Common Core Education And More About Federal Government Control

[Ross]

Sun, 03/13/2016 - 9:37am

Cities, counties, schools and unions oppose voting rights

Last Tuesday in a Senate Tax Committee hearing, city and county officials and a few Senators openly opposed citizens' right to vote on whether property taxes should increase beyond the rate of inflation.  And the next day, it was déjà vu all over again in Senate Commerce when school districts, unions, a few Senators and others opposed school employees being given the right to vote on whether to retain their union representation.

It was truly a surreal experience.   Many of the same people who railed against a photo ID being required to vote – because it allegedly suppresses the right to vote – are now actively attempting to suppress voting rights!  Of course, that's not how they see their actions.

A law passed last year allows Kansans to vote on property tax increases beginning in 2018; proposed legislation would allow voting to begin this year but city and county officials want voting rights rescinded (except for Sedgwick County commissioners, who support citizens' right to vote).  One after another, they essentially said citizens aren't smart enough to make good decisions and wouldn't vote for the 'right' things.  The condescension was right out of an episode of Government Knows Best.

Most school unions were formed in the 1970s and employees hired afterward have likely never had the opportunity to vote for or against retaining the union.  Legislation passed out of Senate Commerce Committee would require elections to be held every three years has been called an affront to organized labor, an attack on teachers and other hyperbolic allegations.  In reality, it merely allows school employees a chance to decide whether they want their representation to continue.  If there's an attack on teachers, it's coming from the organizations that don't want them to be able to vote.

Apparently the right to vote doesn't count if the vote could infringe on certain institutional interests.

http://cjonline.com/blog-post/dave-trabert/2016-03-13/cities-counties-schools-and-unions-oppose-voting-rights

[Ross]

Student achievement crisis in Kansas

Posted: Tuesday, March 8, 2016 1:48 pm
Dave Trabert, President Kansas Policy Institute

There are those who believe Kansas has a school funding crisis — even though spending exceeds $13,000 per student and continues to set records — but low student achievement is the real crisis. It's a shame that so much attention is paid to money and so little focus is on actual learning.

Only 32 percent are college-ready in English, reading, math and science on the ACT. Just 20 percent of low income 4th graders are proficient in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and only 27 percent in math. Of students who are not low income, barely half are proficient in reading and math. In eighth grade, less than a quarter of low income kids are proficient in reading and math, and less than half of students who aren't low income.

It will take centuries to close some of these achievement gaps and others would never close at the current 10-year pace. By the way, the Kansas Department of Education (KSDE) says measurement on NAEP since 2003 is valid and reliable.

KSDE moved to a new state assessment in 2015 that presents a more honest achievement picture than the former, which was based on some of the lowest cut scores in the nation according to the U.S. Department of Education. There's still a measure of deceptiveness in the state assessment, though, as students can be at grade level but still need remedial training. So here is the uncomfortable truth — the percentages of tenth grade students (Low Income and Not Low Income) who are on track to be college and career ready:
F State average, Math: 11 percent and 32 percent
F State average, English Language Arts: 17 percent and 40 percent
F Emporia, Math: 14 percent and 38 percent
F Emporia, ELA: 17 percent and 39 percent
F North Lyon County, Math: 17 percent and 18 percent
F North Lyon County, ELA: 25 percent and 36 percent
F South Lyon County, Math: 27 percent and 26 percent
F South Lyon County, ELA: 18 percent and 23 percent

Here are some questions every local school board member should publicly answer:
1. Do you find these outcomes to be acceptable, and if not, what is acceptable?

2. If you believe schools are underfunded, what is the right number, how do you justify it and does that account for efficient use of taxpayer money?
3. If schools get that amount, when will outcomes be acceptable?

The right funding number, by the way, can't be based on the old Base State Aid numbers from the Montoy Supreme Court ruling. Montoy was based on an old cost study that the Supreme Court now says is "... more akin to estimates than the certainties" believed by the district court.

And if you've been told that more spending is correlated with better outcomes, know this: Kansas Legislative Research says correlation cannot be proven, and even researchers who find correlation admit that simply spending more money does not cause outcomes to improve. Public education will always cost a lot of money but it's how the money is spent that makes a difference rather than 'how much.'

Kansas can have great public education for all but not until current outcomes are acknowledged and corrective measures are taken.

—Editor's Note: These links provided as data sources:
ACT www.act.org/newsroom/data/2015/pdf/profile/Kansas.pdf page 22 shows 32 percent CR in all subjects
NAEP nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/dataset.aspx "this database is cumbersome and you have to know how to get to percentages but the data is there"

State assessment: ksreportcard.ksde.org/assessment_results.aspx?org_no=State&rptType=3 "select the district in the drop down box, then select the subject, grade and either free/reduced lunch or self—paid lunch. Level 3 and Level 4 added together."

http://www.emporiagazette.com/area_news/article_bf77e208-e566-11e5-b357-1323b8aca73b.html

[Ross]

Math quiz on Kansas spending

By Paul Waggoner Mar 11, 2016


Math questions, one would think, are very straight-forward and easy to answer. At least easy to guess the right answer in a simple multiple choice test. Such is not the case, however, with the average Kansan who follows state issues relying on the headlines in the Kansas press.

The reality of how poor a job the Kansas press is doing with numbers is found in a December 2015 SurveyUSA study of 500-plus registered voters in Kansas. This scientific study of voters' knowledge of educational spending in Kansas was virtually ignored by the Kansas media, most likely because its implications don't fit the media narrative on education in this Year 5 of the Age of Brownback. Even worse, the poll was commissioned by a conservative think tank, the Kansas Policy Institute.

As to voter (mis)understanding, this 15-question poll hit the jackpot. All the questions were multiple choice with only four options given.

Question No. 6 asked how much state funding do you think Kansas school districts receive per pupil? The correct answer is well over $7,000 per student. Thirty-nine percent of Kansas voters thought it was under $4,000, and another 22 percent thought between $4,000 and $5,000. Only 7 percent of voters guessed properly.

The follow-up, question No. 7, was how much total (federal/state/local) funding do you think Kansas school districts receive per pupil? The correct answer in 2015 was over $13,000 per pupil. Only 5 percent of registered Kansas voters got that one right. Forty percent thought the total was under $7,000, and 21 percent said $7,000-10,000, which were the two most inaccurate options!

At this point I was even wondering how the accepted wisdom is so far removed from the truth. So I went to ksde.org, the website of the Kansas State Department of Education, to verify the precise figures. At that website every school district in the state is listed.

What our local school districts spend is very close to the state averages. The Hutchinson USD 308 budget was over $60 million in 2014 with 4,836 full-time students or $12,449 spent per pupil. Five years earlier, the USD 308 budget was $57 million, and five years before that it was about $41 million.

The comparable figures for USD 313 Buhler are $12,360 per pupil in 2014 with a $26.3 million budget that five years earlier was $22.2 million and five years before that was $18 million. For USD 313, that meant students were educated for just $9,000 per pupil as recently as 2005.

Kansas school districts' total spending is $2 billion higher now than just 10 years ago ($6 billion versus $4 billion). That is an incontrovertible fact. Which leads to two immediate questions: How can the Kansas Supreme Court keep claiming the spending is constitutionally inadequate? And what exactly do taxpayers have to show for the extra $ 2 billion every year?

The reality of those numbers are nowhere in the public's consciousness currently.

For instance, SurveyUSA question No. 8 was: "Over the last five years, how much do you think total per pupil funding has changed?" The correct answer is that it is actually up 9.9 percent. But fully 47 percent of Kansas voters confidently said it had dropped over 5 percent! Another 15 percent were sure it had dropped but thought the percentage was smaller. Only 7 percent of voters knew that school spending was up "over 5 percent."

The budget trajectory has changed and is on a much flatter curve than ever before. Taxpayers are mostly rejoicing, tax spenders (and their allies) are howling mad.

My revised school spending narrative is frankly the story of the entire Kansas budget (as can be easily accessed at budget.ks.gov – look for "Governors Budget Report FY 2017").

The state general fund budget first hit $1 billion in 1980 and grew consistently under governors John Carlin, Mike Hayden and Joan Finney at about a 6.5-percent annual rate.

Under Govs. Bill Graves and Kathleen Sebelius, that accelerated growth rate continued until the 2008-09 recession when the state budget dropped dramatically for one year under Gov. Mark Parkinson. This made a cumulative annual growth average of around 3 percent for those three administrations.

Under Gov. Sam Brownback, the general fund budget is still going up but at a five-year annual growth rate of 1.8 percent.

On Feb. 20, one Hutchinson News columnist's headline blasted the "Deliberate financial starving of the state of Kansas." I see this as more of a diet, and I say it is about time.

The numbers on the state budget spending (and taxation) are readily available online. The execution of the plan for this new governmental trajectory leave something to be desired, but that is the topic for another day.

Paul Waggoner is a Hutchinson resident and business owner.

http://www.hutchnews.com/opinion/columnists/math-quiz-on-kansas-spending/article_050d8cff-8758-5f2a-b7a7-8027fc039afe.html


I don't generally post comments but I think these are really worth posting:

Dave_Trabert • 2 days ago
Media is well aware of the results of our survey; they just don't want citizens to have the information. Here is an easy link to state spending history (yes, still setting records), school spending, property taxes and a lot more info. http://www.kansasopengov.org/k...


Jeff R • 3 days ago
Excellent column Paul. Montgomery, Probst and Sylvester along with all the columnist that write for Insight Kansas should be ashamed of how they lie, misconstrue, obfuscate the figures. Their hatred for Governor Brownback and conservatives is obvious. I would say "hatred" is not a fair accusation, but in this case, I think it is dead on.


pmw • 3 days ago
Before anyone else logs in I do want to clarify that individual programs or revenue sources have had "cuts" of various amounts. But others have increased (without any headlines). Thus the greater issue is where the aggregate number is going and from the ksde.org website you can clearly see the upward spending path in recent years.

[Ross]

There is even more control in our nation,
of our children's schools !
Yep! They are called Ghost Teachers !

Just where is all that stuff? You know it's all for the kids stuff !
Really, it appears that it it seldom is ! Because of politics !
Not such a good use of Tax Payers Educational Dollars is it?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Allentown schools cry poverty,
Pay 'ghost teachers'

By Evan Grossman  /   March 16, 2016

Part 1 of 4 in the series Pennsylvania's Ghost Teachers

The Allentown Board of School Directors approved a new teachers contract last week that preserves the practice of allowing teachers to collect government paychecks while doing work for the local teachers union.

Since 1990, the cash-strapped school district has spent more than $1 million in taxpayers' money on salaries and benefits for the president of the Allentown Education Association. The AEA is not obligated to repay any of the money.

The practice, known as "release time," is permitted under Article 28 of the Allentown teachers' contract. It allows for AEA President Debbie Tretter to receive an $81,000 taxpayer-funded salary and benefits as if she were still teaching in the classroom. The agreement is being challenged in a lawsuit filed in Commonwealth Court.

In February, the Fairness Center, a non-profit legal service that defends workers against unions, filed a complaint challenging the district's policy to allow Tretter and other union bosses, also called "ghost teachers," to collect a public salary.

Of eight Allentown school board directors, only one voted against the teachers' contract last week. Michael Welsh said he wasn't comfortable with the release-time provision.

"Many of my constituents were not aware this practice existed in our district and expressed their concerns to me," Welsh told Watchdog. "It was my belief that the best settlement would have included a sharing of cost between the district and the union for this position, with the return of the union president to at least half-time classroom instruction. As this was not part of the final contract, I could not support it."

School Board President David Zimmerman did not respond to a request for comment.

Read more at:http://watchdog.org/259652/allentown-schools-cry-poverty-pay-ghost-teachers/

Part 1 of 4 in the series Pennsylvania's Ghost Teachers

Taxpayers subsidize union politics of 'ghost teachers'  http://watchdog.org/256894/taxpayers-subsidize-union-politics-ghost-teachers/

Lawsuit takes aim at Allentown 'ghost teachers'  http://watchdog.org/257734/lawsuit-takes-aim-allentown-ghost-teachers/

Senate bill aims to bust 'ghost teachers' http://watchdog.org/259387/senate-bill-aims-bust-ghost-teachers/

Doesn't this make you a little bit curious as to what might be hidden inside your
school districts budget ?

Paying 52.27 mill to West Elk USD-282 which is an increase of 24.63 mill increase 2015 over the 2014 mill rate. This is very questionable?
I'm wondering hpow did West Elk USD-282 pull off a 24.63 mill rate hike when they are limited by State law to 4 mill, unless they ask the voters.
I hope someone can help me with an answer, please? School Board Members and School Superintendent or School Bookkeeper how about an answer on thjs tax rate hike amount? Or any one else. Help me out, straighten me out !

[Ross]

Are Public Schools Teaching
Your Child An Alternate Religion?

by Julie Roys

Would you send your children to a Muslim school? I have yet to find a Christian parent who says yes to that question — and the reason is obvious. We don't want our kids indoctrinated into Islam. We want them to become Christians.

Yet, currently in the United States, 84% of Christian parents send their children to schools teaching an alternate religion. These schools may be billed as religiously neutral, but make no mistake: public schools are religious institutions, enthusiastically promoting the religion of secular humanism.

religion taught in schoolsNow, I realize that may sound extreme or fundamentalist. But trust me, I'm not making this up. In addition to reading widely on this topic, I've also raised two adult children, who regretfully spent several years in the public school system. But, my greatest insight into public schools has been through my husband, who has taught in them for more than 30 years. He is the one who opened my eyes to the religion being promoted in public schools. And interestingly, when he shares this view with students, they wholeheartedly agree.

In recent years, my husband has had the unique privilege of visiting a comparative religions class at his school to explain Christianity. And, each time, he presents Christianity as a comprehensive worldview and contrasts it with what he perceives to be the prevailing religious worldview at his high school — secular humanism. Based on the framework described in Nancy Pearcey's book, Total Truth, my husband explains that every worldview has three components — an origins narrative; a "fall" or explanation for the cause of suffering; and a redemption story, or way to end suffering.

He then argues that in his school, the origin narrative is evolution: you are the result of random processes and are no different than an animal. The cause of suffering is socially constructed rules that inhibit your freedom, especially your sexual freedom. And, the way to end suffering is to reject these rules, which typically stem from Christianity. So, in essence, salvation is found by rejecting Christianity.

"Yup, that's right," students typically respond. Interestingly, no student has ever objected to my husband's description of his school's religious worldview. In fact, when he describes it, most experience a sort of "Aha!" moment.

Read more at: http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/educate/mar16/are-public-schools-teaching-your-child-an-alternate-religion.html

[Ross]

Educational Cronyism

Those who worry that government officials use their jobs as a jumping off point to bigger things are paying close attention to certain events surrounding the U.S. Department of Education. Obama associates are part of a group purchasing a for-profit college that the government has previously criticized, resulting in its lowered value. The wife of Arne Duncan's replacement has taken a job that could result in conflict of issues with her husband's position. Arne Duncan looks to be moving on to big career advancements since resigning his cabinet position.

Arne Duncan is a Star!

Jennifer Aniston, Lady Gaga, George Clooney, Tom Hanks, and Arne Duncan. What do they have in common? They are all reportedly clients of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a Los Angeles-based talent agency. CAA represents people from Bruce Springsteen to Katie Couric. Plus former Bruce, now Caitlyn, Jenner.

A 2007 article in Fortune indicates that at CAA, teamwork is everything. "Celebrities" aren't represented by just one agent but, instead, information is shared among all areas of the company and everything is done for the advantage of clients. "The agency said that it 'will create opportunities for [Arne] Duncan across all areas, including books and speaking, as well as identify new business ventures.'" (Variety, 2-8-16)

In what alternate universe does a man go from heading the Department of Education to needing such representation? The same one where a former First Lady, now presidential candidate, has given many speeches for which even public colleges pay huge fees. (Along her road to amassing an astonishing net worth, Hillary was paid $300,000 by the University of California at Los Angeles for a speech in March of 2014.)

Conflict of Interest

Melissa Steele King, wife of Acting Secretary of Education John King, has been hired by Bellwether Education Partners. Mrs. King has been named an associate partner at Bellwether, which was co-founded by Andrew Rotherham, who Diane Ravitch calls "a leading force in the corporate [education] reform movement." (DianeRavitch.net, 2-18-16)

It is an understatement to recognize that there might be conflict of interest issues when the spouse of the man in charge of American education is an executive at this education organization.

The Bellwether website says they have "the highest commitment to transparency," so they provide a list of their "partners." But they fail to indicate which are clients and which are funders. A list of these "partners" of Bellwether includes: NEA Foundation, PARCC Consortia, Chiefs for Change, Sylvan Learning, Teach for America, ACT, Inc., Harmony Schools (Gülen charter schools), K12 Inc., Thomas B. Fordham Institute, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

President Obama reportedly sought to avoid Congressional confirmation for Mr. King by having him remain "acting" Secretary. But King may now face confirmation hearings. Besides exploring Mrs. King's Bellwether situation, Senators might initiate questioning about John King being whisked out of his position as New York Education Commissioner and into the administration when outraged New York parents demanded his dismissal because he gave every appearance of refusing to listen to their misgivings about Common Core.

Many say John King's January 2015 move to the Acting Deputy Secretary of Education position in the federal government was a way to rescue him from being fired in New York.

President Obama's Friends

It appears that The University of Phoenix will be sold. The largest for-profit university has been victim of a "determined effort on the part of the Obama Administration to kill it off," according to an article in Forbes (2-15-16). Any sale of The University of Phoenix, which is owned by the Apollo Education Group, will require approval by the U.S. Department of Education. This may not pose a problem for those who wish to purchase it since they have close ties to the Obama administration.

Anthony Wilder "Tony" Miller, who was Obama's Deputy Education Secretary from 2009 to 2013, is the head of Vistria Group, the intended buyer of the University of Phoenix organization. Another Vistria Group "top official" is Martin Nesbitt, who some say is President Obama's best friend. Nesbitt supported Obama's 2004 Senate bid and was treasurer of his 2008 presidential campaign. Nesbitt is also Chairman of the Barack Obama Foundation, the nonprofit group that will build the presidential library in Chicago.
Writing in Forbes about the sale, the American Enterprise Institute's Richard Vedder, who directs the Center for College Affordability and Productivity and teaches at Ohio University, says, "I know of absolutely no impropriety." But he also notes that "appearances are not good." Vedder writes:

The Obama people bash the for-profit industry, wiping out billions of market capitalization and sending some big operators (e.g., Corinthian Colleges) into bankruptcy. The largest survivor, careening from continual attacks and subsequent falling enrollments, Apollo, saves itself by selling itself to a group of Obama friends and former subordinates.

http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/educate/mar16/educational-cronyism.html

[Ross]

The Kansas House Education Committee
Did NOT Give Common Core the Boot

MARCH 23, 2016 BY SHANE VANDER HART

If you were to read the Topeka Capital-Journal you would think the Kansas House Education Committee booted the Common Core. "It's throwing the baby out with the bath water," the education establishment says.

They report:

The House Education Committee passed Friday a bill voiding statewide academic standards for public schools known as Common Core and requiring the Kansas State Board of Education to present a new set to the Legislature before implementation in 2017.

The vote followed four years of debate in the Capitol about standards for English and math implemented in 2010 by the state school board. The guidelines, renewed on a seven-year cycle, identify what the state board expects children to learn in each grade.

Rep. Amanda Grosserode, R-Lenexa, said the intention of pushing ahead with a revised version of House Bill 2292 was to offer a simplified approach for bringing to a close Kansas' use of Common Core standards to influence instruction in fundamental subjects. In February, the same committee adopted a far more complex bill intended to derail Common Core.

"We want the current Common Core standards to end in 2017," said Grosserode, a leading critic of the standards.

Rep. Nancy Lusk, R-Overland Park, expressed frustration with colleagues intent on producing the "ultimate throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bath-water legislation."

The "far more complex bill" actually repealed the standards. This bill was already passed out of the Kansas House Education Committee. It was sent back to committee by the Speaker of the House, State Representative Ray Merrick (R-Stilwell).

Kansans Against Common Core who were present at the committee meeting when the vote took place outlined what happened, and it's depressing.

On Friday, March 18th, 2016, the House Education Committee gutted a five-page bill and action that you have supported and elected people to vote for for multiple years, and substituted it with a PARAGRAPH that was not seen prior to Friday's committee meeting, was written within an hour, and passed favorably based on an oral reading. It is clear that legislators are not serious about removing Washington D.C. education from Kansas. It was clear that the members were going to vote favorably for whatever motion Amanda Grosserode brought.

The Education Establishment (lobbyists, teacher union members and administrators being paid by YOUR tax dollars) has been putting in overtime, flooding your legislators with calls, cards, and emails. Even the PTA is promoting Common Core! We know you have been calling, as well. But, as you will see below, your legislators—especially the Republicans you elected to bring conservative principles—are only responding to the Establishment. Take note of the legislators' actions from Friday, and unless they act to reverse their mis-informed actions, remember it this coming November. Make sure your dissatisfaction is heard at the voting booth.

Briefly, the new bill language does not address Kansas College and Career Ready Standards and all its alignments and entanglements, including assessments and data. THE NEW BILL LANGUAGE IN NO WAY AFFIRMS PARENTAL RIGHTS TO DIRECT THEIR CHILD'S EDUCATION.

I've been unable to find the current language to the bill which reinforces Kansans Against Common Core's objection to what was done in committee last Friday.  Be sure to check out their action alert and act accordingly.

http://truthinamericaneducation.com/common-core-state-standards/kansas-house-education-committee-not-give-common-core-boot/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TruthInAmericanEducation+%28Truth+in+American+Education%29

[Ross]

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:
Teachers Should Incorporate
Islam In More Subjects

By 100% FED Up -  Feb 15, 2016

Does anyone in recent history remember the US Department of Education asking educators to place more emphasis on Christianity or Judaism in their curriculums? Yeah...neither do we...

As parents across the country storm school board meetings over a perceived overemphasis on Islam in the curriculum, bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. are suggesting ways teachers can focus more on the religion.

A recent blog posted to Home Room, "The official blog of the U.S. Department of Education," points out that terrorist attacks in Paris and California sparked anti-Muslim incidents in schools and other places.

Muslim students, and those perceived to be Muslim, could be bullied, and the government wants teachers to know how to "create an anti-bias learning environment" by focusing specifically on those students and their faith.

"This means incorporating the experiences, perspective and words of Muslim people into the curriculum through social studies and current events instruction, children's literature, in order to learn about different cultures," the blog reads.

"When you teach about world religions, be sure to include Islam. ... It's also important to be aware that some Muslim students may feel relieved and comfortable discussing these issues in class and others may feel nervous, scared or angry to be talking about a topic so close to home."

The education experts – authors Jinnie Spiegler, director of curriculum with the Anti-Defamation League, and Sarah Sisaye of the Education Department's Office of Safe and Healthy Students – suggest that teachers pick controversial current events "ripe with examples of bias and injustice" to highlight anti-Muslim discrimination, and to "discuss what actions (students) could take to make a difference."

Teachers should also take it upon themselves to spread awareness about "Muslim cultural traditions" by encouraging events like Hijab days, when female students wear the Islamic religious scarf donned by their Muslim classmates. The education experts provided a link to a YouTube video of an event at Vernon Hills High School in December as an example.

Meanwhile, in places like Tennessee, state officials are reviewing curriculum early amid a barrage of complaints about questionable lessons on Islam in middle school history courses. Parents have highlighted lessons that required students to read, write and recite the Islamic conversion prayer; and pointed out the disproportionate amount of time students spend studying Islam versus other religions.

Parents have also questioned the accuracy of texts that suggest Christians and Muslims worship the same God and that Islam is a "religion of peace," EAGnews reports.

"A lot of the things we hear about Muhammad and a lot of the warfare that was waged is very much sugar coated," Williamson County School Board member Susan Curlee said at a December town hall.

"My concern is, are we going to be asking students on a test to potentially compromise their faith for the sake of a grade?" she questioned.

Also in December, parents in Greenville, Virginia raised objections to a world geography lesson at Riverheads High School that tasked students with copying the Islamic conversion prayer in Arabic, by hand. The intent, according to the lesson, is to "give you an idea of the artistic complexity of calligraphy," The Shilling Show reports.

The lesson doesn't appear to explain what the shahada or "Islamic statement of faith" is exactly – "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah" – but it does discuss the inspiring beauty of the Koran.

And it's those types of lessons that are sparking a backlash from parents across the country, from lawsuits in Maryland to proposed legislation in Tennessee, centered on what many view as Muslim "indoctrination" through curriculum.

A bias toward Islam is one of the reasons Tyler County Board of Education President Bonnie Henthorn decided to homeschool her children, rather than allow them continue in public schools, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports.

And while the Education Department blog stresses the importance of creating classrooms that are "free from discrimination and harassment based on protected traits – including religion," it offers no suggestions for teachers struggling to explain to parents why government approved texts and associated lessons focus more on Islam than other religions.

http://100percentfedup.com/u-s-department-education-teachers-incorporate-islam-subjects/

[Ross]

Retaining Constitutionally
Guaranteed Liberty
And State Sovereignty

Rejecting the Common Core State Standards

There is ton's of information in the PDF located at https://app.box.com/s/10nl1409mkaf00zzzuyf

The PDF is only 4 pages and is a quick download to your computer. Or read it on line.

The PDF contains a Map of the states and shows the stance of each state on the subject.

The rest of the pages provides multiple links to each states House Bills.

https://app.box.com/s/10nl1409mkaf00zzzuyf

[Ross]

Common Core: Hostile Takeover

When an adult school board member speaks of teaching children critical thinking, as suggested at a West Elk School Board Meeting, don't you suppose they should first learn critical thinking, themselves?

Live and learn !

A 12 minute video.