Psychological Manipulation in Common Core


Even a basic examination of government documents and federally funded model curriculum for the National Head Start Standards (the "baby Common Core") and the Common Core Standards reveals evidence that the plan for the standards and assessments is to teach, test, and monitor far more than academic knowledge.  Rather, there is abundant evidence that the effort is to teach  social values, whether they are in line with family values or not; monitor them under the guise of "socioemotional health;" and record them in the mandatory state longitudinal databases that are shared with the federal government, outside researchers, and corporations. This data will follow students throughout their lives. How well teachers ingrain these psychological attitudes into their students will be monitored and measured throughout their careers by the outcomes of the high stakes testing associated with Common Core that will determine teacher pay and tenure.

Here are examples of admissions by large stakeholder groups that the allegedly academically rigorous Common Core standards are full of fuzzy, psychosocial, benchmarks:

  • US DOE: "In national policy, there is increasing attention on 21st-century competencies (which encompass a range of noncognitive factors, including grit), and persistence is now part of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics."(Emphasis added.)
  • National Association of State Boards of Education: "Various elements of SEL (social emotional learning) can be found in nearly every state's K-12 standards framework and in the Common Core State Standards for the English Language Arts."(Emphasis added).
  • The American School Counselors Association: "Mindsets & behaviors align with specific standards from the Common Core State Standards through connections at the competency level." (Emphasis added).
Education as Reeducation - Frederick Hess and Grant Addison (National Review)
Ironically, UnboundEd helps validate some of the most far-out conspiracy theories that have been spun about the Common Core. UnboundEd was born of EngageNY -- an entity, supported by millions of dollars in Obama-era Race to the Top funds, created to provide Common Core curricula for New York's classrooms. In 2015, Gerson and several colleagues left EngageNY to start UnboundEd, seeking to train educators how to teach Common Core reading and math. Once upon a time, Common Core critics were roundly mocked for fearing that the reading and math standards would somehow serve to promote sweeping ideological agendas; today, Gerson and her team are doing their best to vindicate those concerns.
How "Social Emotional Learning" Is Turning Children Into Leftist Activists
Education Week recently published an article titled "Harnessing Student Emotions in Service of a Cause" that completely confirmed my and others' concerns that SEL [that is clearly tied to Common Core as shown above] would be used for psychological and political manipulation:
Like many other teachers of language arts, social studies, and math, Hollins is using social-emotional learning, or SEL--teaching students to manage emotions, make responsible decisions, build relationships--to turn everyday lessons into preparation for civic engagement. The goal is to get students to reflect on their emotions and to deal with them in productive ways. A reading or math lesson can teach students to see their personal challenges as part of a wider struggle, where people work together to bring about change, what these teachers call social justice. [Emphasis added]
"Social Emotional Learning" Advocates Are Still Ignoring Its Many Problems
As admitted by key stakeholder groups, despite pushing the Common Core standards as mainly academic, SEL is a key component. And we are all well aware of the decline in NAEP scores and other indicators of academic achievement since Common Core's implementation.
Using Common Core ELA curriculum to psychologically manipulate and monitor young children - Utah




Website Powered by Morphogine