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I have brushed my
teeth twice a day, almost every day for 45 years. During that time I have purchased and used scores of
toothbrushes, miles of floss and gallons of toothpaste. Because of this experience, I now
consider myself to be an expert in dentistry. And due to this expertise I will now determine what
practices and tools YOUR dentist will use when he/she is working on YOUR
mouth. And don’t try to convince
me that my passion to fix dentistry is misguided. My opinion is all that matters....
Welcome to the twisted
logic / worldview of the Anti-CSCOPE loony. You would think that these people
would be ignored and they would crawl back to their bunkers and re-adjust their
tin foil hats. That is what has
always happed in the past. But now thanks to social media and a group of
ambitious, pandering politicians, these people have had their craziness
reinforced. So in the interest of
reason and truth (which evidently in Anti-SCOPE Loony worldview, is no longer
the American way), I will address some of their most compelling “facts,”
presented in their own words. Ginger and Stacy, you are up.
StaceinTexas: Common core operatives in the
U.S. Department of Education are actively pursuing CSCOPE as a way around the
Texas legislative process.
Cain: I don’t even know how to respond to this.
Common Core Operatives? Exactly, who are these people? Over the past twenty
years, I have worked in Texas education from the classroom to the policy
briefing rooms. I have met only
one USDOE representative, Secretary of Education, Dr. Rod Paige (a Texas
educator and mentor). He will be
the first to explain to you that the USDOE has no real power. I’m going to trust Dr. Paige on this
one. As for CSCOPE being groomed
as the vehicle to implement the Common Core, don’t let the fact that CSCOPE
predates the Common Core and the Common Core is less inclusive than the TEKS
get in the way of a good conspiracy theory.
Gingerdr: Why would tax money be used to create
a product then sell it back to the taxpayers (school districts)?
Cain: Blame your elected Republican
representatives for this one. They
not only cut funding to the Educational Service Centers, they then told them if
they expected to survive, they had best adopt a business model and products
that districts would be wiling to purchase. CSCOPE is just one of those products. Back when these decisions were being
made, I was advising that CSCOPE should be state funded and provided to
districts free of charge. But that
would have required the adequate funding of education, and we haven’t voted for
anyone who believes in that into state level office in Texas for the past 15
years. Also, to further illustrate that government entities selling services is
not a radical, far left, education only idea... See every contract deputy
program in effect in affluent communities across the state and state park
admission fees.
Gingerdr: Where is the millions of missing
money on this venture (CSCOPE)?
Cain: The “profit” from CSCOPE goes into the
general budgets of the ESC’s to pay for such frivolous expenditures as
electricity, water, paper and staff.
Wasteful, I know. But what
are you supposed to do, when the State does not provide adequate funding and
support?
Gingerdr: have not heard anyone stanch
supporter of CSCOPE voice concern of the parents who are pulling their students
out of public school.
CAIN: Public school is only one education
option available to parents. The
choice to not educate your child in public school is driven by four primary
reasons.
1. The desire for a morality-based instructional delivery model for
your child - I both respect this choice and will defend your right to make it.
2. The desire for an “improved” peer group for your child - If you wish to cloak
your fear and/or racism by calling it something else, fine. But we both know why
you have really opted to not send your child to public school.
3. You want to
avoid a consequence of your poor parenting - Again call it whatever you want, but we both know the
“curriculum” is not the real issue.
4. Convenience - A non-public school is more assessable to your commute, home, etc.
Gingerdr: CSCOPE doesn't even align with the
TEKS.
Cain: This is where we cannot agree to
disagree. Because you are wrong.
In fact, it is the TEKS alignment that is the primary strength of CSCOPE. The lack of alignment occurs when
teachers deviate from CSCOPE. When you bend a nail when attempting to drive it
into a 2X4, this is not the fault of the hammer, it is a user error.
Gingerdr: this is worth the millions of dollars texas taxpayers are spending??
Cain: Yes. Take a random 3,000-student
district. To provide this
vertically aligned, TEKS correlated scope and sequence, with assessments and
lesson resources (CSCOPE) will cost $21,000.00.
For the district to provide and support a
lesser in-house product would require, at minimum, four content specialists and
a secretary. This would require a
minimum personnel expenditure of $350,000.00.
So as both a steward of taxpayers money and
a taxpayer myself, I chose CSCOPE ten times out of ten. Which is why your paranoid delusions
are so infuriating. By attacking
CSCOPE, not only are you making the job of teachers exceedingly more difficult,
you are costing me, and the state, money. Money that you and your ilk are
unwilling to provide in the first place.
At this point I don’t care where you go, as long as it away.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
- Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
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