The National Pulse: It’s Time for Congress to End These Federal Intrusions into Preschool
That this program [Preschool Development Grants] has not received any funding is very good news, and there are several important reasons that Congress should refuse further funding during budget negotiations. The two most important are the federal interference that is very present, despite Politico’s claim and the flowery language in the bill, and the continued ineffectiveness, academic and emotional harm of preschool programs in general, especially Head Start.
As I wrote at the time ESSA was being drafted:
The grants require alignment to Head Start and the Child Development Block Grants that in turn require [in eleven different places in the current Head Start statute, such as Section 642B(a)(2)(B)(iii)] national preschool standards. These standards are being correlated and aligned to the K-12 Common Core by national organizations and states like California. They include very controversial and subjective psychosocial standards like gender identity (p. 27), creating a “Baby Common Core.” (See more details on the problematic language HERE.)
This alignment language to Head Start completely negates the “no federal interference” for the grant language in ESSA. These federal standards are in large part social emotional, which makes them even more controversial than the K-12 Common Core standards, which are for the academic subjects of reading and math. Having the federal government require a grant program to align to a federal law that imposes content standards on essentially every pre-k program in the country is the epitome of federal interference. Perpetrating this scheme of such overt federal control of K-12 standards would have created an enormous uproar. It is a complete mystery why constitutional conservatives allowed it during the 2007 reauthorization of Head Start.
Read more 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: Looking Ahead: 4 Predictions for Education Policy in 2018
by Dr. Karen Effrem, MD
Happy New Year! Here is a brief update on federal education issues we were following before Christmas and some predictions as 2018 begins. As always, the contrast between policies that uphold the Constitution, academic excellence, parental rights, and data privacy versus those that expand big government control and corporate interests, using the student as mere widgets in the labor supply pipeline, is stark.https://thenationalpulse.com/commentary/looking-ahead-4-predictions-education-policy-2018/
Issues
- Assessments + Testing (25)
- Bullying/Sex Education (6)
- Child Protection League (2)
- Common Core Standards (78)
- Curriculum + Standards (65)
- Data Collection and Data Privacy (64)
- Early Education/Nanny State (75)
- Federal Education (128)
- International Education (6)
- LGBT Issues in Education (9)
- Media Appearances (4)
- PL/CBE (2)
- Planned Economy (11)
- Politics of Education (26)
- School Violence (9)
- Social Emotional Learning/Mental Health (52)
- State Education (89)
- Testimony/Presentations (17)
- Uncategorized (13)
- Unions (10)
Education Liberty Watch Projects
ELW Allies
- American Principles Project
- Cato Institute
- Conservative Teachers of America
- Constitutional Coalition
- Eagle Forum
- Minnesota Advocates and Champions for Children
- Missouri Education Watchdog
- Restore Oklahoma Parent Empowerment
- Stop Common Core
- The Pioneer Institute
- Truth in American Education
- What is Common Core – Education Without Representation