 Please read this guest column from Melanie Kurdys, former candidate for State Board of Education. Who do YOU think is in charge of deciding what our children learn in school K-12? You might think it is our teachers; it is not. You might think parents have a say; most do not. You might think it is our elected school board members; it is not. The direction of what to teach our children is coming more and more from bureaucrats! And now, Michigan is part of a consortium of states moving to allow the federal government take over this job.
I am writing you about a very important and time-sensitive issue - an issue of federalism, education quality, and fiscal impact. It is an issue that is rapidly becoming a major nationwide cause, and we need your immediate help.
I am talking about the national Common Core Standards system, an effort of special interests and the federal government that was embedded in the 2009 Stimulus Bill and pushed onto the states without a legislative vote.
The Common Core: - takes away the authority of Michigan and its citizens to control what children learn and who teaches it to them
- requires the state to turn over massive amounts of private family and student information
- imposes a huge fiscal burden on the states
- ushers in fuzzy math
- eviscerates the teaching of classic literature, and
- gives us writing standards that are poorly coordinated with its reading standards.
How did this happen? Simply put, the people and their legislators were cut out of the process and were not even given notice of what was happening. Given that, it is no surprise that the Common Core Standards themselves were not field-tested. The undisputed fact (even among Common Core proponents) is that Michigan's previous standards were superior.
House Bill 4276 sponsored by Rep. Tom McMillin would effectively end the state's participation in the program. The bill was just submitted and will be sent to the House Education Committee Tuesday, February 19, 2013.
Please take a moment to do one or both of the following:
- Call your representative and ask them to vote yes on Rep. McMillin's bill. Click here to find your representative.
- Call Governor Rick Snyder and ask him to back Rep. McMillin's bill. (HB 4276) Phone: (517) 335-7858.
We need people to show up in Lansing over the next few weeks to speak personally to representatives. If you "Google" Common Core, you will find many references that can help you understand what is going on. I encourage you to look at the Heritage Foundation website. Click here for an overview.
Be sure to check out this article about Indiana. That effort has ignited the push back in seventeen other states! This is shaping up to be one of the most significant efforts ever to reclaim the Constitution, and we can win it in the statehouse! This article exposes the devastating impact Common Core Standards has on literary study and analytical thinking. In Liberty, Melanie Kurdys P.S. Rep. McMillin will be at Center Right Thursday to discuss this important bill. The meeting will be held at 2 p.m. at the Governor's Room, 121 W. Allegan St. Lansing MI | 
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