Sic’ ‘Em Saturday: Those Who Oppose, Yet Support

Common Core Standards have been proven to be embedded in our post-secondary schools via Career Pathways, Career Tech Ed AND Workforce Training! So what do you do with your legislators who are opposed to Common Core yet are working overtime to ensure Workforces???

North Carolina’s Story:

As you know, I’ve been sharing how the state I reside in has been ramping up the post-secondary Common Core since I began my blog in mid 2014. If you check my link here, you’ll get every story I’ve written about the subject (there at least 4 pages of articles): https://www.commoncorediva.com/?s=workforce From the post I wrote called “Tech Thursday: NC’s Workforce Despicable Moves”, you’d find this excerpt, “Here in NC, everyone wants in on the educational direction our students take. We have the Dept. of Commerce firmly involved, we have the NC Chamber of Commerce foaming at the mouth to put their money’s worth in, private corporations have become education’s pimp. All the while, the most of the politicians smile and tell you how ‘great’it is!” What preceded this was this note, “**NOTE: While I am basing this off what I discovered here, in NC, do not assume if you live elsewhere, you are not impacted. ” CCSS aligned Workforce” is alive, implemented, and growing in all 50 states!”

From my January 20th article, “From the File Tuesday: Career Readiness and Data”, this evidence, “Also, further legislation has continued to progress the CTE in our schools, all while our heads have been turned on K-12 Common Core movement. For example, NC has stepped up its game for Workforce, CTE courses. How? Legislation that ties not only the Dept. of Public Instruction, but Dept of Labor AND Commerce Dept.!! I dare you to check your states.  See: http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/cte/and fc_10_allocation_for_cte_leadership_grants_-_career_pathways and nc cte planning

So Who Among the CCSS Opposers are NOW Workforce Supporters?:

This is a tough one, because fighting Common Core takes all the warriors it can. So when one splits his/her awareness, it’s always up to the citizens to help give them a hand in remaining as up-to-date on all the cracks, crevices, and areas the Common Core Machine is cranking away in. For example one of the NC Senators who opposed Common Core in K-12 (and even nominated me to sit on the now famous NC Academic Standards Review Commission), has been appointed to several committees in our General Assembly which will continue to pave the way legislatively FOR education reform to fit a Workforce agenda!! These committees include Education/Higher Education, Appropriations for Education/Higher Education. Here are his words, “Serving as co-chairman of the Work Force and Economic Development Committee is very exciting.  The reverberating theme of our last session was job creation.  We used tax reform and regulatory reform to create a business environment encouraging job creation.  Additionally, we used education reform to make sure our students could read and have the skills required for gainful employment.  Our Workforce and Economic Development committee will focus on using tax dollars efficiently to train students with the skills in demand today.  Furthermore, we will focus on ways to retrain displaced workers in order to acquire the skills needed to find new jobs and, likewise, helping our military veterans find jobs.” 

In addition to the above Senator’s remarks,  the 2015 President of the NC Senate, had much to say along the lines of education reform and workforce. Below is the video from the opening day of the new session. Mr. Berger remarks begin about the 25 minute mark.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCQR_WYnikA&w=560&h=315]

Not to be left out, the House of Representatives also had something to say about education reform and workforce. According to the Raleigh News and Observer (newspaper that’s liberally biased), both the House and the Senate will spend much of the session ‘focus(ing) on jobs, the economy, continued reform of state government and education’ See:  http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/01/14/4475708_republican-rep-tim-moore-elected.html?rh=1

So, Which Members Opposed CCSS and now Support Workforce?

From the 2013-14 General Assembly information (click to enlarge):

If you’d like to see who in the House of Representatives voted, click here: http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/voteHistory/RollCallVoteTranscript.pl?sSession=2013&sChamber=H&RCS=1772

To see the Senate’s vote, click here: http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/voteHistory/RollCallVoteTranscript.pl?sSession=2013&sChamber=S&RCS=1132

Compare the members from above to the Joint Legislative Workforce Development System Reform Oversight Committee for the current 2015-16 Session. (See: http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/Committees/Committees.asp?sAction=ViewCommittee&sActionDetails=Non-Standing_6578)

My Point/Action Steps:

While the above links will give you the names of the NC legislators and how they voted on the subject of Common Core; along with where some of them are now serving in the capacity of Workforce Reform, there are other committees to look towards. For example, here in NC, there’s a joint Study Committee on Education Reform, which includes some members of the public. Now, as notorious as CCSS is for having public, private partners, I’d dare say THOSE folks need a good looking into to.

A) IF you live in NC, what to do: 

Contact those who opposed the Core, yet are supporting Workforce education reform! Visit their offices, write them emails, help educate the constituents of each of the districts represented! Since we know the NC Chamber of Commerce is heavily involved, hold their feet to the fire!! Use the tried and true grapevine; social media; letters to the editor.

B) IF you live outside NC, what to do:

Investigate your Workforce Education Reform members; Education Reform; Appropriations for Education/Higher Education. We all know where the money is, there the Standards will be. Find out if your state level Chambers of Commerce are deep into the legislation. If so, find out where and expose it!! Remember, word of mouth; credible evidence.

C) For all of us:

When contacting Legislators, keep your facts concise (don’t babble); when writing, keep bullet points of the most crucial importance to a one page list. Provide documented proof (remember, each of my articles is written so that any link or document is totally accessible for sharing). Have students who are living the CCSS aligned Workforce saga talk with the legislators!

Finally, while some states aren’t involved in the CCSS, they ARE involved in Workforce! Don’t let your great state settle for CCSS adult aligned education (which via CCSS begins in elementary levels of education). Remember, cradle to career can’t happen IF we fight it with purposed direction.