exams under CCSS will be structured much more like the AP exams, instead of the (in my opinion), nearly worthless EOC exams we give now.
Ten years ago, I was disgusted by what my kids weren't learning in the classroom. It wasn't only the left-wing indoctrination that upset me, but the total lack of focus on understanding as they progressed through school. It was then I realized complaining about it would do little good and I went back to school to become a teacher.
I admire you Debbie for your 30 years of service as a teacher, but I disagree with you on the value of CCSS. In my opinion, if we want to take our schools and our curriculum back, we need to recruit more conservatives into the teaching ranks. I'm afraid this conservative war on CCSS will do the opposite, discourage our friends from entering the teaching profession, and will prevent real, positive change from occurring where it is so drastically needed.
Why is our school board buying into Common Core? I don't have children in school anymore, but have an interest in what is best for our community. I don't think Common Core is the right thing for our community.
It's not just a community thing, its a state decision... in order to receive Race To The Top money from the federal government we had to adapt to the new ccgps. I'm not fond of it either.. but georgia performance standards were awful!
I get the need for some schools to have a curriculum that transfers seamlessly to another district - highly mobile workers with families deserve this. Those workers include military families.
So, why don't we develop a curriculum specifically for those travelers? Get the DOD teachers together with representatives of the state boards of education and develop a broad framework that works? It would be cheaper, controlled by Americans, and easier to change/modify than the IB curriculum.
Huckabee put his support behind Common Core :-( http://www.redstate.com/spunkypundit/2013/05/25/gov-huckabee-supports-common-core/
Mary, I AGREE WITH THE AUTHOR OF THE ARTICLE you shared -- "Why am I not surprised!"
While I personally like Mike Huckabee and believe he would have been a far better president than Barack Obama, I could not agree with several of his more progressive positions.
I too wrote articles on why I and the Arkansas Republican Assembly could not and did not endorse/ support Mike Huckabee for the Republican nomination for President. The articles are still archived on the ARRA News Service
Post a Comment
<< Home