Common Core: Modern Day David and Goliath

It’s no secret that our beloved America is polarized right now. Our congress can’t agree on anything and the American people, for the most part, can’t agree with the congress.

Words are flung across the aisle that evokes emotions and only serve to cause more division. Americans feel like they are David and the government is Goliath. And right now, Americans don’t have a pebble that could take Goliath out.

This rhetoric is apparent in every issue we face right now. Whether it be immigration, debt, healthcare, education or entitlement programs people are at odds. And they have no problem flinging insults rather than having constructive conversations.

I certainly do not look to government to set an example for me but many misguided people do. And they are taking their cues from the highest level. When President Obama calls Republicans “extreme”, compares them to terrorists and says they are holding government hostage he sets an example of the kind of classless behavior that his regime takes their cues from.

For the most part, I don’t care that they throw dung at each other; it’s rather like the primate exhibit at the zoo. Fun to watch but stand back because you don’t want to get any on ya.

However, right at this moment, there is an attack going on in public education. With the advent and implementation of the Common Core Standards, big government seeks to strip all local control from districts across the nation.

There is a festering anger among people all over the country who seek to behead the beast of Common Core and get the fed out of our classrooms once and for all. These people include but are not limited to: parents, grandparents, teachers, aunts and uncles, tax payers, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, progressives, conservatives and the list goes on.

We the people are beginning to push back. We are standing up and saying, “We aren’t going to take it anymore!”

The government, both state and federal, are beginning to see that push back. People like Arne Duncan, the current Secretary of Education and huge proponent of the Common Core have given speeches tailored to crack jokes at we the peoples’ expense.

Because parents don’t approve of the Common Core they are now extremists and idealogues. We are “silly.” He insinuates that if you disapprove of this education boondoggle that you are part of the “fringe” or an “extreme right wing” nut job.

Here in Oregon we have been poring over documents from the state department of education. We never once see them discuss parents’ rights or role in school or the lives of the children. They discuss all manner of topics ranging from how to remove barriers to sharing data to strategic placement of large chunks of money received from the tax payers.

Our state superintendent, Rob Saxton was paraphrased in the minutes of the state board’s meeting notes.

He claims there is a small amount of push back from “tea party groups.”

Clearly, Mr. Saxton doesn’t know what he’s talking about because the only groups here in Oregon that are pushing back are just plain parents and teachers. If you’re going to acknowledge that some people aren’t happy with your current plans to eviscerate public education at least have the respect to do some research on whom you are pointing the finger at.

I’m not even going to point out that it’s ridiculous that all you have to do to discredit someone anymore is call them a “tea party” member. I wonder if anyone who happens to pee on the Tea Party’s Wheaties has even met a member of said party. If they had, they wouldn’t discredit them so quickly.

I’m fairly certain that I represent a very large group of people when I say, “We will not be ignored. Not this time.”

We are sick and tired of the K-12 education system thinking that when we bring our Kindergartner to their first day of school we are handing them over to the government for life. Government is made up of people. Do these people forget that most parents cry on their baby’s first day of school? They are our children.

I don’t, for one second, believe the teachers think that we are abdicating our children’s lives to them. Bureaucracies, on the other hand, have forgotten that they are not the parents.

Our message to all the powers that be that are currently trying to tear our education system apart would be this:

Throw your arrows at us and call us names. Discredit us, laugh at us and dismiss our concerns as silly. Pretend like you know what’s best for our families and our children. Ride that feeling of power for a while because it won’t last forever.

When the mighty fall, they fall hard. And we the people will dust off our slingshots take our children by the hands.

The modern day David and Goliath battle has begun.