Imagine, if you will…a society where those diplomas we worked so hard to earn are rendered useless. A society where Common Core has so overtaken us, we work for the credential authorized card. It’s not that far fetched.
Watch this short video produced by the NCCER (National Center for Construction Education and Research):
http://youtu.be/mvmrwEUEdvo
NCCER has been around since 1996. Since it’s all about construction, you wonder why it’s on an anti CCSS blog. Especially on the Fib-o-Meter Friday category. Well, hold on to your coffee, folks. Here’s the first ‘statement’ we’ll measure. Look at the screen shot below and know it’s a “Total Truth”.
Well, it’s ‘Total Truth’ according to Pearson, but what does the NCCER have to say about Career Tech Ed?
Straight from the NCCER’s “Curriculum” website page, “In cooperation with publishing partner Pearson, NCCER develops and publishes a world-class curriculum created by Subject Matter Experts from industry and academia throughout the United States. Subject Matter Experts ensure exceptional training programs meet or exceed national industry standards. The NCCER curriculum, which includes more than 70 craft areas, is taught worldwide by contractors, associations, construction users, and secondary and post-secondary schools.”
As far as those “Subject Matters Experts”, who knows, notice the academia/industries are not specifically mentioned, rather a general statement. Hhmmmm…just what is a ‘Subject Matter Expert’? According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, a SME (Subject Matter Expert) can be a ‘first level supervisor’ and on up the workforce ladder. The website even states that those with recent successful experience can be considered SMEs!! The entire definition of who is considered as a SME is quite nebulous, in my opinion. Why? (see for yourselves: (http://www.opm.gov/FAQs/QA.aspx?fid=a6da6c2e-e1cb-4841-b72d-53eb4adf1ab1&pid=c9d6d33b-a98c-45f5-ad76-497565d58bcf)
So, as far as our Fib-o-Meter goes for how expert the ‘experts’ are? We’ll have to stick with ‘Neutral’ until more evidence surfaces. However, with a Common Core loving partners like Pearson and the Association for Career and Technical Education, I don’t think it’ll be long before we see more proof surfacing. Oh, by the way, if you type in “Subject Matter Expert” into a general search engine for the internet, don’t fall over when you see how many free, on-line assessments there are to determine your expert level. Which kind of smacks of the “I-learned-it-on-the-Internet-so-it-must-be-true.” mindset. That’s “Total Fallacy”!
I’m Not the Only One:
Huffington Post featured an almost exact phrasing of their question concerning diplomas as I have. See:
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/27/value-college-degree_n_5399573.html) Of course, the article is discussing the lower value of high school diplomas these days.
Design Today for that Credential Tomorrow!
Seeing how CCSS and all that’s connected seek to re-arrange everything we know about quality education, it’s not hard to find credential based information for our students. The U.S. Dept. of Labor has an entire website, tutorials included, on how you, the student, or educator can build a custom career competency model. So, I built one based on the heavy construction Career Cluster. (since our newly Pearson/NCCER curriculum will be included, I thought I’d see just what I’d have to do as a student. Here’s the results, (click to enlarge it)
Now, do you think all this should be considered truth or fallacy? Remember..all this competency, career alignment is filtered through the Common Core lens. From what I’ve been able to uncover, it should all land on the “Fallacy” end of the Fib-o-Meter! Why? When you base everything off a lie, it’s still a lie in the end!
Related resource: The U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration has a handy, dandy guide for what constitutes a diploma, a credential, a degree, etc. Since CCSS is diluting education at break neck speed, be sure you hang on to this linked resource. See:DOLETA resourcedefinitions
Finally, here’s one “Total Truth” that to this day, I cringe when I consider the directions credentials, not, diplomas are taking us. Why? In my opinion, the diploma equals knowledge and freedom. The credential, notsomuch of anything except constriction. Listen for the smoothly delivered line, “No national career certificate, no need to apply.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=422sXYNSbVw&w=560&h=315]
The “WorkKeys” the manager refers to? It’s owned, written, and administered by ACT, Inc. It’s “Total Truth” how ACT, Inc. is sold out to Common Core. (see: http://ladyliberty1885.com/2014/06/23/common-core-aligned-workkeys/) Note: Lady Liberty’s opening sentence about Common Core? Nails it with ‘biggest lie’! Around here, that’s good enough for a “Total Fallacy”!
