In Pursuit of Happiness

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN PRINE

Found this at Crooks and Liars this morning. Amazingly, many of my colleagues at Camp Nickleby still don't understand that this is what it's all about! And we're not talking the Hokey-Pokey!

Maggie Roark

BACK-TO-SCHOOL NIGHTMARES

Well, they started about a week ago. The back-to-school nightmares. Camp Nick starts up in another week. Some are more horrifying than others, but they are all bad. Most of the time, I wake up screaming. Unfortunately, mine don't include the lovely Teri Garr!

Honky Tonk Angel

THE BASTARD SON OF NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND?

I have just recently pulled my head out of the sand (or, whatever), and have become acquainted with the latest in the long list of 'educational reforms', that is the COMMON CORE STANDARDS (cue screeching violins). I'm educating myself on this bucket of bile: where did they come from, who wrote them and why, and what will the impact be on teaching this time around. While my self-education continutes, I found this comment on Ravitch's blog that helps to explain what the hell is going on.

"I tend to think that over time, this will be another “No Child Left Behind” disaster.

I could only hope as much, but CCSS does something no other act or program has ever tried to accomplish, and that is to justify the need for a national database on all students. That is to say, within a generation, all citizens. This is too big and too important of a ball to drop, unless it is replaced by a better ball.

In true Orwellian style, the common core will provide the oligarchy with a much needed tool to control the masses. The information gathered, justified by the CCSS, will be powerful enough to start a war. And not a war on another nation, but a war on our own lower class which, as automation increases, is no longer needed in such great numbers. 

I realize I sound like a conspiracy theorist when I say this, and I’ll admit, everything you read above is made up. The questions remain, though, why does the federal government want such a tool this badly, and why would we submit it to them?"