You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence. - Charles Austin Beard







Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Dumbing down for Race to the Top | federal, standards, california

Dumbing down forRace to the Top federal, standards, california - Opinion - The Orange County Register

What a bad civics lesson for our children. In school, California's students learn that, under the U.S. Constitution, America has a federal system of government. The federal government performs certain functions, such as national defense, while most things "are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people," as the 10th Amendment mandates.

Education, obviously, is a state and local issue. But on Aug. 2, the California Board of Education knuckled under to federal pressure to ease California school standards. This was done when the board voted to implement the school standards for President Barack Obama's Race to the Top initiative. The new standards replace much more vigorous California standards. The unanimous vote of the 10-member board means that California now can qualify for a chunk of the $700 million in federal grants to state schools under the Race to the Top program. The board's vote promotes "California's high expectations and our belief that every student is capable of success in the classroom," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said.




Is this happening in your state?

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