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Below is the assignment’s introduction in full: There has been a lot of controversy lately surrounding the War on Terror. Many feel as though The Patriot Act is infringing upon our privacy and other individual liberties, while others feel protected by it. The government of the United States is currently revisiting the Bill of Rights. They have determined that it is outdated and may not remain in its current form any longer. Their aim is to ensure that our personal civil liberties and the pursuit of happiness remain guarded in the 21st century. The government has asked for input from experts on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. You have been selected to participate on the National Revised Bill of Rights (NRBR) Task Force. You will be working in a small team with others who may or may not share your values and opinions. You have been charged with the task of revisiting and editing the Bill of Rights. More specifically, you will need to prioritize, prune, and add amendments and then turn your ideas into a Revised Bill of Rights. Your team’s proposal will be submitted in its final form as a persuasive presentation to Mrs. Knight and associates. She and her associates have been given the important charge of judging the proposals based on valid arguments demonstrated by its authors during the presentation.
A student in Bryant School District in Arkansas brought home a worksheet that presented her with a scenario that referred to the Bill of Rights as “outdated” and that as part of a special committee she would need to throw out two of the Amendments. The worksheet was handed out to Sixth grade students in a History class. According to the girl’s mother, Lela Spears, she has not received any government or civics classes and this was the first assignment dealing with the Constitution or Bill of Rights. The school district is participating in the embattled Common Core curriculum.
Last month, school textbook authors inaccurately defined the Second Amendment as “the right to keep and bear arms in a state militia.”
The Gates Foundation has partnered with Pearson, the giant textbook publisher, to create online curriculum for Common Core which will drive the volume of testing.
Pearson is the exclusive testing contractor for the State of Texas. According to Pearson's year-end review for 2011-2012, more than 11.5 million tests were administered to Texas public education students in grades 3 through 12 for the State of Texas Academic Readiness, or STARR. The cost was more than $89 million!
By 2015 the cost for standardized testing is expected to cost Texans nearly $100 million. Based on figures provided by Texas Education Agency, Pearson's five-year contract with Texas from 2010-2015 will total more than $468 million. Even more staggering is the grand total from 2000 -2015 that Texas taxpayers will have paid Pearson -- nearly $1.2 billion for developing standardized tests and related materials.
Data mining is another component of Common Core that will reap huge profits for Gates. In a public-private collaborative, the foundation and others gave $100 million to inBloom for a public school database. The purpose is to collect and analyze data which will be shared with private companies that sell educational products and services. These lucky insiders get to mine the information and create new tailored products to sell.he Gates Foundation has partnered with Pearson, the giant textbook publisher, to create online curriculum for Common Core which will drive the volume of testing
WWJFKD
So your assignment today is if we lived in a perfect world how could we finesse this ancient document into a more palatable form in which the oldtimers would not be too offended and Government could do its job more efficiently
This is a process and a plan to steal the minds of our youth to mislead our babies so that they never even knew how great the country they live in ever was. .
"The Government gives you your rights"
IkNOwSTuff
I find it amazing the almost religious fervour with which Americans see their bill of rights.
When any talk of changing it (even in a hypothetical thought exercise for children) comes about some of you are as bad as those fundamentalist Muslims who scream blasphemy at everything.
I actually LOLd when some of the above posts talk about schools teaching kids to not use their brains, that is EXACTLY what this exercise does!!!!
Its not a black and white, yes or no question, children have to evaluate the subject and then give explanations for their decisions based on their own conclusions.
Sounds like a great exercise, shame those dirty terrorist teachers dared commit sacriledge by involving the holiest of holies
AfterInfinity
reply to post by IkNOwSTuff
You're damn right we take the Bill of Rights very seriously. The basic rights of the American people are not to be toyed with. They were instated for a very crucial reason, and that reason must be respected at all times, lest people begin to misunderstand why the Bill of Rights was written to begin with. All it takes is a misunderstanding for our rights to begin to degrade in the eyes of those to whom it applies.
That is not a risk I am willing to take. Nor should anyone be willing.edit on 8-10-2013 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)edit on 8-10-2013 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)
Face it, there is not a chance in hell for people to turn back the US to the ideals it had in its inception.