Here is the first part of an honors essay written by Ethan Jackson in the CBB Essay Styles class last year. Note particularly his use of facts, and interesting and little known history to make his points. ~Scott (CBB Intern)
Government Founded Common
Core: Not the Answer
Every
year more and more helpful resources are added into the lives of the people in
the United States. Sometimes these resources, such as electronics, may sabotage
a student’s desire to learn and potentially harm his/her valuable education.
Numerous times others have tried to help these students learn to stand on their
own two feet with programs such as after-school learning aids or curriculum
updates. As a matter of fact, in 2013, it was estimated that one in five ninth
graders, or 22%, wouldn’t complete high school. Many organizations search long
and hard for various ways that will make the material taught in schools easier
for the students to understand. To do that, without taking out the vital parts
of education that prepare the students with adequate knowledge for both college
and career, is extremely difficult. Like many other organizations, the
government tried to seize the opportunity with a hopeful desire to turn the
students of America into a national success. While it is not yet fully clear
what the government has in mind for the future of America, it is clear that the
government’s involvement in the educational system and the development of
Common Core is not the adequate answer for this failing educational system.
Common Core
was written by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of
Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) in such a rush that it seemed a little
suspicious. It has been talked about and debated for nearly four years. In 2011,
without any official rules or guidelines available, forty-five states adopted
Common Core. But in 2013, after the package was approved, 62% of Americans said
that they had never even heard of Common Core. With 90% of the US states
already on the bandwagon, something must have been going on behind the scenes.
In President Obama’s stimulus package, chopped into little sections and hidden
in different places of the package, Common Core squeezed its way past Congress
with little concern. With the stimulus package approved, it was time to go to
the states and literally bribe and threaten the states to adopt Common Core,
which is unbiblical. Deuteronomy 16:19 states:
“Do not
pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds
the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.”
Also, with
6.8% or 53.6 billion dollars of the money from the stimulus package going to
win over the states, the government clearly did not have the welfare of the people
in mind. You see, the government scared the states into adopting Common Core by
making them choose between No Child Left Behind (NCLB) or Common Core. If the
states didn’t choose Common Core, then the government would set penalties on
that state. These penalties included shutting down that particular district and
building a new one, which uses Common Core of course. The fact is, Common Core
is the industrial school and it’s not being done “for” the students, it’s being
done “to” the students. To the government, the future of America is an item,
not a client.
Before it was struck with the idea of forming a national
standard, the government was involved in very little of the educational system.
On the first of August in 1889, a group of men completed the nation’s third
largest monument. This monument is called the “National Monument to the
Forefathers” and is located in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It tells a particular
story of how the founding fathers of the United States wanted the educational
system to be run. At the top of this eighty-one foot, solid granite monument
stands a gigantic female figure. Her name is Faith. She towers above four smaller figures sitting on all four
sides of the monument to represent God’s sovereignty and supremacy above all
things. Morality, Law, Education, and
Liberty are the names of these four
figures. You see, the very men that built this country had declared that from
the beginning, God should reign over government. Also, Law and Education sit
separate from each other. This meant that the government originally had little
to no part of the educational process. The parents and mentors were responsible
in educating their children and apprentices. So where have the founding truths
of the United States gone? They are all in the powerful hands of the
government. Faith was kicked off of
her omnipotent podium and Law forcefully
claimed it.
With the binding terms of Common Core came the issue of
accountability. In the past, school districts and states could trust that the
results coming back from various standardized tests were accurate. But now that
the federal government has taken this job into its own hands, everything is
confidential and students don’t really know how to interpret their actual score.
When scores are received back, the results don’t have the exact number of
scored points. Instead, along with not going into much detail on how the
student did, such as which questions they got wrong, the results simply say
either the student exceeded the standards, met the standards, or scored below
the standards. No longer will the tests be precise. The government doesn’t only
put itself in charge of scoring, it puts itself in charge of the entire
process. This process includes creating the curriculum, delivering the
curriculum, defining successful performance, developing the assessment tests,
administering those tests, scoring the tests, and reporting the results of
those tests. Not only is that giving the government more power, but it’s also
taking away many hard working Americans’ jobs. Doesn’t that contradict the
government’s proposed plans for the “growing” future of America?
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