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Pence and Indiana State Board of Education Power-Grab Seeks To Overturn Authority Voters Entrusted To Glenda Ritz

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There is no question. Two bills introduced in committee this week at the Indiana State General Assembly are meant to undo the will of voters. HB1486 authored by Rep. Jeff Thompson and SB1, authored by Senator Travis Holdman, are all about transferring authority of the Indiana Department of Education to the politically appointed body of the Indiana State Board of Education. These bills are about stripping away an elected officials duties and giving them to political appointees. Remember the Center for Education and Career Innovation? Governor Pence has pledged 5 million dollars to create a new shadow agency through the State Board of Education to do the work of Superintendent Ritz's agency. We do not need more bureaucracy nor do we need taxpayer dollars spent on school oversight functions the Department of Education is already doing at no cost to Indiana Taxpayers. Tell your state representatives to oppose HB 1486 and tell your State Senators to oppose SB1.
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What does high stakes testing do to children's desire to participate in democratic society?

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Since 1996, 47.9% (www.electproject.org) of eligible U.S. voters have participated in presidential and mid-term elections. That is an abysmally low number. We know that voter suppression and the violation of civil rights is a problem historically in the U.S. Still, there are other factors at work here. Why do young people of all classes in US society, not participate in voting? There is an x-factor at work here. It has everything to do with how children are educated in the U.S. What does that say about state and federal legislators capacity to implement legislation that promote the most important part of being a U.S. citizen? It says that legislators do not listen to educators who understand the affects of standardized testing are not benign to the well-being of children or to society. What does 16,000 hours of test-centric behavior modification do to a child during their formative years with respect to developing an outlook and attitude for participation in the social arrangement we c...
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Interview with a Finnish Foreign Exchange Student

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After viewing an art exhibition this evening with my son, we ran into one of his high school friends who just happened to have in tow with her a young visitor from Finland. I found out our visitor is attending a popular suburban high school here in the Midwest. During our discussion the Finnish visitor revealed American high schools “treat their students like 10-year olds.” "You have to ask permission to use the bathroom!" "At my old school we just get up and leave." “Here it's like being in juvenile detention.” In Finland we emphasize creativity and thinking outside the box, and we have no testing like you do here!" There seems to be much ignorance within the body politic responsible for US education policy regarding learning experience and matters of the mind. Then again, perhaps it’s not ignorance at all. Perhaps there is a reason why our schools look like factories, learning is fragmented outside children’s interests and intellectual development is meas...
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