A Republican Education

Loch Ness Monster used to debunk evolution in state-funded school

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It sounds like a hoax, but it's apparently true: The Loch Ness Monster is on the science class syllabus for kids at Eternity Christian Academy in Westlake, Louisiana.
As reported by the Herald Scotland (which must track all Loch Ness-related news), a school that will receive tax-payer dollars, will teach kids that the mythological sea creature is real in order to debunk the theory of evolution. So pay attention: That will be on the test.
Eternity Christian Academy uses the fundamentalist A.C.E. Curriculum to teach students "to see life from God's point of view."
According to the Herald, one textbook, Biology 1099, reads, "Are dinosaurs alive today? Scientists are becoming more convinced of their existence. Have you heard of the 'Loch Ness Monster' in Scotland? 'Nessie' for short has been recorded on sonar from a small submarine, described by eyewitnesses, and photographed by others. Nessie appears to be a plesiosaur."
Starting in the fall, thousands of schoolchildren will receive publicly funded vouchers to attend private schools, some of which are religious. Religious schools in Louisiana will receive public funding as part of a push from Louisiana's governor, Bobby Jindal, to move millions of tax dollars to cover tuition for private schools, including small bible-based church schools. Money will fund schools that have "bible-based math books" and biology texts that refute evolution.

These idiots think dragons and unicorns were real, so the Loch Ness monster isn't much of a stretch...

Vouchers for Christians ....Vouchers for other religions
Doesn’t “Religion” Mean “Conservative Christian?”

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So the ongoing fiasco of Bobby Jindal’s “let the parents decide” voucher program in Louisiana is finally beginning to get some national media attention, for the simple reason that its logic is carrying it in directions that horrify its strongest proponents and intended beneficiaries. Via Amy Sullivan at TNR, we read this amusing story from the Livingston Parish News:

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Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Watson, says she had no idea that Gov. Bobby Jindal’s overhaul of the state’s educational system might mean taxpayer support of Muslim schools. “I actually support funding for teaching the fundamentals of America’s Founding Fathers’ religion, which is Christianity, in public schools or private schools,” the District 64 Representative said Monday.

“I liked the idea of giving parents the option of sending their children to a public school or a Christian school,” Hodges said.

Hodges mistakenly assumed that “religious” meant “Christian.”

Seems a Muslim school applied to receive voucher-backed students. It hasn’t been approved so far—guess that rigorous “vetting” process utilized by the Louisiana Department of Education finally kicked in—but the awful specter has been raised, and will be difficult to banish, at least in the imagination of lawmakers like Valerie Hodges:

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We need to insure that it does not open the door to fund radical Islam schools. There are a thousand Muslim schools that have sprung up recently. I do not support using public funds for teaching Islam anywhere here in Louisiana.

So down plunges the Pelican State into the political and constitutional thicket of how to shovel money to conservative evangelical schools without looking too closely at what they are teaching, while at the same time keeping away schools that conservative evangelicals hate and fear. Having implicitly embraced the idea that not only Muslims, but liberal Protestant Christians like Barack Obama, aren’t actually religious, Republicans can’t complain too much when “the base” can’t understand why such distinctions can’t be written into the law.

Good luck with that, Governor Jindal—and you, too, Mitt Romney, with your own no-strings voucher proposal.

Yuppers. That's the hypocrisy of the entire movement. It's similar to the Lemon test. Every time any jackamo waxes ecstatic about religious freedom being paramount, simply substitute Allah/Islam in place of Jesus/Christianity ('cause it's usually only Christians that make such arguments) and those same individuals go absolutely apoplectic condemning "religious freedom" outright as fast as they can. "Religious freedom" is simply legalese for "freedom for our religion, and none other".

Honestly, can you imagine any biology course teaching "the controversy" on evolution citing the supposed biological origins of Islam (let alone Scientology, Raëlism, or Mormonism) with the full support of evangelicals? No, neither can I, which is why it was those "freedom loving" assholes that were scrambling to shut down the Muslim community center that was trying to open near Ground Zero...

20% of State GOP Platforms Endorse Creationism in Schools

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An overwhelming majority of the scientific community accepts evolution as the dominant scientific theory of biological origin but a number of state Republican platforms, echoing the beliefs of Christian fundamentalists, say that the “controversy” about evolution should be taught in public schools. In fact, our review of Republican platforms indicates that more than 1 out of 5 state Republican parties believe that creationism and/or intelligent design should be taught as science. Out of the 32 platforms reviewed, 8 supported the notion that creationism/intelligent design had a place in science classes, with no reprisal.

This really is inexcusable and embarrassing.

Ass backwards as usual...
GOP Bill Cuts Funds For Low-Performing Schools, Quadruples Funding For Abstinence Education
House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee released their 2013 draft budget for the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Education today. “A careful look was given to all programs and agencies in the bill, with the budget knife aimed at excess spending and underperforming programs, but also with the goal of making wise investments in programs that help the American people the most,” said House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY).

However, included among those cuts are several that undermine investments in education, including eliminating the Obama administration’s Race to the Top program and School Improvement Grant program. But at the same time, House Republicans found the money to quadruple abstinence-only education:

The Obama administration’s signature K-12 initiative—the Race to the Top competition—would get axed under a spending proposal put forward by Republicans on the House panel that oversees K-12 spending.

Two other major Obama priorities—the School Improvement Grant program, which provides $533 million to help turnaround low-performing schools, and the nearly $150 million Investing in Innovation grant program—are also eliminated. [...]

Another winner? Abstinence education, which would get $20 million, a $15 million increase over last year’s funding.

Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Norm Dicks (D-WA) called the bill “the most partisan we’ve seen this year.”

As study after study has shown, abstinence-only education doesn’t actually work. In fact, teen pregnancies are highest in states with abstinence-only education programs. Meanwhile, New Hampshire, which has the lowest rate of teen pregnancy, requires comprehensive sex education. So the GOP managed to fund ineffective programs, at the same time that it cut programs aimed at turning around low-performing schools.
Mission accomplished

Holy fuck.

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Missouri 'Right To Pray' Amendment Allows Students To Reject School Assignments That 'Violate His Or Her Religious Beliefs'

In an effort to further define First Amendment rights, the measure formally known as Amendment 2 passed with 83 percent of the vote. The amendment's backers say it helps protect Missouri's Christians, about 80 percent of the population, who say they are public targets.

While the religious protections outlined in the measure are already guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, critics are drawing attention to another part of the amendment:

"No student shall be compelled to perform or participate in academic assignments or educational presentations that violate his or her religious beliefs."

Evolution? Bullshit. Global warming? Nope. Germ theory? Hellz no. They're curses from God. History? Fuck that. There was nothing prior to 6000 BC. Heliocentrism? Satan's lies. Home ec? Sorry. Can't cook anything that isn't approved in Leviticus. Geology? A single flood totally made the Grand Canyon.

Thank you, GOP. 'Cause nothin' says "America!" like fostering such epic scientific ignorance.

Via LGF:

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Professor of philosophy Barbara Forrest gave this presentation in May, describing the horrifying state of science education in Louisiana, where the stealth creationism bill signed into law by Bobby Jindal is having the intended effect of legitimizing the teaching of creationist fairy tales as “science.”

Dr. Forrest goes into great detail about the deceptive code language used by the Republican Party to get these bills through the legislature, and the links between Gov. Jindal and religious right group Louisiana Family Forum.

And what kind of effect has such a fantastic and necessary program had on Louisiana's education? Someone is the comments on LGF explains:

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The Science Education Readiness Index (SERI) uses AP test scores to determine the readiness of students for fields of study involving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In 2011, Louisiana was rated the third lowest state by SERI, just behind West Virginia and Mississippi.

Rankings are here:

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[A]lthough the SERI scores do not compare states to schools' performances in other countries, even the American leader -- Massachusetts -- would struggle to compete with countries like China or Singapore.

Obviously the answer is "MOAR CREATIONISM!"

Heretic wrote:

Obviously the answer is "MOAR CREATIONISM!"

Yes indeed,Heretic,yes indeed
Ken Ham, President of the Creation Museum, claims that Bill Nye does not understand science. Bill Nye the "Science Guy" does NOT understand science? Oy Vey!

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Okay did I just hear this guy claim that Bill Nye is the one that wants to indoctrinate children and keep them from "thinking critically?"

Okay I have to lie down right now because I think I am suffering from irony overload.

P.S. If you are unfamiliar with the Creation Museum here is a post describing what's inside by one of those non-believing "thinker" types.

P.P.S. Oh and before I forget here is the original Bill Nye video that pissed all over Ken Ham's cornflakes.

Epic, wasn't it? Bill Nye has been rightfully dishing it out on evolution AND global warming over the past couple of years and it's been pretty fun to watch. How he's been able to maintain his composure while confronting such idiots and their monumental and deliberate stupidity is beyond me... Truly a better man than I.

Indiana senator's plan to teach creationism evolves

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INDIANAPOLIS | The issue of teaching creationism in Indiana science classrooms will be on the legislative agenda when the General Assembly convenes in January -- it just won't be called that.

State Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, who sponsored last session's failed attempt at creationism instruction, said Tuesday he won't introduce similar legislation this session allowing schools to teach the origin myths of multiple religions. Instead, Kruse said he's "working on a different approach to the subject" focused on "truth in education."

Specifically, Kruse wants to empower students to challenge their teachers "to make sure what is being taught is true."

"If a student thinks something isn't true then they could question the teacher and the teacher would have to come up with some better research to support what they're teaching is true or not true," said Kruse, chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

Kruse said under his plan each school corporation would be allowed to determine the topics of questions students could ask and the types of evidence considered truth.

"It's going to be written in a kind of a broad way," Kruse said.

Tennessee enacted a similar law earlier this year permitting teachers to review with their students "the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories" on evolution, the origin of life, global warming and human cloning.

In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a Louisiana law requiring the teaching of "creation science" alongside evolution, the scientifically-accepted understanding of the development of life, because creationism advances a particular religion.

Kruse's creationism proposal last session sought to get around that restriction by allowing schools to teach the origin of life beliefs of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Scientology.

The Republican-controlled Indiana Senate approved the measure 28-22, but it died in committee in the Republican-controlled House.

This idiot is Chairman of Senate Education Committee Perfect!

Now that all you need is a plain old college degree to teach in Indiana schools the idiot Republicans take it a step further...
School boards may be allowed to hire anyone to lead school districts

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INDIANAPOLIS | School boards could hire superintendents who have no training, experience or background in education under legislation approved by a House committee Tuesday.

House Bill 1357, sponsored by state Rep. Todd Huston, R-Fishers, eliminates a requirement that superintendents hold a state-issued teacher or superintendent license to be hired.

"I believe a locally elected school board should be able to hire who they feel best meets their needs," Huston said. "This gives school boards as much flexibility as possible in hiring the person they want to lead their schools."

Destroying public education....one idiotic law at a time.

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On Tuesday afternoon, Smith said he was astounded to watch the House vote 80-14 for House Bill 1051 requiring music therapists be credentialed at the same it's considering eliminating licensing requirements for hiring a school superintendent.

Yup. The GOP in a nutshell...

Public High School Students Won’t Learn About Voting In Government Class If Iowa Bill Becomes Law

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Iowa state Rep. Pat Grassley (R) — the grandson of Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) — introduced a bill earlier this week that increases the amount of instruction in government and “the tenets of American citizenship” in the state’s high school social studies curriculum, but specifically eliminates “the high school social studies requirement to teach voting procedures.”

Under the measure, public high school students in Iowa would learn about “national, state, county, and local governments” without receiving instruction in voting procedures or methods:

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This bill increases the amount of instruction in government required as part of the state’s high school social studies curriculum from one-half unit to one unit. The bill adds instruction in the federal system of government; the overlapping features and responsibilities of the national, state, county, and local governments; and the tenets of American citizenship to the subjects required in the instruction in government. The bill adds the principles of American citizenship to the required subjects for assessment as part of the instruction in government.

The bill strikes requirements that high school students receive instruction in voting statutes and procedures, voter registration requirements, the use of paper ballots and voting systems in the election process, and the method of acquiring and casting an absentee ballot.

As Progress Iowa’s Matt Sinovic put it, “If [Grassley] doesn’t think voting is a principle of American citizenship, then what is? Nothing is more fundamental to being American or Iowan than exercising our right to vote.” The organization has launched a petition against the measure.

Makes it a lot easier to suppress the vote when people don't know how to vote.
"Grandson of Chuck Grassley" R-Iowa....It seems that the offspring of the righties get even nuttier then their parents.
eg,Rand Paul

Think teaching creationism is a nutty idea? Grab a barf bag and read on.....
Ohio School District May Add Glenn Beck Conspiracy Theories To Curriculum

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The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio is challenging an Ohio school district for considering a “controversial issues policy” that would require teachers to encourage discussions about creationism and conservative conspiracy theories about U.N. Agenda 21.

Springboro Community City School District’s new curriculum — part of an effort to help students think critically and learn to “identify important issues” — mandates that “[a]ll sides of the issue should be given to the students in a dispassionate manner” to help “students to be taught to think clearly on all matters of importance, and to make decisions in the light of all the material that has been presented or can be researched on the issues.” Controversial issues include:

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religion when not used in a historical or factual context, sex education, legalization of drugs, evolution/creation, pro-life/abortion, contraception/abstinence, conservatism/liberalism, politics, gun rights, global warming and climate change, UN Agenda 21 and sustainable development, and any other topic on which opposing points of view have been promulgated by responsible opinion and/or likely to arouse both support and opposition in the community.

Teachers would have to provide equal weight to widely-accepted scientific theories like evolution and right-wing conspiracies advanced by Glenn Beck. Under the policy, students could not learn about sustainable development without also assessing the impact of U.N. Agenda 21, a series of non-binding U.N. recommendations for ensuring that economic growth does not undermine the environment, which conservatives believe will destroy American sovereignty and freedom. The Agenda was developed at a summit in Brazil in 1992 with support from President George H.W. Bush.

The ACLU criticized the district for adding evolution to the “controversial issues” list, noting that the policy “appears to explicitly permit the teaching of creationism.” “It has been firmly established that this practice is unconstitutional, in violation of the Establishment Clause,” ACLU legal director James L. Hardiman explained in a letter.

In 2011, the school board “backed away from plans to teach creationism under public pressure” from the ACLU. It plans to vote on this proposal in early June and is facing similar criticism from parents and students. (HT: Raw Story)

High school students fed up with abstinence-only education programs team up to teach fellow teens about safe sex

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High school students in Cleveland, Ohio, have started their own health program to teach fellow teenagers about the physical and emotional aspects of safe sex.

At Case Western Reserve University, the Infectious Disease Alliance is railing against abstinence-only programs, and instead, using peer educators from local high schools to combat the area's rising teen HIV rates.

'The idea is to reach teens before their sexual debut so they have information on how to have safe sex before they have sex,' Amanda Healan, a co-director of the grant-funded student program, told The Plain Dealer. 'It's a tried and true approach.'

Someone has to do it.

Gov. Bobby Jindal and Creationism

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The most embarrassing controversy is his support for teaching creationism in Louisiana’s public school science classes. It gives the rest of the country a reason to laugh at us, and surely Louisiana has had enough of that kind of derision.

After some prodding on Kotb’s part, Jindal finally came right out and said he has “no problem” with teaching creationism, and its cousin Intelligent Design, in science classes. Though eloquent on other subjects, his reasoning on this subject was so lame that he negated all Louisiana’s advances into the 21st century in a few minutes.

“I believe all of our students should be exposed to the best science,” he answered the first time Kotb asked him if he supports teaching creationism. That answer was the typical evasion tactic that politicians use when put on the spot – giving no answer at all.

Then Jindal floundered around, talking about teaching creationism in non-public schools for a while. He was visibly searching for an answer that would throw a bone to both sides of the controversy. He seemed to know he was in trouble, why he was in trouble and couldn’t decide how to get out of it gracefully.

When he didn’t answer the question directly, Kotb pressed him, and that’s when he finally admitted that he supports teaching creationism along with “the best science,” apparently his term for the dreaded “E” word, evolution. Even though the fossil record of earth and humankind’s development over time confirms gradual changes over thousands of years, there are people out there who refuse to believe it.

Many of Jindal’s conservative base voters are religious literalists, and maybe he is himself, even though he’s a Rhodes Scholar and surely been exposed to the “best science” himself. These religious conservatives have long fought to bring the seven-day creation and Adam and Eve stories to public schools. Moreover, their actions have made it clear they only vote for Republicans who support what they want.

Thanks, Bobby Jindal, for ensuring that the GOP remains "the stupid party" and our international scientific standing continues to fall, all on taxpayer money.

Heretic wrote:

Thanks, Bobby Jindal, for ensuring that the GOP remains "the stupid party" and our international scientific standing continues to fall, all on taxpayer money.

What's really hilarious is what this jackass said last Nov 13...
Bobby Jindal: GOP Should 'Stop Being The Stupid Party'

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Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal hurled harsh criticism at his own party after the GOP was blindsided in the 2012 elections, telling Republicans to end "dumbed-down conservatism" by putting a stop to "offensive, bizarre" comments.

“It is no secret we had a number of Republicans damage our brand this year with offensive, bizarre comments -- enough of that,” Jindal told Politico. “It’s not going to be the last time anyone says something stupid within our party, but it can’t be tolerated within our party. We’ve also had enough of this dumbed-down conservatism. We need to stop being simplistic, we need to trust the intelligence of the American people and we need to stop insulting the intelligence of the voters.”

Jindal told Politico Republicans should “stop being the stupid party” by working to embrace a larger group of constituents rather than becoming the party of "big anything."

The More Republicans Know About Politics, the More They Believe Conspiracy Theories

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In the mainstream political press, the standard practices of neutrality and balance carry with them an implicit assumption: that Democrats and Republicans are separate but equal in their ideological biases, with each group just as inclined to support its own team and attack the other side. The trouble is, data from psychologists and political scientists suggest that this might be a naive approach. At worst, it may fundamentally misunderstand the nature of American politics.

The latest evidence on this head comes from pollster and political scientist Dan Cassino of Fairleigh Dickinson University. In a national survey, Cassino examined belief in political conspiracy theories on both the left and also the right. He did so by asking Americans about two "liberal" conspiracy beliefs—the 9/11 "Truther" conspiracy, and the idea that George W. Bush stole the 2004 election—and two conservative ones: the "Birther" theory that Barack Obama was born in Kenya, and the claim that he stole the 2012 vote.

The results were hardly symmetrical. First, 75 percent of Republicans, but only 56 percent of Democrats, believed in at least one political conspiracy theory. But even more intriguing was the relationship between one's level of political knowledge and one's conspiratorial political beliefs. Among Democrats and independents, having a higher level of political knowledge was correlated with decreased belief in conspiracies. But precisely the opposite was the case for Republicans, where knowledge actually made the problem worse. For each political knowledge question that they answered correctly, Republicans' belief in at least one conspiracy theory tended to increase by 2 percentage points.

What's up with this? Cassino views these data as just one more indicator of an "asymmetry" in how Democrats and Republicans, or liberals and conservatives, respond to politics—with Republicans tending to be more partisan and tribal (and in this particular case, more willing to believe conspiracies about their political opponents), and Democrats less so. And while Cassino admits that his latest study wouldn't, in and of itself, constitute definitive proof of ideological asymmetry, he thinks it fits into a bigger body of evidence.

. . .

Going back over the last half century, Cassino has found that Republicans rate presidents of their own party considerably higher than Democrats do, showing stronger party loyalty. More specifically: In a 2007 paper with his colleague Matthew Lebo, Cassino found that Republicans had shown 90 percent approval for Republican presidents much more frequently over the past half century than Democrats had for Democratic presidents. Eisenhower had 28 months of this intense support, and George W. Bush had 38 months of it, followed by George H.W. Bush (14), Reagan (13), and Nixon (2). By contrast, Democrats only showed the same level of support during 12 months of the Clinton years and 5 months of the John F. Kennedy years. At the same time, note Cassino and Lebo, Republicans were also tougher on Democratic presidents than Democrats were on Republican ones.

Finally, consider how Republicans and Democrats respond to performance of presidents from the opposite party on the economy. In the same paper, Cassino and Lebo found that while Democrats respond to Republican presidents who decrease unemployment by increasing their support, Republican support decreased when Democratic presidents created jobs (or saw jobs created on their watch). "There's very little a Democratic president can do to get Republican approval," Cassino says.

. . .

But whatever the ultimate cause, the idea that everybody is equally biased, but in different directions, continues to have a key weakness—namely, the data. And if these results—and they're not the only ones of this ilk, see for instance here and here—are really true, then it may not be a good thing for democracy to perpetuate this idea that everyone has equal biases. As Obama begins a second term after four years of implacable resistance, that's something to ponder.

Wow. I knew the GOP was broken, but I didn't know it was that broken. But that explains why they're clinging even harder to their demonstrably failing policies.

AP Exclusive: GOP donor's school grade changed

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INDIANAPOLIS |  Former Indiana and current Florida schools chief Tony Bennett built his national star by promising to hold "failing" schools accountable.

But when it appeared an Indianapolis charter school run by a prominent Republican donor might receive a poor grade, Bennett's education team frantically overhauled his signature "A-F" school grading system to improve that school's marks.

Emails obtained by The Associated Press show Bennett and his staff scrambled last fall to ensure influential donor Christel DeHaan's school received an "A," despite poor test scores in algebra that initially earned it a "C."

"They need to understand that anything less than an A for Christel House compromises all of our accountability work," Bennett wrote in a Sept. 12 email to then-chief of staff Heather Neal, who is now Gov. Mike Pence's chief lobbyist.

The emails, which also show Bennett discussed with staff the legality of changing just DeHaan's grade, raise unsettling questions about the validity of a grading system that has broad implications. Indiana uses the A-F grades to determine which schools get taken over by the state and whether students seeking state-funded vouchers to attend private school need to first spend a year in public school. They also help determine how much state funding schools receive.

A low grade also can detract from a neighborhood and drive homebuyers elsewhere.

Bennett, who now is reworking Florida's grading system as that state's education commissioner, reviewed the emails Monday morning and denied that DeHaan's school received special treatment. He said discovering that the charter would receive a low grade raised broader concerns with grades for other "combined" schools — those that included multiple grade levels — across the state.

"There was not a secret about this," he said. "This wasn't just to give Christel House an A. It was to make sure the system was right to make sure the system was face valid."

However, the emails clearly show Bennett's staff was intensely focused on Christel House, whose founder has given more than $2.8 million to Republicans since 1998, including $130,000 to Bennett and thousands more to state legislative leaders.

Other schools saw their grades change, but the emails show DeHaan's charter was the catalyst for any changes.

Bennett rocketed to prominence with the help of former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and a national network of Republican leaders and donors, such as DeHaan.

Bennett is a co-founder of Bush's Chiefs for Change, a group consisting mostly of Republican state school superintendents pushing school vouchers, teacher merit pay and many other policies enacted by Bennett in Indiana.

Though Indiana had had a school ranking system since 1999, Bennett switched to the A-F system and made it a signature item of his education agenda, raising the stakes for schools statewide.

Bennett consistently cited Christel House as a top-performing school as he secured support for the measure from business groups and lawmakers, including House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President Pro Tem David Long.

But trouble loomed when Indiana's then-grading director, Jon Gubera, first alerted Bennett on Sept. 12 that the Christel House Academy had scored less than an A.

"This will be a HUGE problem for us," Bennett wrote in a Sept. 12, 2012, email to Neal.

Neal fired back a few minutes later, "Oh, crap. We cannot release until this is resolved."

By Sept. 13, Gubera unveiled it was a 2.9, or a "C."

A weeklong behind-the-scenes scramble ensued among Bennett, assistant superintendent Dale Chu, Gubera, Neal and other top staff at the Indiana Department of Education. They examined ways to lift Christel House from a "C'' to an "A," including adjusting the presentation of color charts to make a high "B'' look like an "A'' and changing the grade just for Christel House.

It's not clear from the emails exactly how Gubera changed the grading formula, but they do show DeHaan's grade jumping twice.

"That's like parting the Red Sea to get numbers to move that significantly," Jeff Butts, superintendent of Wayne Township schools in Indianapolis, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

DeHaan, who opened the Christel House Academy charter school in Indianapolis in 2002 and has since opened schools in India, Mexico and South Africa, said in a statement Monday that no one from the school ever made any requests that would affect Christel House's grades.

Current Indiana schools chief Glenda Ritz's office declined comment on the emails.

Ritz, a Democrat, defeated Bennett in November with a grass-roots campaign driven by teachers angered by Bennett's education agenda.

Bennett said Monday he felt no special pressure to deliver an "A'' for DeHaan. Instead, he argued, if he had paid more attention to politics he would have won re-election in Indiana.

Yet Bennett wrote to staff twice in four days, directly inquiring about DeHaan's status. Gubera broke the news after the second note that "terrible" 10th grade algebra results had "dragged down their entire school."

Bennett called the situation "very frustrating and disappointing" in an email that day.

"I am more than a little miffed about this," Bennett wrote. "I hope we come to the meeting today with solutions and not excuses and/or explanations for me to wiggle myself out of the repeated lies I have told over the past six months."

Bennett said Monday that email expressed his frustration at having assured top-performing schools like DeHaan's would be recognized in the grading system, but coming away with a flawed formula that would undo his promises.

When Bennett requested a status update Sept. 14, his staff alerted him that the new school grade, a 3.50, was painfully close to an "A." Then-deputy chief of staff Marcie Brown wrote that the state might not be able to "legally" change the cutoff for an "A."

"We can revise the rule," Bennett responded.

Over the next week, his top staff worked arduously to get Christel House its "A." By Sept. 21, Christel House had jumped to a 3.75. Gubera resigned shortly afterward.

He declined comment Monday.

The emails don't detail what Gubera changed in the school formula or how many schools were affected. Indiana education experts consulted for this article said they weren't aware the formula had been changed.

Another reason to never let a Republican near the educational system.

Bennett closed two public schools rather than give them the break he gave donor's charter

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It's not enough that former Indiana and Florida schools chief Tony Bennett raised the grade of a charter school run by a Republican donor during his time in Indiana. No, Bennett actually closed two Indianapolis public schools rather than give them the same loophole the charter school got:

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The issue was similar in both cases. Christel House had recently added ninth and 10th grades, and IPS’ Howe and Arlington had added middle school grades. The students who filled those seats posted poor enough scores to drag down the schools’ overall ratings.

In the case of Christel House, emails unearthed by The Associated Press show Bennett’s staff sprung into action in 2012 when it appeared scores from the recently added grades could sink the highly regarded school’s rating from an A to a C. Ultimately, the high school scores were excluded and the school’s grade remained an A.

But in 2011, after IPS’ then-Superintendent Eugene White demanded Bennett consider the test scores of high school students separately from those of middle school students so the high schools could avoid state takeover, Bennett was unmoved.

In corporate education policy world, public schools get the losing end of a double standard that absolves charter schools of all kinds of failure. Where it's not directly because charter schools have money and cozy relationships with politicians, as here, it's because of an ideology that says money and private profit entering the education system is good, and excluding some kids from schools is just fine.

Sign our petition demanding the Indiana attorney general investigate former Indiana schools Superintendent Tony Bennett for changing the grade of a charter school for his donors.
Unfortunately there is little chance of that happening since Zoeller is a grade A wingnut.

I hope Mitch Daniels isn't thinking about running after this fiasco.  

Future Republican Values Voters..
Inside a "science" classroom in the Bible Belt.

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The ignorance in the classroom is mind numbing.

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"We didn't like evolve from anything, that doesn't make any sense. I mean, how can like an African American person evolve from a white person? We're different skin."

This last question indicates how completely this school, and this teacher, have failed the students.

Right wingers tinkering with the educational system...What could possibly go wrong  
Indiana quits Common Core for good

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NDIANAPOLIS | Students attending Indiana elementary and high schools will learn material different from what's taught in nearly every other state in the nation, starting this fall.

On Monday, Republican Gov. Mike Pence signed into law Senate Enrolled Act 91, requiring the State Board of Education rescind its adoption of the Common Core educational standards used by 45 other states and replace them with new, Indiana-only college- and career-ready standards by July 1.

"By signing this legislation, Indiana has taken an important step forward in developing academic standards that are written by Hoosiers, for Hoosiers, and are uncommonly high, and I commend members of the General Assembly for their support," Pence said.

Common Core advocates and critics already are blasting the proposed new Indiana standards that state education officials began working on a year ago after the Republican-controlled Legislature "paused" implementation of Common Core.

Backers of Common Core say the pending Indiana standards are disorganized, difficult to understand and lack rigor. Common Core foes say the standards contain too much Common Core to be trusted.

So why the sudden need to ditch this system?
Ahh Ha!

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Many Republicans flipped their position on Common Core, which was developed by the national associations of governors and state school superintendents, after the standards were endorsed by President Barack Obama and Tea Party groups began suggesting Common Core is part of a federal scheme to control local schools.

Damn You Obama!

Artie60438 wrote:

Right wingers tinkering with the educational system...What could possibly go wrong  
Indiana quits Common Core for good

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NDIANAPOLIS | Students attending Indiana elementary and high schools will learn material different from what's taught in nearly every other state in the nation, starting this fall.

On Monday, Republican Gov. Mike Pence signed into law Senate Enrolled Act 91, requiring the State Board of Education rescind its adoption of the Common Core educational standards used by 45 other states and replace them with new, Indiana-only college- and career-ready standards by July 1.

"By signing this legislation, Indiana has taken an important step forward in developing academic standards that are written by Hoosiers, for Hoosiers, and are uncommonly high, and I commend members of the General Assembly for their support," Pence said.

Common Core advocates and critics already are blasting the proposed new Indiana standards that state education officials began working on a year ago after the Republican-controlled Legislature "paused" implementation of Common Core.

Backers of Common Core say the pending Indiana standards are disorganized, difficult to understand and lack rigor. Common Core foes say the standards contain too much Common Core to be trusted.

Pence shrugged off those concerns saying he trusts the standards-writing process — jointly led by his Center for Education and Career Innovation and Glenda Ritz, the Democratic state superintendent of public instruction — will make Hoosiers proud.
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The final version of Indiana's new standards is due to be released April 14.



The eunuch might be best served by waiting to see what the new standards actually are before freaking out over them.
But, alas, the eunuch saw the word 'Republican' and went into Pavlovian overdrive.