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November 8, 2013
Common Core Lessons Are Bringing Politics Into the Classroom
Leah Barkoukis
11/7/2013 5:30:00 PM - Leah Barkoukis
There’s been no end to the criticism Common Core has received—and this lesson for an English class is a good example why:
It's exactly what critics of the Common Core school curriculum warned about: Partisan political statements masquerading as English lessons finding their way into elementary school classrooms.
Teaching materials aligned with the controversial national educational standards ask fifth-graders to edit such sentences as “(The president) makes sure the laws of the country are fair,” “The wants of an individual are less important than the well-being of the nation” and “the commands of government officials must be obeyed by all.” The sentences, which appear in worksheets published by New Jersey-based Pearson Education, are presented not only for their substance, but also to teach children how to streamline bulky writing.
Not only is the lesson in which students were taught about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War politically charged, critics say it was also not accurate, according to Fox News.
But if the lessons are meant as a primer on the Constitution, there's another problem, note critics. The job of making sure laws are fair is not the president's, but the judicial branch's. The executive branch's duty is to administer laws. And the example that places the well-being of the nation above the "wants of an individual" appears to run counter to the basic principles of the Bill of Rights.
This particular lesson will be edited, a Pearson spokesperson told Fox News—but just how many other lessons pushing political ideologies are out there?
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2013/11/07/common-core-lessons-blasted-for-sneaking-politics-into-elementary-classrooms-n1742088
