Friday, November 1, 2013

ALEKS and Common Core

One of the things that the implementation of the Common Core State Standards is doing is buying out all noteworthy educational institutions under a corporate duopoly so that the CCSS curriculum would become the only curriculum to teach from. This includes educational endeavors that was used by many to avoid the already defunct standards in public schools and the like; it proves that CCSS also wants to control private and home education.

The reality of the fact has impacted my fellow college students. Many of my peers (and fellow members of the Valiant Defenders, both local and national) take most of their math courses through a service called ALEKS, or Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces. McGraw-Hill, one of the education curriculum vendors of CCSS, has recently bought out ALEKS in order to change its courses to adhere to the standards.

As a result, the contract of ALEKS with the ACE (American Council of Education) expired, making many of my fellow students' college credit earning through ALEKS invalid to be transferred to a college of their choice. This has caused much headache, and also searching for alternate ways to earn the math credit, often through a state-approved, but also much harder and time-consuming way. In addition, the newer courses adhering to the standards have been either dumbed down or given a more cryptic treatment.

ALEKS is not the educational institution affected. Educational companies that were once the haven of free learning, such as the Khan Academy, are either being bought out or being much pressured to adhere to the standards.

We cannot stand aloof while this corporate domination of our education is happening. As a Valiant Defender of the new generation, it is my duty to fight for my future, and my fellow youth as well.

Help us to overturn Common Core in Ohio by signing this petition that we started. Contact your representatives and voice your concerns.

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