Saturday, September 6, 2014

Student Viewpoint: Common Core Essay Part 1


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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