Recently, I was looking through my social media feeds and I stumbled on a known CCSS supporter’s blog which shared that in the modern aligned educational world, our marriages can be fixed by our local schools! Have you heard anything so bizarre?! I must say, of all the CCSS aligned things out there, the last thing we need aligned is marriage!! So, the riddle before us is:
CCSS Education Can Save My Marriage?!
The Blog Entry:
Written by the well known pro-CCSS man named Michael Petrelli, his article dated 3/11/15 is titled “What Schools Can Do to Address the Marriage Crisis, Part 2”, see: http://edexcellence.net/articles/what-schools-can-do-to-address-americas-marriage-crisis-part-ii It seems the folks at Mr. Petrelli’s employer are focusing on education and the family. Geez…seriously?
In reality the article is a shameless plug wrapped in something resembling concern. What do I mean? His plug for post-secondary Career Tech Education! To add insult to injury he cites Harvard as credible on this subject. Now, if I’d not conducted so much research into how embedded with Common Core, Career Tech Education is OR the fact that Harvard’s had a huge hand in helping this effort along, I might be impressed. However, I’m not..neither should you. How many times and ways must we hear yet another avenue that seeks to take over our lives as Common Core is so doing?!
Enter Other CCSS Supporters:
Not content to leave Harvard alone in the CCSS related ‘shout out’, the author adds to the mix Brookings Institute..another group not bashful of their love for the Core.
The Original Reports:
In the blog, a pair of original articles is referenced to (even linked in the blog for you). So, being the researcher I am, I clinked on the embedded link and was taken to yet another website for a group which was formed by P3s (this is getting to be a broken record in CCSS land, don’t you think?!). P3s, or public-private partnerships; we’ve seen, read, and experienced the harm P3s has caused in modern education. We also, see it growing, especially with efforts like the Petrelli blog article mentioned above.
The organization responsible for the reports Petrilli is bringing up is called MDRC..and they’re in the social justice business. Yep, like we’ve not seen what too much social justice in CCSS is doing to our educational system as well. (If you’ve not been reading the news lately, some of the other anti CCSS warriors are sharing how social justice is turning up in physics classes or similar classes where it’s inappropriate. If you must teach social justice, do it in anthropology, civics, or more well suited classes). So, who is behind MDRC? What else does MDRC accomplish? Let’s find out…
From MDRC’s “History” page, I give you the following excerpt, “Created in 1974 by the Ford Foundation and a group of federal agencies, MDRC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and social policy research organization dedicated to learning what works to improve programs and policies that affect the poor. MDRC is best known for mounting large-scale demonstrations and evaluations of real-world policies and programs targeted to low-income people. We helped pioneer the use of random assignment — the same highly reliable methodology used to test new medicines — in our evaluations. From welfare policy to high school reform, MDRC’s work has helped to shape legislation, program design, and operational practices across the country. Working in fields where emotion and ideology often dominate public debates, MDRC is a source of objective, unbiased evidence about cost-effective solutions that can be replicated and expanded to scale.”
The CCSS Significance of the Ford Foundation’s Involvement:
Excuse me, but did you catch the “Ford Foundation” in the above excerpt?? Yes, the very same Ford Foundation which has contributed much in support for all things CCSS. See the following links:
http://www.fordfoundation.org/grants/grantdetails?grantid=112954 (where Ford gave money to “Common Core, Inc.”)
This article from the Washington Post, where it not only gives us that Ford Foundation, has given millions – but other big spenders are named, too. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/10/millions-in-private-money-poured-into-common-core-promotion/
If you’d like a visual version of a basic overview of Ford’s involvement, the classic 2013 OptOut video is excellent. For the specific mention of Ford Foundation, advance the video to about 5:30 minutes.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/18442-flow-chart-exposes-common-cores-myriad-corporate-connections You might also find the depth of the Ford Foundation’s involvement in CCSS Career Pathways interesting as well. See my published article from “Prevent Common Core”, http://preventcommoncore.com/?p=1187
Back to MDRC:
Knowing the heavy influence Ford has in MDRC, finding the CCSS support was very easy, here’s the link to the general search I did. Note how many of these relate to workforce, CTE (Career Tech Ed). See: http://www.mdrc.org/search/gss/common%20core%20standards
In MDRC’s original article about marriage/education, http://www.mdrc.org/publication/effects-marriage-and-divorce-families-and-children, it won’t take long before you can begin to see why ‘marriage education’ is a bit concerning.
Put the puzzles pieces together, my warrior friends:
1) supportive groups for CCSS
2) redesigning education and the schools education takes place in to ’21st Century Community Learning Centers’
3) add social justice, conduct classes that ‘extend’ our education in the community
Results? A more CCSS aligned community..including your family and your marriage. Think I’m dreaming this up? See the screen shot below:
The publications I’m referring to in the above screen shot are available for you to access on the KnowledgeWorks website. You must read them! 2020 Forecast: Creating the Future of Learning, published in 2008 and the KnowledgeWorks Forecast 3.0: Recombinant Education: Regenerating the Learning Ecosystem, published 2012.
By the time you finish these, you should have a much great understanding of why it’s important to look beyond the triteness of the Petrelli article. Why? Because while all the fast talk, slick words, and look at ‘all the good this will do’ is being shared, it is what is going on behind the scenes we must learn about.
If an aligned marriage courtesy of CCSS, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, tax reform or even prison reform (yes, Petrelli was politically correct) is what is in store for our students, then we have many miles to go before we can stop the CCSS Machine.
Hi… This article was a bit too long and, at times, difficult to follow. While I understand your intent, and I am in general agreement with the theme, a brief article is oftentime better on the eyes and thoughts of the reader. All the best, CB
Thanks for your input. The reason i have the articles contain so much is to provide the reader with all the links, resources, and information so as to not tell them what to think. So many warriors against CCSS have specific battles, by having all the information in one location, they can pick and choose what is most helpful.
I hope that your battle is going well and that you’ll continue to find my blog helpful.