The De-Westernization Of Education

From "Common Core: Phasing Western Culture Out of Education":

This week, left-wing outlets, like NPR’s quiz show, Wait, Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me! and the Huffington Post, as well as the British Telegraph, expressed surprise and concern that the new national Common Core standards will destroy the love of literature. The leftist outlets focused on favorites like Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird, but couldn’t seem to connect this unconstitutional federalization of education with their favorite presidential candidate.

They should also be concerned about what the recently released test questions reveal about what the feds want: happy workers for the State.

The test questions, which will eventually be given to every single student, are the kind you could expect from a close pal of Bill Ayers, co-founder of the terrorist group Weatherman-turned-“Distinguished Professor of Education.” Ayers’s close colleague, Stanford Education Professor Linda Darling-Hammond, education director of Obama’s presidential transition team, heads content specifications for testing under one of the consortia, Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium which received $176 million in stimulus funds to develop testing under Common Core—now the law of the land, at least in 46 states. (The rest of the $360 million for testing was given to PARCC, Partnership for Assessment Readiness for College and Career.)

SBAC recently released 16 sample test questions. They reveal that the “transformation” of American education that Darling-Hammond had eagerly anticipated will be fulfilled—toward making students into global citizens, devoid of a sense of cultural heritage, and content with performing quick tasks that require little concentration.

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There are no references to the “classic myths and stories” or “America’s Founding Documents”...

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Apparently “twenty-first century skills” and “higher order thinking” don’t call for lengthy works of literature, like Shakespeare’s plays, Little House on the Prairie, or even favorite novels of liberals. More likely, students will be given a short passage and asked how a sod house affects the ecosystem. The wallpaper for the Teaching Matters website features a bulletin board with projects on biodiversity. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is advancing the use of their materials regarding environmental regulations for Common Core. California’s Invasive Plant Inventory is on the recommended informational reading list, as is EPA Executive Order 13423....

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Literary works promote an American cultural identity, pass on Western Judeo-Christian values, inspire independent thought, and develop the imagination. Their elimination is likely to produce citizens incapable of understanding the proper–and limited–role of the state.

There is much more in the article, including embedded links.

If you have children or grandchildren in the public school system, you MUST read this article!

Plato had it right:

The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life.

So does Proverbs 22:6 (KJV):

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.