Ed Watch

Nanny State Bills Expand Government Control Over Families
By Dr. Karen Effrem
Two bills which recently passed the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee and are headed for floor debate clearly illustrate the insatiable appetite that the radicals in charge of Congress have for control over the hearts and minds of our nation's youngest children.

By Professor Allen Quist
Claiming to have the remedy for "nature deficit disorder," Congressional Democrats (along with some Republicans) are in the process of passing a new federal education program for all 50 states. The bill is called "No Child Left Inside" and is a major expansion of the federal education train-wreck, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

EdWatch Materials Will Be Used at Paris Event
This weekend, a hastily assembled coalition of French professionals and parents will come together in Paris to mobilize opposition to the French Government's recent plans to screen very young children for “conduct disorder.”

The No Child Left Behind draft reauthorization now before Congress calls for states to revise their standards and assessments to be aligned with existing national and international "postsecondary education and work readiness skills."

by Julie Quist
"I would have No Child Left Behind repealed." Freshman Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., who campaigned on eliminating it.

Julie Quist
Immigration politics have Washington in political upheaval. Public confidence in Congress is down to the lowest ever recorded--14%--as an angry and frustrated public watches top leaders of both political parties continue to move forward on an immigration bill overwhelmingly opposed by everyday Americans.

Letter to the Editor
A few things regarding the choosing of Everyday Math have not been addressed in any official documents for the public, including school board minutes, committee meeting minutes, etc. I will try to address some of them, and give you the parent view. There were two parents -I am one of them - who dedicated a great deal of volunteer time to attending meetings and pouring over information and materials in hopes of having an impact on what math is chosen for the elementary students at STMA.

Dangerous coalition between financial interests and state take-over of parenting.
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) "black box" warning states: "Antidepressants increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in children and adolescents." With this clear and present danger, why has the use of antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs for children in general, for poor children on Medicaid, and for foster children skyrocketed in recent years? Follow the money and follow the state take-over of parenting.

by Allen Quist
Critics of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program often say that IB is “un-American.” IB supporters, on the other hand, say that participating schools can write their own curriculum, so the content of the curriculum is really up the schools—not the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). In this ongoing debate over IB, who is right? (The IBO website says that IB is now in 680 American schools.)

A-PLUS Act (HR 1539) Introduced in Congress
Last week 52 members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act of 2007 (A-PLUS, HR 1539) which would return educational accountability back to parents, taxpayers, and the state, where it belongs. No Child Left Behind currently holds states and schools accountable to federal agencies for specific annual school outcomes, policies the U.S. Constitution clearly reserves to the states. (See "Why Re-authorize No Child Left Behind?", EdWatch, Dec 4, 2006)

By Allen Quist
On December 14, 2006, Marc Tucker released his new education proposal, Tough Choices or Tough Times. His plan reads like a bad novel. It is mostly rhetoric, and the claims he makes are fantasy-land variety. If America adopts his plan, according to Tucker, the following will happen: "No one will fail," he says; and, "We can send almost everyone to college and have them do well there," Tucker insists; and "95% of our students will [be qualified for college]," according to Tucker. 

Julie M. Quist
EdWatch
"Federal funding for International Baccalaureate has been allocated from the Advanced Placement Program for a number of years." (See "Federal 2007 Appropriations Bill" below.) New resources opposing IB are popping up across the country.