Thursday, June 19, 2014

The Dr. Is In- Corpulent Common Core- Part III

    " Society highly values its normal man. It educates children to lose themselves and to become absurd, and thus to be normal... But social adaptation to a dysfunctional society may be very dangerous." Dr. R.D. Laing. The Politics of Experience. 1967

    " In New England every citizen receives the elementary notions of human knowledge; he is taught, moreover, the doctrines and the evidences of his religion, the history of his country, and the leading features of its Constitution.... It is extremely rare to find a man imperfectly acquainted with all these things, and a person wholly ignorant of them is a sort of phenomenon." Alexis DeTocqueville. Democracy in America. 1831


    The penchant of rewriting our educational curriculum towards a more accepting and tolerant exercise of Socialism is a peculiar trend of the later half of the 20th century. The 60's saw the graduation of Leftist ideological 'reformers' on a massive scale. Throughout the 70's it was commonplace to see a former hippie done a tacky suit and join the ranks of teachers full of ideas on how to shape young minds. As these idealistic graduates became 20-30- and 40 year veterans of the educational class the idealism morphed into dogma and mandates. Low pay and thankless achievements turned teachers looking to expand Liberal forms of thinking into the Union recipients of largesse, tenure and social indoctrination of our children.
    I was probably the last generation of children to leave the 'old school' system with a sense of purpose, national pride and a rudimentary knowledge of my Constitution and history. As I explained before in the previous installment my mother gave me the tools of learning and I was armed to the teeth with desire to learn as much as possible even after my schooling had finished.
   This does not exist anymore.

    As Dr. Pesta wound his way into the final half hour of his talk at The Floral St. School he was to unveil the worst parts of Common Core. He upheld that old notion of save the best for last, or in this case, save the worst for last.
    Common Core will sexualize your children as young as 5 and 6 years old.
    Within the curriculum lies a sinister evil. Sex education classes among Grammar age children is offered in schools today. Many parents opt out of this by request and still retain the right to do so without argument from local schools. If CC gets its way that will no longer be an option. In fact, we are not just talking about the birds and the bees we are talking about full fledged porn style education of our children from gay sex, anal sex, oral sex, what your private proclivities are, even S+M. Any attempt to remove your children from this exposure will be viewed as obstructive with possible referral to Family Services for evaluation.
    This causes one to ponder; if one of the theories behind child sexual abuse is a sexualized child ( one who exhibits age in-appropriate behavior), thus prompting an investigation, then what is to stop every family from being investigated when our children are sexualized by the educational system?
    It already exists in Scotland. In 2013 the Scottish House of Lords passed sweeping legislation to place social workers with every family scheduled to give birth, or who has children already. The massive protests of Scots is being ignored by the government and demands to reform the educational system are being met with arrests. This is also being found in the United States as well. It is not uncommon for an American citizen to be arrested at a town meeting for refusing to obey an ordinance and publicly speaking out against it.
    The educational system under CC is not designed to open minds, expand knowledge or permit critical thinking. It is designed to mold and indoctrinate. Already we are two to three generations past from the form of education I received and the results are obvious. Our population if void of basic human understanding, void of history, void of literature and void of God.

    In Cleon Skousen's book The Five Thousand Year Leap,  he explores the entire foundational purpose behind our Constitutional Republic. A foundation based on the simple fact that born here on this continent was something miraculous and most decidedly guided by the hand of Providence. At no other time in history had something like this occurred and in the 200+ years that followed Americans were able to leap the evolutionary equivalent of 5000 years.
    The key portions of our form of government and social structure were based on Judeo-Christian law and theories of liberty. Skousen illustrates how a Republic is formed like a triangle with the majority of power resting on the bottom and held by the people themselves. Power at the top is small and limited in scope. All decisions are made at the local level, the family level and the individual level and are specific to those locations. What exists in one village may not exist in another not out of obstinacy or prejudice but out of necessity. What a child is taught in the rural farms of Oklahoma do not match what a child is taught in New York City. It can't!
    This local control over the affairs of one's community were the basis of our independent streak found only here in America. Non-intervention of regulators allowed people to explore, discover and invent everything we take for granted today. Had Alexander Bell tried inventing the telephone today he would be taxed and regulated to all hell and gone before he finished the first schematic. If he had been educated by our system today he would not even posses the intellect to do so.
    Psychiatrist Dr. R.D. Laing explains how our notion of every one doing as society expects is not healthy. Molding people to follow a wrote structure is clinically insane. The person who speaks out and questions doctrine and methodology is not the crazy person in the room but probably the only sane person in the room. He further explains that this is not a psychological manifestation but an inherent one based on our culture of independence. As we now see generations of mal-informed Americans sending their children to the same public schools that short changed them the ability for a person to question something will be virtually eliminated. Already the daydreamer, the fidgety child, the bored child is medicated to conform to standards set by some invisible power. Children with disciplinary problems are not taught how to channel such behavior but are suspended from school, arrested by police and ground through the family court system. Our educational system employs a form of punishment and ostracizing that is mentally detrimental to children. It also brands them in a file as agitators, possible criminals and tags them as wards of the state.

    What is particularly evil is that some Administrators of our schools are paid to point these people out and cull them into the legal system. The majority of them come from low income families unable to hire the expensive legal counsel that would defend them. As CC expands we can expect the Family Court system to be overwhelmed with cases. As zero tolerance policies ratchet up under CC it is possible that a simple question from a child will result in disciplinary action.
    It exists already. In Canada one school fines parents for not following strict nutritional guidelines set by the school. There is the famous story of the child who drew a picture of Jesus in an art class and had to bear the stigma of not being allowed to hang that picture at the school art show. Another child had a Bible taken away during reading time and was suspended. And lets not forget the kid who kissed a girl in kindergarten or the child who chewed his Pop-Tart into the shape of a gun. Trust me folks, the absurdity has still not reached the bottom, we have more to come.
    Susan Bussing Asst. Principal to Worcester East Middle School is one of these Administrators. She spends much of her time in Family Court extolling to Judges, one family after another, how horrible their child is. In fact, from my investigations into Mrs. Bussing I have come to discover that many families have been forced to file lawsuits against her and file restraining Orders against her. I also wrote in a past blog how she has targeted my own daughter and has been caught red handed by myself stealing property from me.
    Susan gets paid to do this! Her job is not to be a mentor, a guide to a young mind, and influence. I certainly do not see the name of Susan Bussing being remembered as a hero (as some really good educators are) on a television add. Her job is to feed the system with fresh meat. The suspension rates at WEM blow away all the other schools in Worcester combined. Families I have interviewed have seen their children go from excited students eager to learn to trampled spirits forced to repeat a grade.. Under Bussing!
    As the Union rules exist today, nothing can be done to remove her save a flagrant violation like assault. Should CC become the standard people like this will be the norm. In fact, it is not out of the realm of possibility that the hiring standards under CC draw more individuals like Susan Bussing. More law enforcement rather than educators.
    Susan Bussing used to be a Corrections Officer.

    Indoctrination isn't even the tip of the iceberg under CC. Enforcement and compliance lies deeper beneath the water line. The current state of our general intelligence level in society is like a small rudder steering this massive ship known as our future. We propel headlong into the unknown drawing closer to the inevitable collision and we may not have the time to alter course before we rip down the side of our children's growth and doom them to the icy depths of servitude.

....And That Is The Diatribe....

   

Friday, June 13, 2014

The Doctor Is In- Common Core Conformity- Part II

    " It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional whatever the motivation." Vladimir Putin 2013

    "... for if the American Constitution should fail there will be anarchy in the world." Daniel Webster

    " Stand by those principles; be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost." Frederick Douglas

    I began writing when I was 11 years old. Idealistic as a child I began with a novel. It was going to be epic! My mother was going to college at the time and I was immediately exposed to a wonderful book known as The Norton Anthology of English Literature. It became my favorite read. This was also during America's Bicentennial and my mother would often take me to Lexington and Concord to visit many of the historical sites including the homes of Walt Whitman's and Louisa May Alcott. I walked the pond where David Thoreau secluded himself and spent endless summers in Salem Mass learning all I could about the works of Hawthorne. Little did my Kennedy Liberal mother know she wasn't just exposing me to great writers she was exposing me to Classic Liberalism and my love of Patriotism and my nation.
    My novel never materialized as my writing formed many incantations over the years. From song writing, arranging and then a career in contracting my experiences always drew me back to writing something of some sort or another. Over the years my mother would produce great short stories about her life yet never was able to know the joy of publishing. With the advent of the Internet I have been able to know that joy. Today I am the chief writer and producer for this blog and The Meat And Potatoes Show. My mother did well in her teachings.

    I now wonder what would have become of my writing had I received a Common Core education?
   
    Having learned a great deal on this topic the answer is simple. It would never exist. Dr. Pesta as well as many great educators all know that no child learns the same as another. Each child has many gifts and many weaknesses and it is up to parents and mentors to help shape the imagination of that child. My mother often told me that if you teach a child to love reading and learning the task of education becomes a breeze. It will just follow.
    I remember taking a form of standardized tests while in school known as Iowa Testing. Once or twice a year we would all sharpen our #2 pencils and fill in the many dots on the answer sheet. I loved those tests because they were always a great distraction from the daily routine in class. I know, I was a dork.
    What made those tests important is that it benchmarked where students were in the year academically. Adjustments could be made in the curriculum and difficult students could get the help they needed. It also helped that I was attending a small school, a small class in a small town. With the nationalization of education it is not inconceivable that our children will undergo a form of warehouse education in the future. Learning by repeating, learning by slogans, learning by rules and regulations pumped into the brains of young idealistic minds.
    Dr. Pesta alluded to one interesting point during his talk in Shrewsbury. It is the same point made by several of the candidates I have interviewed this past year on my show. Hearing the Dr. make this point gave birth to a frightening realization. Dr. Pesta said ".. it is purposeful".
    It is purposeful that our healthcare industry is being destroyed. It is purposeful that our economy is being destroyed. It is purposeful that our culture is being destroyed. It is purposeful that traditional families and our Judeo-Christian ethics are being destroyed and it is purposeful that our education system is being destroyed.
    It is being destroyed so that government can be the harbinger of all information, employment, acceptance, conformity, family, religion and shelter. Never mind a 'single payer' system, we are talking about a single payer EVERYTHING system. If we can generate the next generation of willing drones the system will be self sustaining with open hands held out at the government window indefinitely. With this cradle to grave dependency government can control our lives, our destinies, our children and the future.
    Yet, despite the overwhelming evidence and the dire warnings of educators, civic leaders and citizens across the nation there seems to be no shortage of water carriers for this Huxley-esque Utopia. On June 7th 2013 English Language Arts Liaison Phyllis Goldstein wrote in the Telegram and Gazette, "... The editorials by outside groups claim that the CCSS were produced in secrecy (they were Phyllis), nullify teacher creativity, lower rigor, and restrict local control (it does Phyllis). All of these claims are incorrect and based on skewed evidence."
    Phyllis goes on to describe the hard work she and her collaborators produced over a two year study to raise ELA and math standards in Massachusetts. I applaud her efforts and is one of the reasons Mass does have such high standards. However, what Phyllis fails to understand is once CC is adopted all those benchmarks she and her colleagues developed will be for nothing because CC will be the standard nationwide, not what our little state has developed for ourselves. Incidentally Phyllis Goldstein goes on to claim that (along with Dir. of Humanities and Literacy Susan Whetle) their standards are "the foundational document of Common Core."
    Well, it may be the foundational document, but as a former contractor I can tell you right now. What is designed on the paper does not necessarily translate to the construction site. Somewhere along the way some changes have been made and not for the better.

    For several years we have heard a catch phrase across this Republic. It is "the dumbing down of America". Have you ever seen an episode of 'Watter's World' on the O'Reilly Factor? Look it up and you will soon see what I mean. The simple knowledge of who we are as a nation is lost. Basic historical facts are amalgamated into a sort of badly constructed Trivial Pursuit game where no one gets the answer correct. As test scores fall farther behind we 'fix' the problem by lowering the test scores. What was a 65% failing grade in my day is now acceptable as being grade level in most school systems.
    Basic understanding of, well, everything is now history. And you won't see that question on a Common Core Conformity Test anytime soon.

.... And That Is The Diatribe....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LeCrfqxquc&list=PLU_Z4p-v1UQYZ_jP9AxW6wuBHDg97kXWG&index=3

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

The Dr. Is In- And So Is The Fix. Dr. Duke Pesta on Common Core

    " A sect of political doctors... standards of political orthodoxy... who brand with heresy all opinions but their own... pretenders to profound knowledge, yet ignorant of the most useful of all sciences- the science of human nature..." Alexander Hamilton 1792


    I had one of the most educational experiences on June 9th at the Floral St. School in Shrewsbury Mass. Donna Colorio and her group The Common Core Forum, Hal Shurtlef from the NE chapter of The John Birch Society brought Dr. Duke Pesta to speak to over 150 area residents about the dangers of a new and very illegal federal program known as Common Core. Under Obama's Race To The Top plan for education states could receive millions in funding. Yet, despite three previous laws dating from 1965, 1970, and 1979 prohibiting federal intervention in local school curriculum the Obama Administration slipped into the stimulus bill a provision for Race To The Top. The states, like hungry baby birds couldn't wait to gobble it up.
    There was only one hitch.
    In order for the states to receive the money they had to adopt the federally mandated educational curriculum known as Common Core. It was a simple 'take it or leave it' proposition. Either take the money and Common Core or lose all federal funds for education.

    For over two hours Dr. Duke Pesta spelled out the case against CC, the key players, the crony capitalism and the deals made between Governors, Bill Gates and the leading publishing company for text books in America, Pearson Publishing. This plan will reap billions for those involved, set a standard lower than the rest of the world for our students and The United States on a course to third world status in education.
    Retired Literature Professor Sandra Stotsky of Massachusetts was one of the original members of a select panel to devise CC. However, after working on CC in 2010 she soon realized there was a  problem with benchmarking the standards dictated by CC. In protest she refused to sign off on CC. Her name was quietly removed from the list of panelists and CC was approved.
    The private groups who were the brain children of CC were The National Governor's Association, The Council for Chief State School Officers and Achieve Inc. The start up money was supplied by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundaton. It was the Gates Found. and Achieve Inc. that selected the panelists. There were no open meetings, no hearings for the public. They refuse access to their reports, findings and do not comment on any critiques. The NGA and CCSSO also would do the validation of all findings.
    The problem with all of this was that few of the panelists had any actual educational experience. Neither did the Governors or Bill Gates. Dr. Pesta points out the difficulty in creating a curriculum and that there are few people who ARE actually qualified to do this. Currently there are only 22 qualified mathematicians who could create a new math curriculum. None of them were consulted.

    Massachusetts has one of the highest standards in the nation for testing but four reports were used in creating CC to prove that states with high standards did not meet the standard developed under CC. Well, no surprise there when all your findings are internal and shielded from peer review. The four reports were published by Achieve Inc., Thomas Fordham Inst., the Mass. Business Alliance and the Mass. Dept. of Education.
    The reports were all fabricated. In fact, currently in Massachusetts the benchmarked standards for Algebra 1 and 2 and Geometry come in much higher than CC standards. CC proposes to toss out math theories used since Euclid.
    The K-12 standards under CC for literature do not even come close to preparing students for college. One aspect I learned of in 2013 when I met Sandra Stotsky is the replacing of classic literature and simple story telling with informational text and government documents. Dr. Pesta gave several examples that amounted to reading the latest EPA regulations and Presidential Orders.
    Inidentally, all four of those groups were generously funded by the Gates Foundation as well.

   
    Essentially we are going to propagandize our children. Couple that with the 30+ million children under SSRI medication and the stage is set for obedient drones for generations to come. And since we are using benchmarks lets use one here now. If the non-affordability of The Affordable Care Act is one benchmark then the benchmark for Race to the Top and Common Core is nothing more than a free fall spiral straight to the bottom.

....And That Is The Diatribe....

        Postscript: In the link below is Part I one of the talks Dr. Pesta graciously gave at Floral St. Sch. In the parts II and III I will continue this series and inform my readers of how Common Core will sexualize our children as well as posting the rest of Dr. Pesta's great forum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MusxL6JmUWs&list=PLU_Z4p-v1UQZSKw62f2lfyrEoRg1xxWNb&index=83