Posted on 12/27/2012 6:35:17 AM PST by jmcenanly
A war of words is brewing. But this one doesn't involve slinging insults. It’s a battle over what forms of writing – novels, poems, and non-fiction – will define English instruction for millions of American schoolchildren in the years to come.
Sparking this war is the Common Core standards push – an effort to nationalize the standards and assessments upon which every public school in America would base its curriculum. The Obama administration has poured billions of dollars into the effort via federal “Race to the Top” grants.
As always when it comes to federal largess, there are strings attached. And in this case, it’s pulling the rug out from under classic literature. Literacy experts point out that The Common Core denigrates the value of teaching literature in the classroom. Instead, English teachers are being told that 50 percent of their course material must be derived from “informational texts.” (Actually, the informational text requirement starts at a “mere” 25 percent of reading material for kindergarteners. It rises to 70 percent for high school seniors.)
What, exactly, meets the definition of informational texts? Among those recommended on the national standards list we find The Federal Reserve Bank’s “FedViews,” “The Evolution of the Grocery Bag,” and “Health Care Costs in McAllen, Texas.” And, roll over “For Whom the Bell Tolls” it’s time to make way for that GSA classic: “Executive Order 13423: Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management.”
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Gee, are they going to burn all the “illegal” books the children are not permitted to read?
Also include REFUSE to read them. The current “reading evaluation system” put in place by “No Child Left Behind” has destroyed the pleasure of reading for fun an enjoyment for millions of kids. They may have to read those books now, but as soon as they’re grown up and on their own, they’ll never read another book again.
This sounds like a job for Guy Montag.
But the strings have never been unconstitutional, as they are with Obama. Let's make a distinction here.
If everything becomes digital, censorship is simply a matter of blocking access to files to all but a few authorities.
Which turns the printing press into a retro source of freedom. Print and distribute pamphlets; you control the content, distribution isn’t tracked from download to destination, and it can be carried and read without needing batteries or high tech devices.
Simply increases the number of LIV....
bfl
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