US Education Secretary Arne Duncan issues a thinly veiled threat against parents? - Granite Grok

US Education Secretary Arne Duncan issues a thinly veiled threat against parents?

Arne DuncanWho owns your kids – you or the Education system?  I’ve blogged about this more and more, it seems, as more stuff keeps popping up.  This latest one surrounds what Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education said upon the news that up to 184,000 kids in New York will not be taking the standardized tests mandated by Government for school kids to take under the No Child Left Behind Act (reformatted, emphasis mine):

Under No Child Left Behind, at least 95 percent of students in a state must take annual standardized tests in reading and math from grades 3-8. Until now, the federal government has never had to contemplate enforcing that regulation, but a growing parent-led boycott effort is changing things. Now, in many states, thousands of parents who oppose new Common Core-aligned tests or simply oppose testing in general are yanking their children out of exams. In New York, activists claim over 175,000 students are refusing to take the state’s new standardized English tests, a figure that would put the state on pace to miss the 95 percent threshold.

Gosh – there seems to be a civil rights movement growing against the Federal Government’s efforts to take over from local education, doesn’t it?  And certainly here in NH, the Department of Education collectivists are showing their bootlicking tendencies in showing that what ever Washington orders, they will comply because MONEY!  And, truth be told, ideology – that Government SHOULD be in control and the Freedom to choose by parents must be verboten.

As for Duncan, what was his threat against this rebel rabble?  Well, government MUST step in against the parents:

“We think most states will do that,” Duncan said during a discussion at the Education Writers Association conference in Chicago. “If states don’t do that, then we have an obligation to step in.”

Now, according to all accounts that I could find, he left that “stern warning” to dangle in mid-air, but it is clear that one of two things will probably happen:

  • Even more regulations and stricture will emanate from Washington
  • Federal education money will be further used as a weapon (“you vill do vat you is told to do”)

And in turn, those results will trickle down to the parental level as the States will not want to fall afoul of the Feds, especially where that “free money” is concerned.  Trust me, those in charge may be mouthing words of “its for the children” but the actions show the real item at risk, as it ALWAYS is with Government, is Control: who has it, who wields it, and who are those that are expected to obey.  And once again, this is about the Administrative State crafting its own legislation – mostly because our elected representatives have refused to do their work and handed it over to the executive branch.  One set is unaccountable, the other avoids that accountability to maintain their electability.  Both act in their self-interests but disallow parents to act in theirs.

Those pesky States, not doing what they are told.  And those parents – how DARE they take charge of our children!  WE in the education field know better what is best for our children; parents get out of the way!

And then you wonder why meetings like this keep popping up?

(H/T: Daily Caller)

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