Common Core Not So Common

If you read one of my pieces fourteen months ago you might recall something I wrote about the 'New Normal'. What was shocking in years past is now ho-hum; drugs, sex in public, teachers who molest students then get a deferred sentence. As a high school instructor of twenty years I saw it happen slowly, like a time lapse video.
In 1987, at Alleman High School, we had a principal who called a teachers meeting and told us we had to prepare our students for a government program called 'Goals 2000'. The principal was all giddy about implementing this mandated program.
From the get go my radar went up because even then I knew it was a gobbledy gook program thought up by a Washington D.C. egghead who'd never seen the inside of a high school classroom. I'd had nineteen years of doing my thing and knew the way to teach and get the students to respond. I didn't want to have to explain why the U.S. was at fault for dropping the A-bomb on Hiroshima. Here's what I did. I listened to what Sister Mary Marshmallow had to say then went back to my classroom and continued the way I had since 1968. Yawn!
We've got another government program staring us in the face and it's potentially more dangerous than 'Goals 2000'. It's called Common Core. Let me quote it's mission statement: "The Common Core Statement Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn(math, English, writing), so parents and teachers need to know what to do to help them'. To date, only five states have failed to sign on. They are Alaska, Minnesota, Texas, Nebraska and Virginia. Some of you might already scoff at the foot dragging of these five. It, the program, does sound benign.
I happened to come across an article in the Daily Caller that illustrates why Common Core might have some serious drawbacks. A concerned parent called Buena High School in Sierra Vista, Arizona to complain about the content of an assignment in an English class. I'll read an excerpt from a book called Dreaming in Cuba whereby the 10th grade students were required to read in class from the book. Hey! 2013 is a part of the New Normal and maybe I'm an old fuddy duddy. Then again, why not contact your school to find out exactly what's being taught and if you have concerns. After all, it's your tax dollars at work and I don't want your 'New Normal' to be a jaw dropper. Read on:

“Hugo and Felicia stripped in their room, dissolving easily into one another, and made love against the whitewashed walls. Hugo bit Felicia’s breast and left purplish bands of bruises on her upper thighs. He knelt before her in the tub and massaged black Spanish soap between her legs. He entered her repeatedly from behind.”
That steamy, erotic passage comes from page 80 of “Dreaming,” in a chapter called “The Fire Between Them.” The passage continues:

“Felicia learned what pleased him. She tied his arms above his head with their underclothing and slapped him sharply when he asked.
“‘You’re my bitch,’” Hugo said, groaning.
“In the morning he left, promising to return in the summer

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/12/fifty-shades-of-the-common-core-how-much-porn-is-too-much-for-high-schoolers/#ixzz2eiLoLgdp