Twitchy CEO Michelle Malkin has been among the most vocal calling for the dismantling of the government’s highly flawed program of educational “standards” known as Common Core. In her most recent column, zeroed in on the havoc wreaked by Common Core pushers like Jeb Bush and recently-resigned Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett:
These good ol’ boys bonded over their zeal for the top-down racket known as Common Core. As I’ve reported previously, this Fed Ed program is supported by both big-business interests (Microsoft founder Bill Gates and News Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch’s education arm) and government educrats. Progressive activists in both parties have worked on nationalized standards, tests and curriculum for decades under previous names: outcome-based education, national school-to-work, Goals 2000 and No Child Left Behind, for example. Obama administration bribery through “Race To The Top” greased the wheels for adoption of the Common Core program by cash-strapped states, many of which had more rigorous standards than the fed-imposed system.
Common Core cheerleaders falsely claimed that untested standards were“internationally benchmarked.” Math and English standards have been dumbed down. And a plethora of data-mining firms stand to gain billions from student information gathered under the Common Core assessments umbrella. The Obama administration’s sabotage of federal educational privacy protections will help supply that data to the highest crony bidders.
Be sure to read the whole thing.
Malkin’s exposé on the insidious corruption and cronyism didn’t sit well with Tampa-based redefinED, whose stated mission is to “recast the way we perceive public education.” In his rebuttal to Malkin’s piece, titled “Michelle Malkin’s got Florida wrong,” redefinED’s Patrick Gibbons accused Malkin of making “careless generalizations” to “attack Common Core” and asserted that criticism of Bush’s educational “reforms” is “irresponsible.”
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Malkin didn’t see it that way, and she fought back on Twitter:
@redefinEDonline You're the ones who mischaracterized my article, which takes aim at FEDERAL ed reform schemes. http://t.co/FXVG95TPwK
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
W. had to PAY ppl to shill No Child Left Behind. Jeb uses non-profits to create illusion of "conservative" support. http://t.co/FXVG95TPwK
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
@redefinEDonline You really believe my criticism of Jeb/CC "does more harm to school choice & the accountability mvmt" than the Left?
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
@redefinEDonline I am not only a supporter of school choice & accountability. I am a practitioner. Top-down FedEd schemes undermine both.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
@PatrickRGibbons @redefinEDonline Selective quotations so dishonest. "TOP DOWN racket known as Common Core." "Federal education schemes"…
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
@PatrickRGibbons @redefinEDonline And what piece are you quoting "lowered standards and increased corruption" from? Not my piece.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
@PatrickRGibbons @redefinEDonline My piece deals squarely w/the common corruption between Bennet's grade-fixing scandal & GOP fed ed racket.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
@PatrickRGibbons @redefinEDonline You dishonestly characterize my piece as an attack on local reform and educational choice. Preposterous.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
@PatrickRGibbons Seriously? That graf is about Common Core, & my column is about GOPers pushing nationalized tests, curriculum & "standards"
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
@PatrickRGibbons That's NR's headline & subtitle. In any case, it's obvious from very 1st paragraph that I'm talking FED ED.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
@PatrickRGibbons You are imagining a slight against "Florida" that does not exist.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
Politicians are gambling with our children’s futures. Malkin is not afraid to call Common Core “reformers” out, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum.
Fun fact: I was told that a GOP state schools chief refused to sponsor an event I spoke at recently because of my #stopcommoncore reports.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
Stakes in education reform are high. Vested interests in GOP elite are strong. David and Goliath. #stopcommoncore
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
Don’t. Back. Down.
Bennett/Bush apologists bristle at my comparison btw Ind. gradefix scandal & Common Core. Judge for yourselves==> http://t.co/FXVG95TPwK
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
@AdamPeshek @redefinEDonline Are you denying he's a grade-fixer who worried more about appearances than integrity of Ind.'s acctblty system?
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
Why is it sooo important for Jebbots to protect Jeb's FL ed record amidst exploding Bennett scandal & Common Core mess? #forthechildren #nah
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
If this conflict of interest involved Democrats, establishment GOP types would be in a lather==> http://t.co/vJczBrSxzs
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) August 2, 2013
Bingo. We can’t be afraid to call out politicians on either side for their bad decisions. Especially when it comes to our children.
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Related:
Michelle Malkin: My child’s Common Core-aligned Algebra book is crap
Exxon propagandizes for Common Core during Masters
Power of social media: Second Twitter rally aims to #StopCommonCore; Updated with resources
David Axelrod embraces ‘new tone’: Those tea party types opposed to Common Core sure are morons
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