Education

2016 Draft of the Arizona Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics

Anita Christy

The first draft of the "Arizona Standards for English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics" has been completed and is available for public comment on the Arizona State Board of Education website. Click HERE to read them.    

We have until Oct. 3, 2016 to submit comments.  Some improvements over Common Core include: 1) the removal of wording that directed teachers how to teach a standard in a specific way, 2) the over-emphasis on informational text has been lifted, and 3) cursive writing is back in.  

Unfortunately, the standards you will see in Kindergarten through Grade 3 continue to be developmentally inappropriate.  Young children are not little adults.  Their brains haven’t developed to where they can reflect on their own thinking.  They cannot think abstractly.  They cannot empathize or view the world as others do.  

In Kindergarten especially, children are internally motivated to be independent and creative, and this is very important to them.  They are learning to tie their shoes, erect a sand castle, pull up their pants, tie a bow.  They are working on competence, mastery, and creativity.  

This is not the time to encourage dependence and conformity.  It is not appropriate to demand that they express opinions about an author’s motives, or collaborate and seek others’ suggestions and incorporate them into their writing.  Some children will “get it.”  However, many more won’t.  Teachers will have to drill, drill, and drill the right responses into them.  This time would be better spent teaching grade-appropriate materials.  Children who cannot meet these standards will experience much stress and a loss of creativity.  They will wrongly suffer disapproval from teachers and parents, and might be considered “delayed” and subjected to remedial classes they don’t need.  See Dr. Megan Koschnick’s 9/9/2013 videotaped presentation, which she gave at a  conference at the University of Notre Dame. The event was sponsored by American Principles Project. 

If you are a parent, grandparent, teacher, concerned citizen, or if you specialize in child development, please comment on some of these inappropriate standards.  Please also copy me at anitalchristy@gmail.com, so I can share your comments with members of our Mommy Lobby.  We want to ensure that the State Board is made aware of these serious issues. 

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Jim O’Connor Announces Run for State Party Chairman of the AZGOP

Anita Christy

I have tremendous respect for Jim O’Connor.  In the following press release, you will read about Jim’s role in renouncing the National Popular Vote.  I was one of the people he patiently educated regarding its problems.  Ultimately, a group of us were able to convince our Senator, Sylvia Allen, to back away from supporting it.  Jim is true to the Republican platform and has provided leadership in other areas as well, including the passage of HB2088, which protects students against surveys that gather private, personally identifiable information.  He advised his representative in LD23, Heather Carter, "Our 444 Precinct Committeemen are reflecting the opinions of the 70,000 registered republican votes in our district overwhelmingly protecting the rights of parents and children. Please represent these and other republicans who desire to restrain government overreach."  She voted in favor on reconsideration.  Mr. O’Connor has stood firmly in support of legislation that honors parental authority and rejects federal control of education in Arizona.

PRESS RELEASE

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Andy Biggs: True Constitutional Conservative for Congress

Anita Christy

Senator Andy Biggs is a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Congressional District 5.  As demonstrated during his tenure in the Arizona Senate, Andy Biggs knows more about the U.S. Constitution, the Founders’ lives, Founding documents and letters, and historical books than 98% of the entire House and Senate in Washington, DC.  Certainly more than the current President.  Certainly more than anyone running against him.  

More importantly, Senator Biggs respects the Constitution and his Oath to uphold it.   One group of supporters that appreciates Senator Biggs’ knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and his ability to educate other legislators and his own constituents about its enumerated powers are the leaders of Arizona’s Anti-Common Core battle.

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Gilbert Watch Supports Warren Petersen for Arizona Senate

Anita Christy

It has never been more important than now to elect solid conservatives with a voting record that backs up their rhetoric.  So it is with Warren Petersen, who is running for Arizona Senate in LD12.  As a state representative, he stood up for families and the unborn, for local support and control of education, and for the independent business person.  His votes are testimony to his fight against overbearing regulations that hurt businesses and our economy.  He has repeatedly protected our Second Amendment rights.  Rep. Petersen is very knowledgeable about complex issues, and he knows how to protect the hard-working taxpayer from the big spenders at the Capitol.

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Does John McCain Care More About Dead Boxers than Kids?

Anita Christy

Some senators/presidential candidates weren’t fooled by the majority opinion that the ESSA (S1177 Every Student Succeeds Act) returns educational decisions to local school districts and the states.    Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul voted NAY for cloture on 12/8/2015.  Paul again voted NAY to the bill on 12/9/2015.  Senator Jeff Flake flip-flopped, initially voting YEA on Tuesday, and NAY on Wednesday.  

Senator Cruz stated:  The bill "continues to propagate the large and ever-growing role of the federal government in our education system—the same federal government that sold us failed top-down standards like Common Core."  

Senator Paul stated:  "While the Senate bill goes a long way to remove federal mandates, it also continues a large federal intrusion into education, therefore I will oppose it."  

Senator John McCain voted YEA both days.  Maybe it was because he finally, after 10 years of trying, got his special wish.  

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Arizona Joins Texas in Lawsuit to Stop Federal Overreach

Anita Christy

In response to a letter from Arizona lawmaker Representative Bob Thorpe (R-LD6), Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas announced that Arizona will Join Texas in a Lawsuit to Stop Federal Overreach.  Co-signers of Rep. Thorpe’s letter included Sen. Sylvia Allen (R-LD6), and Representatives Brenda Barton (R-LD6), Paul Boyer (R-L20), Karen Fann (R-LD1), Mark Finchem (R-LD11), Anthony Kern (R-LD20), and Vince Leach (R-LD11).  (Please express your thanks to Bob Thorpe and the other legislators who signed his letter, as well as Mark Brnovich and Diane Douglas.  See email addresses below.)

The COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF concerns the May 13, 2016 "Joint Guidance" issued by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education relating to requiring public schools that receive federal funding to allow transgender students to use whatever restroom or locker room they wish, based on how they identify their gender.  

The threat to withdraw federal funding from any school that doesn’t comply is very clear in this sentence: "Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, schools receiving federal money may not discriminate based on a student’s sex, including a student’s transgener status."

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U.S. Department of Education’s Major Accomplishment: Staggering Illiteracy

Anita Christy

Zero Hedge recently published an article titled Department of Education – Our Work Here is Done.  A few items from that article include:

The Department of Education was created in 1979 and now has an annual budget of $73 billion, with 5,000 government bureaucrats roaming its hallways.  See U.S. Department of Education Budget Fact Sheet. 

After 37 years and trillions of dollars "invested" in our children, here is a short list of some "achievements":   1) There are six million students in the California school system, and 25% of those students are unable to perform basic reading skills.  2) 50% of adults cannot read a book written at an eighth grade level.  3) 45 million adults are functionally illiterate and read below a 5th grade level.  4) 3 out of 4 people on welfare can’t read.  5) 20% of Americans read below the level needed to earn a living wage.  6) School dropouts cost our nation $240 billion in social service expenditures and lost tax revenues.  7) 3 out of 5 people in American prisons can’t read.  8) Approximately 50% of Americans read so poorly that they are unable to perform simple tasks such as reading prescription drug labels.

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A Silicon Valley School that Doesn’t Compute

Anita Christy

Can you imagine a school attended by the children of Silicon Valley executives from eBay, Google, Apple, Yahoo, and Hewlett-Packard sending their children to a nine-classroom school without computers?  Schools nationwide have "rushed to supply their classrooms with computers, and many policy makers say it is foolish to do otherwise.  But some parents and educators have a message:  computers and schools don’t mix."  See At Waldorf School in Silicon Valley, Technology can Wait.

"This is what educational freedom and parental school choice are all about.  Every K-12 school should be a ‘choice school’ and the dollars (per-pupil funding) should follow the child.  Common Core is so insidious because of its mandated top-down, one-size-fits-all approach.  Charter schools are transforming K-12 education through the market principles of competition and choice.  No child is ever assigned to attend a charter school; charter schools must compete to enroll students and therefore must be fully responsive and accountable to parents. We need to empower parents and give them the full range of choices across all educational options.  That’s the only way to ensure accountability and sustained academic performance.  Free markets really work"!  Frank Riggs, gubernatorial candidate for Governor of Arizona

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Arizona Sen. Carlyle Begay: “We Must See Ourselves in a Whole New Light”

Anita Christy

As noted in a November 24 news article, Senator Carlyle Begay has recently changed from the Democrat to Republican Party.  I have never met Sen. Begay, but I’ve observed him and heard his remarks during the last legislative session.  He is a highly intelligent, thoughtful, well-educated man.  Both Democrats and Republicans can politicize his decision all they want, but I know that he will be guided by his convictions, not politics, whenever he casts his votes.  The welfare of his constituents, many of whose ancestors were the First Arizonans, will rank far above either party.  He believes that the time has come for his people to achieve prosperity. In fact, he wants all Arizonans to prosper.  Please watch this video.  Notice the many terms and phrases that he uses.  This is what the Republican Party stands for.  

In the following video, you will gain some insight into why Senator Begay is adamant that "change must happen" and why he believes it is the Republican Party that is working to find solutions that will help the people that Sen. Begay represents.  He explains that "families living within our rural and tribal communities are in a crisis.  Unemployment is as high as 80%.  Roads, bridges, and infrastructure are wasting away.  Many Native American families are without electricity and clean, running water.  Native American students have some of the lowest graduation rates and some of the highest drop-out rates.  Native Americans have the highest rates of suicide in the country."    Senator Begay desires to work within the Republican Party to build a bridge connecting those who need and want a chance with those who can help provide that chance. The Republican Party is the party of progress, the party of opportunity.  It is, now, Senator Begay’s Party.  

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