This is my response to Russ Moore’s letter (“Georgia gets students moving forward”) published on May 13, 2015.
I believe in the Judeo-Christian principles that were used to shape America from before the American Revolution to well beyond the Emancipation Proclamation. Because of Judeo-Christian principles, we became the most generous and prosperous nation on earth.
Communities across America established schools. The parents in those communities chose the teachers, the books, and the subjects to be studied. Thomas Edison, one of America’s greatest inventors, was home-schooled, by his mother, Nancy Elliot Edison. Out of need and ingenuity, Americans invented at a rapid pace. American businesses brought those inventions to market, with limited government involvement, and absolutely NO government stimulus.
According to the Judeo-Christian tradition, all children are created by God, and therefore belong to Him. In God’s infinite wisdom, as found in the Bible, children are part of a family with a mother and a father. The parents have the privilege and responsibility of raising their children. History has proved this to be the optimal way to raise and educate children to be God-fearing, productive and concerned citizens. Americans have traditionally enjoyed the freedom to choose one’s path in life, to seek to fulfill their destiny.
But Russ Moore has a different idea about how it should work. He writes of a pebble that may become an avalanche in education. The governor, lieutenant governor, and Georgia state legislators started the pebble rolling during this last legislative session, he writes. Parents, you had better get out of the way, because when this avalanche hits, it will roll you down. The pebble actually started rolling back before 2010.
Here is a summary:
House Bill 502 — Parent and student discretion over what is taught is removed. Home school students must identify the school district where they reside. (2015)
Senate Bill 89 — The appointed state Board of Education was given the sole authority in the state of Georgia to select a committee to examine and recommend “instructional materials and content” for approval by the state Board of Education. Parents and locally elected school boards no longer have authority over instructional materials and content, including digital content. (2015)
SB 2 — No need for academic subjects after 10th grade. (2015)
HB 91 — Common Core aligned end of course assessments in grades 3-10 for Language Arts and Math. Reading is no longer tested separately. (2015)
HB 766 — Students will not be paid for “Work Based Learning.” (2014)
HB 400 — All students need to have a career pathway that must be approved by the student’s counselor. (2010)
SB 84 — School Board Gag Law. The primary duty of school board members is NOT to independently represent constituent views. The appointed superintendent becomes the school board’s secretary. School board members may not speak about minority opinions on issues after a vote is taken or risk violating the “Code of Ethics.” (2010)
What happens if you want to take academic courses in 11th- or 12th-grade and your counselor does not approve it? There is nothing you, your parents, or your locally elected school board members can do.
What if you don’t make it into the college track after the 8th-grade assessment, and are only given career track options? What if you don’t want to work without being paid in the work based learning program?
There is nothing you can do because it will be part of a career pathway, and you will need to complete the work to graduate. If not, the school will not get CCRPI points.
The charter schools will be even worse because they will have to generate CCRPI points to stay open. This is modern-day slavery with parents paying for living expenses.
The Career Clusters are owned and copyrighted by the organizations that copyrighted Common Core. They are limited and well defined. Who are these central planners?
Why do you think Kia contributed $600,000 to Troup County’s College and Career Academy? Do you think they might be interested in free labor from the “Work Based Learning” program?
Which favored companies will benefit? Follow the money. This sets up a fascist educational system, so let’s call it what it really is. The Fayette County School Board paid Russ Moore $41,000. After reading his article, it is clear that he is an agent of the central planners. But what if the central planners have it wrong?
Career education is important, so let’s find out what Fayette County students and parents want to learn and go from there. We could have a real partnership with Pinewood, without using the Career Clusters.
If we are offering copyrighted career pathways just to get CCRPI points so our school ratings from the U.S. DOE will increase, then we are no longer serving the needs of students and parents.
Let’s look at the wisdom of Solomon. He knew that the real mothers and fathers care for the well-being and development of their children much more than anyone else. Let’s put them back in charge and send the central planners packing (www.EducationalFreedomCoalition.com).
Dr. Mary Kay Bacallao
Fayetteville, Ga.
[Dr. Bacallao is a former member of the Fayette County Board of Education.]
