In the past week or so, you have been able to learn about the Congressional obsession to ensure our nation has all the adult versions of Common Core, (called CTE, or Career Tech Education) we can stand. CTE goes by several other names and can be found in STEM, as well.
Last Wednesday, Women on the Wall featured what I had uncovered about S 3271 (Advance Workforce Act) and the HR 5587 (Strengthening Career Tech Education for the 21st Century). Both are to reauthorize the Carl Perkins Act of 2006.
Then, 2 days ago, I shared with you how S 3190 (Strengthening Our Rural Health Workforce Act of 2016) is going to not only align health care to CTE (thus Common Core and STEM), it’s going to join other health care laws to it! See:
https://www.commoncorediva.com/2016/08/16/ctes-health-country/
There have been several national articles featuring the news about S 3271 and HR 5587 since all this. We need to have just as much national attention on S 3190, as well..maybe even more attention. Why? Our health care system will directly impact millions. Think about the ramifications of it being aligned to the CCSS Machine!
Warriors, Congress is on recess right now (they will be back in D.C. and in session on 9/6/16). We MUST mount the horses of truth NOW and charge!
But, Wait, I Found More!
To prove my statement about the obsession D.C. has with CTE, consider the OTHER evidence below:
Just before Congress took their recess, several members decided to pledge their devotion (and thus will guide their districts) to CTE and all related.
House of Reps:
7/13/16, Rep. Foxx (NC) had these ‘fine’ words to say, “[There] is an unnecessary stigma attached to career and technical education. It’s too often referred to as the “other” track, with the incorrect implication that it’s the path individuals take if they won’t be able to handle the rigors of college. In reality, students who pursue CTE complete a diverse curriculum where they learn important skills for succeeding in the workplace such as problem-solving, research, time management and critical thinking …
We need to shift our perspective away from the idea that every student must attend an expansive and expensive four-year program to succeed in the workforce. Educational success is about more than just a degree. It’s about quantifiable skills that employers need in their employees.”
(*Note: This is not the first time I have shared Foxx’s love of an aligned workforce with you, so it should be no surprise to hear her, once again, wax lovingly about it.)
You can see and hear the rest of Rep. Foxx’s testimony:
8/11/16, Gov. Pence (IN), also the current Republican Vice Presidential candidate,
shared his love and obsession for CTE back in Feb. 2015. The House’s Ed and Workforce Committee is using that testimony to promote CTE legislation as a ‘bipartisan’ effort and subsequent successes. Here is a small portion of Gov. Pence’s testimony, “[We] cannot forget that a critical goal of our educational system is to enable students to succeed in a 21st century economy and to ensure that students are prepared for college and careers. For some students, this means a four-year college degree. While completing college is a goal which we need more students to attain, going directly into a career may prove the better option for many others.
This is not about a Plan A and a Plan B. This is about two Plan A’s. For those students who are not bound for the traditional four-year college, we must still ensure that they can thrive in their future careers, and one way to do this is to again make career and technical education a priority.”
(emphasis is theirs, not mine)
Below is a screen shot of the U.S. House of Reps. Press Release where they featured Gov. Pence’s testimony:
To access the entire Press Release,
http://edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=400965
The U.S. Senate:
Remember, Warriors, this is a D.C. obsession not immune to one Chamber of Congress. So what are our Senators spreading about CTE?
Just before recess went into effect there was another Workforce, CTE related piece of legislation. This one is S 3174 (called the LADDER Act). What will ‘Ladder’ do? Establish an independent Inter-agency Council for Workforce in our Executive Branch of government!
Here is a screen shot of S 3174:
To see the rest of S 3174: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/3174?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22committeesshr00%22%7D&resultIndex=7
How much will this new Council embedded in our Executive Branch cost taxpayers? According to the White House a ton! See below:
Here is the website address to access the above information:
https://budget2017.whitehouse.gov/#!/year/2017/operating/0/bureau_name/Interagency+Coordinating+Council+on+Workforce+Attachment/0/agency_name
(*Note: From what I was able to glean from the fine print of both of the above resources AND the readily-available resources on the Internet about how ‘Workforce Attachment’ is defined, it seems to mirror the EU’s (European Union) “Youth Guarantee” system. I have written about the YG before.) See: http://preventcommoncore.com/?p=1201
Here’s the bottom line for YG, “You’ll see how students have a limited time after either graduation or their last job to get on one of 3 tracks. They can choose, apprenticeships, training workshops or more education.” The ‘American’ difference? It is targeting more citizens than our youth.
Spreading the Love:
The ACTE (Association for Career and Technical Education) is one sold out CCSS Machine member organization I have shared much information with you in the past. ACTE embraced WIOA, HEA, and ESSA. ACTE loves STEM, too. The group also has a policy watch action section. Be sure to read their thoughts on the 2016 General Elections, especially for Congress. Here is an excerpt you MUST share! “While the next president will set the policy agenda, Congress still makes the laws and controls the budget. In recent years, the House and Senate passed major education and workforce development legislation, including the Every Student Succeeds Act and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. With the upcoming re-authorization of several important pieces of legislation including the Perkins Act and Higher Education Act, as well as the continued threat of budget austerity in federal CTE funding, the battle for control of the 115th Congress will significantly impact the future of CTE policy.”
See the rest: http://ctepolicywatch.acteonline.org/2016/08/election-2016-decides-control-of-congress.html
Here’s what else I found on the CTE Policy Watch portion of ACTE. Many of us who research the CCSS Machine have long connected the data mining dangers between education and jobs. Here’s proof:
To see the infographic in full form:
http://www.ihep.org/sites/default/files/uploads/postsecdata/docs/resources/infographic_pdf_final.pdf
To see what the ACTE thinks data gaps need to be filled:
http://ctepolicywatch.acteonline.org/
To see how proud ACTE is with ESSA and the opportunities it gives for CTE to thrive:
To get the one page document: ESSA_Fact_Sheet_Academics and CTE in the Classroom
To get the one page ACTE document for how CTE fits CCR (College and Career Readiness) and is included in ESSA under Title One funding: ESSA_Fact_Sheet_Career Readiness Accountability (*Note: this will also be among the strings of State Accountability to the U.S. Dept. of Education and the U.S. Dept. of Labor)
If you would like to see who the ACTE has skewed the truths about CTE and ESSA (in addition to their subjective views of WIOA and HEA):
http://ctepolicywatch.acteonline.org/2016/05/acte-publishes-new-fact-sheets-on-cte-in-essa.html (*Note: pay attention to the Teacher ‘Fact Sheet’. Why? Educators, according to ESSA MUST be aligned to post-secondary readiness in their teaching. My “Congress Loves CTE” and “CTE’s Health Country” help further expose what is in store for leaders.)
See:
The Poisonous Love Bites:
Warriors, each of our States has been bitten by the CCSS Machine’s CTE Love. We see celebrities touting the need for training workforce, we see our legislators fawning over trained workers for their State’s economy worse than nature during mating season, we have watched as our President has led initiatives to use school counselors to ‘win’ over more students for aligned career tracks, and so much more. How is the ‘love’ spread? Money with strings. Agenda with promises. Sold out citizens in key places hell-bent on reshaping our nation to no longer be the “land of the free/home of the brave”, but to be the ‘land of the controllers/home of the enslaved’.
Warrior’s Actions:
1) All of these Bills (in the 3 articles) have been introduced and are in Committees until Congress reconvenes Sept. 6, 2016.
2) All of these Bills are purposed moves by the CCSS Machine. The private parts of the Machine are influencing the public parts of the Machine to make all the alignment efforts complete.
3) We can work together to influence the Congress members to halt all these Bills!
4) We MUST act quickly and with accuracy.
5) Women on the Wall is currently working on resources for our anti CCSS Warrior influence for maximum impact. If you have any desire to help stop the CCSS Machine’s rolling through D.C., please contact me. If you are familiar with Women’s leader, Alice Linahan, please contact her as well. We will be dissecting these latest CTE moves next week during the broadcast.
I leave you with this motivation:
4 thoughts on “America’s Obsession”