One of the fairy tales central-planning lovers spin about Common Core K-12 curriculum and testing mandates is that they will “reinvigorate[e] the democratic purpose of public education.” “The Common Core identifies three texts—and only three texts—that every American student must read: the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution (Preamble and Bill of Rights), and Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address,” Ross Wiener, a vice president at the liberal Aspen Institute, gushes further in The Atlantic. He lauds the “commitment in the Common Core to the democratic mission of public schools.” When liberals are suddenly super-excited about teaching the Constitution, it’s time to raise the suspicious flag, especially from someone who doesn’t seem to realize that it deliberately restrains our country from operating as a democracy. (For the record, Wiener describes the United States as a democracy 12 times and never anything else. He must have never read about ancient Athens—and neither will kids at Common Core’s behest.) Should conservatives get equally giddy over Common Core’s “once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine and reprioritize the special role that schools play in preparing students for active civic participation”? Not unless we like perpetuating public schools as recruitment centers for leftist ground troops. To borrow a metaphor that my farmer father used when we kids were trying to convince him to let us watch a movie or read a book he thought was destructive to our minds and morals: “If I made delicious brownies and just put a bit of manure in it, would you eat it?” In this case, it’s more like serving kids a steaming pile of manure with brownie inside somewhere—Common Core, of course, being the poo and our founding documents being the brownies. We can get kids to read things they should in school without also forcing them to endure the mediocre-quality education Common Core perpetuates, which will not prepare students for a four-year college or a STEM career. If we agree that people make better citizens with a good education, we have to insist kids get the best we can offer them, which even according to Common Core supporters are the standards of California, Indiana, and Massachusetts, which academically trump Common Core. Further, Wiener either in ignorance or deliberately he does not mention in what context Common Core would have children read our founding documents. Fortunately for informed debate, Hillsdale College history professor Dr. Terrence Moore has thoroughly examined Common Core’s mandates in this regard, and they are shocking. “The texts have been artfully selected to convey a particular bias against the Founding Fathers,” the former Marine lieutenant writes in his recent book, The Story-Killers. He notes that the first mention of the Constitution is in middle school, and Common Core only recommends that students read the Preamble and First Amendment. From the chapter entitled “Superficiality and Bias”:
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 00:48:05 +0000
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