Monday Musings: Opportunity or Ultimatum?

Happening just days from is the “National Opportunity Summit” in Washington, D.C. How this connects to Common Core is about to be revealed. Join me as we learn all we can. Clothed as ‘opportunity’, it smacks of ‘ultimatum’.

The Nation:

Website: http://opportunitynation.org/the-opportunity-summit/  Known as “Opportunity Nation”, this group is part of the “Be the Change, Inc.”, a 501(c) 3 organization. We’ll look at “Be” in a bit, but first let’s look at what the “Opportunity Nation” does.

The Participating Members:

As part the Nation, there are several known pro-CCSS schools, organizations. You’ll need to see the entire list for yourselves, however, here’s a screen shot you can click on to enlarge.

The Index:

What nation would be complete without a way to compare each state to others? You’ll note when you enlarge this picture that the Index uses the unemployment rate. If you’re not aware, the unemployment rate has been misused to support Common Core.

The Solution?:

Opp Nation has a solution to all this disconnection/unemployment it says we are experiencing. What are some of the pieces to the solution? Career Tech Education! (Adult Common Core) Workforce legislation (aligns labor/education), education savings accounts (which have been reported to be another way to ensnare families in CCSS). You really NEED to see the entire solution plan.
http://opportunitynation.org/our-solution/the-shared-plan/

The Summit:

While you look over the Summit’s planned workshops, consider the politicians involved. Note the businesses. Do you see Business Round Table? Huge CC supportive group. See: http://opportunitynation.org/opportunity-summit-agenda/

The YouTube Channel:

You’ll really want to access the Nation’s videos. All the rhetoric you’d expect from the CCSS Machine’s drive to disguise ultimatums with opportunities. See: https://www.youtube.com/user/OpportunityNation

“Be the Change”, Inc.:

Website: http://www.bethechangeinc.org/  This nonprofit is devoted to the memory and mission of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Currently, they also have other initiatives going on besides OppNation. Be/Change is also devoted to Workforce as opportunity. To see who serves on the Board, visit: http://www.bethechangeinc.org/pages/who-we-are

To see the Gates Foundation’s contribution to Be the Change:

Listen and Watch the Be the Change’s founder from 2008.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YHAmALmHlI&w=420&h=315]

More About Mr. Khazei:

The internet search I used called Mr. Khazei a ‘social entrepreneur’. “Echoing Green” named him a Fellow back in 1991. (See: http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellows/alan-khazei ) His social justice campaign got a shout out a few years ago, see: 

http://www.fastcompany.com/38937/social-justice-alan-khazei-and-vanessa-kirsch

Mr. Khazei’s other Common Core tie? The Aspen Institute! That is according to his LinkedIn profile. See: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/alan-khazei/15/75b/4a8

Aspen Institute’s Common Core pages: http://www.aspeninstitute.org/search/content/common%20core%20standards (*Note: Be sure you see the right hand menu of the latest news. You should see David Coleman’s face there.)

Aspen, Gates Foundation, and CCSS: The Washington Post has a great article connecting all three of these. See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/05/12/gates-gives-150-million-in-grants-for-common-core-standards/

Closing:

Well, the original musing I posed was all this opportunity or ultimatum. It is my researched opinion that opportunity is a farce in the realm of Common Core. Ultimatums are a distinct possibility when you factor in all the amount of controlling strings the CCSS Machine has for us.