The National Pulse: APP’s Jane Robbins Reveals Dangers of Gov’t Data Mining to Congress (VIDEO)

On January 30^th, American Principles Project senior fellow Jane Robbins gave outstanding testimony at a U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee hearing titled “Protecting Privacy, Promoting Policy: Evidence-Based Policymaking and the Future of Education.” She spoke eloquently about the critical need for data privacy over data security, the dangers of social emotional learning, and the enormous problems of steering students into certain careers based on predictive algorithms. You can watch her opening statement here.

The video of the whole hearing is available here. Here are some of the strongest points from her opening statement:

• The Government Has No “Right” to Student Data

• Citizens’ Data Belongs to Them — Not the Government

• The Social Emotional “Craze” Is a Problem

• This Data Could Be Used to Steer Children into Certain Careers

• There Is No Perfect Way to Secure This Data

• Data Collection Without Consent Is an Affront to Freedom

• The Government Ignores the Data It Already Has

• Allowing Access to Social Emotional Data Is a Serious Risk

Quotes and more details in the full article are available here.

The National Pulse: Betsy DeVos Just Delivered a Promising Speech. Will Her Actions Back It Up?

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos gave an interesting speech to the American Enterprise Institute last week. In some parts, it contained rhetoric that skeptical conservatives have been waiting to hear. Yet, other parts toed the corporate-establishment, ed-tech, education-as-workforce-prep line that previous administrations of both parties have pursued. Here is a brief review.

The Positives

First, we commend Secretary DeVos for unabashedly stating the obvious — that the unconstitutional federal control of education has been an utter failure:

The bottom line is simple: federal education reform efforts have not worked as hoped.

That’s not a point I make lightly or joyfully. Yes, there have been some minor improvements in a few areas. But we’re far from where we need to be.

Secondly, Secretary DeVos accurately describes the appalling federal overreach and the huge failures of both No Child Left Behind (NCLB) under George W. Bush and Race to the Top, Common Core, and the School Improvement Grants under Barack Obama…

Read the full article HERE.

The National Pulse: Debunking 5 False Claims About “Social Emotional Learning”

by Karen Effrem, MD

The National Commission on Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (SEL) that we have discussed and warned about had a major gathering in Tacoma, Wash., this past November and sent out an email update in early January.

The commission is led by Linda Darling Hammond, the head of CASEL, who was radical terrorist Bill Ayers’ choice to be Secretary of Education in the Obama Administration. Another commission co-chair is former Michigan Governor John Engler, now chairman of the Business Roundtable (BRT), which has long promotedCommon Core, SEL skills development, and treating children as widgets in the labor-supply chain.

Five “takeaways” from the Tacoma gathering were listed in the email and on their website. As we have written in many articles and as is typical of SEL proponents, these contentions are overflowing with contradictions and fallacies. Below is a brief attempt to debunk them:

https://thenationalpulse.com/commentary/debunking-5-false-claims-social-emotional-learning

The National Pulse: Guess What? Congress Wants to Collect Even More Sensitive Student Data

Dr. Effrem discusses the new version of The Student Right to Know Before You Go Act by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Mark Warner (VA). While improved on the basis of data security, the bill still allows the collection of way too much data without student knowledge or consent, fundamentally changing the relationship between citizens and the government. Read the full article HERE.