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April 12, 2010
ObamaEd: All the Socialism of ObamaCare at a School Near You
Posted by The MaryHunter at April 12, 2010 10:45 AM
We all know how well President Bush's "No Child Left Behind" worked -- perhaps one of the best examples of good intentions gone horribly awry. Now we have an added insult to the injury that is our educational system: what can only be called ObamaEd.
President Obama has extended federal control over health care and is now trying to centralize education policy by imposing Washington's dictates on states and local jurisdictions. Though aimed at improvement, the president's agenda will weaken strong state standards, set in motion a domino effect of education nationalization, and marginalize ordinary Americans.
Obama-ed started with the president's $4 billion Race to the Top (RTTT) competitive funding program, which required states to commit to adopt common, i.e. national, standards in core subjects. Next, Mr. Obama informed the nation's governors that, if he has his way, states would have to adopt national standards to receive federal Title I funds for disadvantaged students.
Just as with nationalizing anything, this would spell the end of quality in America -- in this case, of quality education. Here's a taste of things to come:
The proposed standards don't require mastery of single-digit addition until the end of the second grade and don't require mastery of single-digit multiplication until the end of the fourth grade.
Further, whereas California's eighth-grade algebra standards are rigorous and complete, [...] in the proposed national math standards "only bits and pieces of algebra are present in grade 8, with very little connection among them." The study also notes that the national standards push an unproven method of teaching geometry that Russia tried and discarded 25 years ago.
What's more, PTAs across the nation will be effectively neutered, as parents will have to cede educational decisions affecting their children completely to the federal government.
Faced with national standards, national testing and a national curriculum, it will be nearly impossible for grassroots parents and community members to effect change when problems arise. In contrast, powerful Washington-based bureaucrats and special interests will be strategically positioned to influence content, tests and curriculum. Rather than promoting excellence, one-size-fits-all national standards and curriculum will stifle competition and could lock in mediocrity on a countrywide scale.
You didn't remember hearing about this until... oh, idunno -- today?
Unlike the prolonged debate over health care, the public was given a criminally short three-week period, ending in early April, to comment on the draft national standards. As a result, the nationalization of education may occur before most people are even aware of what's at stake. Welcome to Obama-ed, America.
With ObamaCare they've already begun stealing our bodies from us. ObamaEd is nothing other than a play by Chairman Zero to steal our children's minds.
