Lately I have an overwhelming feeling of de ja vu. It happens to be extremely disconcerting and it means that things that were predicted about education reform are happening now.

For some reason, in my mind, I was hoping that I would never see the reforms; that they would take place in a far off future, or at least far enough down the road that I wouldn’t remember writing about them in the first place.

Senator Patty Murray, WA, ranking member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, sums it up in her remarks on the Senate Floor:

“The Every Student Succeeds Act will mark the first time that the nation’s primary elementary and secondary education law includes dedicated funding to make sure kids start kindergarten, ready to learn. It does that by establishing a competitive grant program for states that propose to improve, coordination, quality, and access to early child education for kids from low-income and disadvantaged families. These grants will help states like Washington build on the progress it has already made to improve quality and increase access to high-quality preschool programs.”

Part of the disaster that was just passed and signed into law by Barack Obama entitled the Every Student Succeeds Act, is early childhood education. Members of congress who voted on the law like to tout its bi-partisan support.

It isn’t mandatory, yet, that children attend preschool. It’s just a “competitive grant program” being offered to the states who will obviously choose children’s wellbeing over money. Said nobody who knows a thing about Common Core and its carrot/stick approach to the reform.

Unfortunately this is putting us just one step closer to mandatory preschool. And with ESSA basically cementing the fact that education will no longer be about actual transmission of facts and will be about social emotional learning and guiding attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs it will be best to get these kiddos into the nearest indoctrination center by 3 years old.

Remember, if legislators brag about something being bi-partisan, it just means we’re being attacked by both sides of the aisle.

About the Author

Oregon PolitiChick Macey France is co-founder of the Stop Common Core in Oregon and is working with parents across the state to educate and help them to learn how to advocate for their children's education. Macey has spoken at many Common Core informational meetings across the state of Oregon. Macey's articles on Common Core have been picked up by various news outlets and she has been a guest on many radio shows across the nation. Macey's article about The Bluest Eye was featured on a panel on Al Jazeera America and was nominated for a CPAC Blogger Award for Best Sunlight Post of 2013. Macey is a strong conservative with libertarian leanings, making her more of a "conservatarian." Preserving the constitutional and moral values of that this great nation was founded on for her children is her priority. She is a stay at home mom of two boys who are now in elementary school. As a mom who has always been interested in politics, religion and all of the taboo subjects, she has always had a lot to say about the state of the nation. When she realized the Common Core Standards were not only bad news for children but a government coup over education, she decided to fight back and is now considered one of the nation's leading experts on all-things-Common Core. When she's not having uncomfortable arguments with strangers on Facebook she can be found spending time with her husband of 15 years and two sons. Find Macey France on Facebook and Twitter: @MaceyFrancePC