Y'all we are at war and we aren't fighting for land or oil or guns - we are fighting for our kids and the information that is being fed to them in our schools. And many of us are too complacent and blind to realize that there is even a war going on. Some people may be angry at this post and some will wake up and others will simply think that I've gone off the deep end - either way I'm compelled to write it.
Many of you know I am working on my Master's in Education and in my studies I have spent extensive amounts of time researching, analyzing, and debating the Common Core State Standards.
I am usually the lone voice of dissent on my discussion boards in regards to the CCSS. My main objective is because I'm conservative in my political beliefs, therefore, I am not in agreement with national (aka federal - don't be confused by their use of the word national!) standards - I am a "states rights" kind of girl.
Many things I am also learning and generally opposed to in my studies is the shift away from teaching facts to teaching learning. On the surface the wording and phrasing of teaching learning sounds great. "Oh yes please teach my child to learn!" But by teaching our children to learn, what is actually happening is facts are out the window . . . truth is now all relative to the person and what they believe. You believe the Holocaust didn't happen? Great that's your truth!
Now, yes our kids do need to know how to learn and how to study but they also need concrete truths and facts and history. Consider this from my
Foundations of Education textbook - the purpose of formal education is to "provide the knowledge to fulfill the society's expectations of their citizens." Well I don't know about you, dear reader, but I am striving in my parenting to raise my children up exactly the opposite of society's expectations of what they should become.
The Bible tells us not to
conform to the world and that is exactly what the federal CCSS is trying to achieve via the indoctrination of our children - conformed citizens to their agenda. And there is no better way to accomplish this then through the public school system where the majority of US children pass through at some point in their lives.
Right about here is probably where you are wondering if I'm nuts . . . well you know what? Unfortunately I am not nuts. Two months ago if you would have told me that I would no longer be allowed in my child's school - I would have told you that you were crazy . . . but today it is true. Many years ago if you would have told our grandparents that students could not say the Pledge of Allegiance or pray out loud in schools today they would have said you were crazy . . . but today it is true. So today what I'm telling you is that the Enemy is seeking to infiltrate the walls of our schools - even in my tiny rural community - and it is true.
So briefly what does federal CCSS have to do with Enemy infiltration? One of many things, in my opinion, is the focus or shift away from absolute truth. If from PreK to 12th grade children are taught basically that everything and everybody are okay as long as they think they are okay then where exactly does that leave Jesus - THE TRUTH, THE LIFE, AND THE WAY? Many of you may not think the Enemy cares or participates in such things and that is a very dangerous thought. Let's remember Job 1:7 that says Satan spends his day "roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." And 1 Peter 5:8 that says "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Our kids are ripe for the picking, especially when parents are uninformed or complacent that things like that would never happen at their school.
Those are my spiritual objections. Politically, I'd like to see less of everything from the federal government and that includes curriculum. Inasmuch as I would love to pin blame for this on a certain President in power now we've got to remember that
our struggles are against the devil's schemes not politicians (Ephesians 6:10-12). However, we are not blind to the fact that politicians have agendas and any president/leader would love to see a bunch of kids "educated" to their way of thinking. Y'all it can happen and if we don't pay attention we will never notice until it's too late.
Educationally, I believe the federal CCSS dumbs down our children and focuses too much on cultural sensitivity and social programs than actual education. Take this for instance
Under Common Core, classics such as “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” are of no more academic value than the pages of the Federal Register or the Federal Reserve archives — or a pro-Obamacare opinion essay in The New Yorker. Audio and video transcripts, along with “alternative literacies” that are more “relevant” to today’s students (pop song lyrics, for example), are on par with Shakespeare. (taken from Michelle Malkin)
I'd love for you to read a series of articles that dive into WAY MORE detail than I could ever dream of entitled Rotten to the Core
here and
here and also
Reader Feedback from Rotten to the Core. All three articles are thought provoking, especially the Reader Feedback from teachers and school board members (one member says he only voted for the CCSS because it was required to receive Race to the Top
federal stimulus dollars and so on and so forth from lots of readers).
Does our education system need an overhaul? Probably, but this is not the answer. Today my 7 year old was required to read a short passage where I timed his speed - one sentence said "(the girls) both got dressed in hot new clothes." My 7 YEAR OLD SON was required to read about girls in "hot clothes." Welcome to the Common Core State Standards where anything goes.
I'm dead serious when I say the enemy wants to sneak in our schools and claim our children, but even if for some reason you don't believe we have an enemy, you really need to believe that the investors of the Common Core State Standards DO NOT have the best interest of your child at heart. Our local governments can do a much better job because they actually have to answer to parents and voters, whereas hidden lobbyists and PACs do not.
But we can't win the battle if we don't understand that there IS spiritual warfare going on all around us. Let's not send our kids to the battleground ignorant of what is facing them. Get informed!
