Years ago, I had a favorite song I would sing almost constantly. Being a child, I sang it constantly. The tune was catchy, the words were so repetitive, that it got stuck in my head. The chorus line was, “Second verse, same as the first!”
My point, anti CCSS Warriors?! We are seeing MANY ‘second verses’ when it comes to the ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) run-education.
With traditional school calendars in motion or about to be set in motion, you will see all kinds of ‘second verses’.
Where? Lessons, resources, assessments (to name a few). Our opposition, however, will do their best to try to fool everyone that education is not a repeat of CCSS or NCLB, but newer, improved, and better somehow.
Pardon me if I throw a few sour notes in about now.
New Leader, Same Alignment:
Where I live, classes are to begin 8/29/16. On 8/9/16, WISC Radio shared that the school system I help pay taxes for, has been ‘gifted’ with a new leader. As soon as I saw his official title, I knew the school system was no better off than when the former leader was here. This is what made me think of “second verse, same as the first.”
What is our former leader, Edwards, up to?
He has moved from the public side of the CCSS Machine to the private side. My fellow anti CCSS Warrior, LadyLiberty1885, tells you, in her 7/6/16 article that Edwards is still in the data ‘business’. See: https://ladyliberty1885.com/2016/07/06/mooresville-superintendent-leaves-district-for-discovery-education/
Why is my school system so ‘honored’ to continue to receive sold out leaders? One reason, I believe is that NC has many State leaders, businesses, and connections willing to be the CCSS/CTE/STEM ‘back-up singers chorus’.
If they aren’t trying to sing second verses about ‘quality’ education, they are warbling on about the need for the economic stability and how aligned jobs are the key to success.
Add to the chorus, the legislators who have sold their souls to the Chamber of Commerce or are still convinced that education only needs more money to fix it, it is no wonder our State is repeating its mistakes.
Another reason I believe this school system is so ‘honored’ is because the sitting U.S. President made a beeline trip here when the digital push in education was beginning. I didn’t go to the big shindig, but I did hear he thought Mooresville was a model town that the nation should follow.
As far as the town paper, they even joined in the ‘second verse’ when the paper published their article about his new leadership role. The reason Mauney was chosen was to carry on what Edwards started! See: http://www.mooresvilletribune.com/news/mooresville-picks-new-school-superintendent/article_5ddf2d1a-5e76-11e6-aa24-9bafce9a1f2a.html
Did the public taxpayers get to vote Mauney into office? No, our School Board elected to appoint him.
**An interesting note is that yesterday and today (8/24 and 8/25) are “Laptop Deployment” days. It’s also time to have all those laptop users register with “InfoSnap”. Oh yes, the data mining’s ‘second verse, is the same as the first’! InfoSnap is PowerSchool, formerly of Pearson Publishing, now with Vista Equity Partners.
Does Mooresville reward its CTE school teachers? Yes! These teachers fall under the ‘hard to staff’ section of the pay scale
See: Mooresville City Pay Plan
If you’d like to see how much Mauney’s ‘second verse’ will cost the citizens of NC (including Mooresville residents), look at what evidence LadyLiberty1885 also shared:
Remember, not one citizen outside of the school board voted for this, yet we get to foot the bill. Not a ‘greatest hit’, for sure.
Mauney and the NC DPI:
What’s a ‘second verse’ Mauney is already singing around the county I live in? “New Math” set to aligned standards which are EXPECTED, not already vetted. The article I learned this from can be read: http://www.statesville.com/news/high-schools-to-implement-new-math-standards/article_6b12311e-6270-11e6-908c-233bf77b9168.html
Here is the ‘old’ CCSS Math One (for high school):
Source: http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/curriculum/mathematics/scos/math1.pdf
(*Note: see all the other NC DPI, CCSS aligned Math Standards before they ‘disappear’!:
http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/mathematics/scos/ )
Here is the ‘new’ CCSS-but-not-CCSS Math One (for high school):
Source: http://maccss.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/REVISED+High+School+Math+Standards+6-2016
(*Note, you can also see Math 2 and Math 3, here.)
According to other NC DPI resources, the Career Tech Education Standards haven’t been ‘updated’ since 2012. The Strategic NC CTE Plan document is from 2009! What’s my point? Every CTE leader in NC, including Mauney has been singing the CCSS Machine’s ‘first verse’ from about the time we got our Race to the Top funds!!
Here is the 2009 Strategy Plan: strategic-plan (1)
For the NC 2012 information: nc cte planning
(*Note: according the the NC DPI, on another page of their website the CTE programs are currently being updated. See: http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/cte/program-areas/ ) Which leads to…
The NC DPI (2014), had industries and businesses review CTE courses for accuracy. Hardly a ‘new verse’ for the State, or the CCSS Machine’s use of P3s (public private partnerships). See: http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/cte/program-areas/career/programs/blueprint/careermanagement.pdf
(*Note: top of the list for learner priorities in these courses?! Social emotional behavior!)
If you would like to see how my school district fares state-wide in CTE:
You can find Iredell-Statesville Schools on Page 30, Mooresville, Page 57. To access the entire document:
Developing_High_Quality_CTE_Programs_Through_Business_Engagement
Related “Songs” in Your Area:
National CTE:
If you would like to know which people in the CCSS Machine oversee the National CTE Standards? You’ll need to see this!
http://www.nbpts.org/sites/default/files/documents/news-releases/CTE%20Cmte%20Bios.pdf
(*Note: be sure to note the States represented and that the ages/grades of the students these educators impact is from early education to adulthood.)
Association for CTE:
I have shared much about this group with you in the past. Known as ACTE (Association for Career Tech Education), the instructors who are members can receive awards on the State, Regional, and National levels. Below is the screen shot for the Regions used. Notice where your State is.
Source: http://www.acteonline.org/member_awards/#.V730kfkrLIU
Closing:
Warriors, our nation deserves more than the second verse being the same as the first when it comes to education. Use my school district’s activity to see in your area what similar songs are being carried on.
