The battle to keep educational freedom in Michigan is heating up this week as a key vote on whether or not to adopt the Common Core curriculum is expected to take place.

If you are unaware of what Common Core is doing to to the educational system (as many Americans unfortunately are), here is a brief primer on what it is all about:

Data is collected on students like never before. Common Core changes the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 so children’s Social Security numbers, blood type, records of school attendance, supposed learning disabilities, religious affiliation, disciplinary records, parents’ income information and other personal information will be permanently stored and made available to many public agencies.

Classic literature is eschewed by Common Core while government technical manuals are encouraged as learning texts. Some examples of recommended reading materials for children are “Recommended Levels of Insulation” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and “U.S. Department of Energy and Executive Order 13423: Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management.”

– Common Core is being pushed by the usual array of crony capitalists and corrupt government officials. The infamous ObamaCare cheerleader Rick Snyder supports it. Monsanto’s top backer Bill Gates had his foundation give $150 million in grants to help a wide variety of organizations implement Common Core standards. Former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush and NJ Gov. Chris Christie are also standing with Obama against local control of education.

Common Core also affects parents who homeschool their children. Because standardized tests like the SAT and ACT are expected to conform to Common Core standards and because these tests are so influential in deciding college admissions, homeschoolers will likely be disadvantaged in spite of routinely outperforming their public school counterparts.

– Common Core increases the reliance on standardized testing that was the main problem with No Child Left Behind. Third graders are expected to do tests for 8 to 9 hours with tests going even longer for high schoolers. This type of testing is far more expensive and influential in critiquing schools and teachers.

– Because of Common Core, power is outsourced from local communities to unaccountable trade organizations in bed with the federal government. The standards were copyrighted by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) because it is illegal for the Department of Education to initiate copyrights. It is worth noting that the ‘nonprofit’ NGA has received tens of millions of dollars from taxpayers. This public-private partnership skirts the law and allows for the ultra-centralized educational system that the Feds crave.

– Educational professionals have been coming out against Common Core left and right. Common Core is also receiving criticism from both conservatives and liberals who haven’t been bought off by the corporate and political elite.

Concerned parents are under attack for demonstrating their 1st Amendment rights against this federal education takeover. Recently at a Regional Public Forum on the Common Core State Standards in Towson, Maryland, a father was hauled off in handcuffs and arrested for merely publicly asking questions about the dubious new plan.

This is the latest nightmare that the feds are trying to shove down our throats, and we need to loudly proclaim that this outrage will not stand. Common Core is already being implemented in Michigan schools and across the country. The results are not pretty. Test scores have plummeted in New York after their first year of implementation. Georgia, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma are three states that are pulling back on Common Core after realizing it was more than they bargained for. Florida has now withdrawn from Common Core’s ridiculous testing system. We need to learn from the mistakes these other states have made and make sure that Michigan rejects this abomination completely before our children’s futures are ruined.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Please contact your State House Representative and urge them to support H.B. 4276 to ban Common Core in Michigan and to support H.B. 4972 to reject the Next Generation Science Standards, a measure very similar to Common Core. Please urge them to do what is right and stop this federal education takeover immediately. And while you’re at it, contact your State Senator as well. A vote is expected to happen this week or next. We can stop this disgrace, but we need you to make your voice heard! Please get involved and help us show the control freaks that we will no longer be tread upon!

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