Last updated October 24, 2002

This page is dedicated to the improvement of public education, and to the teaching of the knowledge necessary for our children to understand, reason, and function intelligently for the futures of themselves, their families, and their communities.

This page is also dedicated to our teachers, who, in spite of all the resistance of administrators and central planners, continue to teach our children the academics that made this the greatest country of the world in our time. I further wish to acknowledge that it is the teachers who are taking the blame for the declines in learning, whereas the actual responsibility for those declines rests upon those same administrators and central planners.

Learn:---To gain knowledge of; to acquire knowledge or ideas of something before unknown. We learn the use of letters, the meaning of words and the principles of science. We learn things by instruction, by study, and by experience and observation. It is much easier to learn what is right, than to unlearn what is wrong. To acquire skill in any thing; to gain by practice a faculty of performing ; as, to learn to play on a flute or an organ. To teach; to communicate the knowledge of something before unknown. American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828.

Learning.---1. knowledge acquired by systematic study in any field or scholarly application. 2. the act or process of acquiring knowledge or skill. 3. Psychol. the modification of behavior through practice, training, or experience. Random House Webster's College Dictionaryy, 1990.

"In our dreams, we have limitless resources and the people yield themselves with perfect docility to our molding hands. The present educational conventions fade from our minds, and unhampered by tradition, we work our own good will upon a grateful and responsive rural folk. We shall not try to make these people or any of their childen into philosophers or men of learning, or of science. We have not to raise up from among them authors, editors, poets or men of letters. We shall not search for embryo great artists, painters, musicians nor lawyers, doctors, preachers, statesmen, of whom we have an ample supply. The task we set task before ourselves is a very simple as well as a very beautiful one, to train these people as we find them to a perfectly ideal life just where they are. So we will organize our children and teach them to do in a perfect way the things their fathers and mothers are doing in an imperfect way, in the homes, in the shops, and on the farm." Occasional Letter No.1, The General Education Board, 1903, organized by J.D. Rockefeller, with Fred T. Gates, and Andrew Carnegie as a trustee. [emphasis added]

One of the prime resources for the history of OBE is Diana Fessler, a member of the Ohio State Board of Education, who researched and put together a 68 page Report on the Work Toward National Standards, Assessments and Certificates. This report is available from Diana Fessler in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format.

"The NCEE/Commission made recommendations to the NCEE board for the creation of five interlocking systems. The remainder of this report is divided into chapters that correspond to NCEE’s five systems.  I refer to these systems, collectively, as The System:

· A system to certify student readiness to enter the workforce
· A system of Youth Centers for those not certified labor ready
· A  system of occupational certificates
· A system of finance for education and workforce training, and
· A system of labor market boards to pull it all together. "

• Essential Learning, or Essential Academic Learning Requirements. This the current buzz word, and is required to be implemented. Most do not realize that the source is dictated by the Carnegie sourced interests. Lynn Stuter has a report on Achieve, showing the source of this program. It is not a local program.
• Tired of being duped with governmental smoke and mirrors? Wonder how bureaucrats perpetuate their agendas/jobs/programs? Want to learn how to stop it?The Bureaucrats Bible is a step-by-step description of what will happen when you work for true reform. Shirley Basarab.
• The Origins of Political Correctness, a speech by Bill Lind, at Georgetown Univeristy


SEMINAR ON GOALS 2000 -- (BY ROBERT HOLLAND) (Extension of Remarks - February 26, 1997). Mr. Robert Holland of Richmond, VA, an editor for the Richmond Times Dispatch not only delivered one of the best presentations but contributed the following editorial which appeared in the Washington Times, Sunday, February 23, 1997, which I am pleased to share with my colleagues.

School-To-Work. Wonder where the requirement for community service came from? School-Work -A Formula for Failure by Karen Holgate,editor of Parents National Network. She is an education researcher and legislative analyst.   21 pages

 
• STW assistance to State of Washington is traced back to those organizations that provide the funding for that assistance, including the UN. Lynn Stuter details the connections of the National School to Work Office, a project of the Academy of Education Development.
• "School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994" - this is a searchable file. Use Control F and then type in the word you are looking for, i.e., mandatory.
• On Sept. 25, 1998, Rep. Bob Schaffer placed in the Congressional Record an 18-page letter that has become famous as Marc Tucker's "Dear Hillary" letter. It lays out the master plan of the Clinton Administration to take over the entire U.S. educational system so that it can serve national economic planning of the workforce. The "Dear Hillary" letter, written on Nov. 11, 1992 by Marc Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), lays out a plan "to remold the entire American [school] system" into "a seamless web that literally extends from cradle to grave and is the same system for everyone," coordinated by "a system of labor market boards at the local, state and federal levels" where curriculum and "job matching" will be handled by counselors "accessing the integrated computer-based program."
• BACKGROUND OF SCHOOL TO WORK CONCEPT -- (BY DR. D. L. CUDDY)
• TRANSATLANTIC EDUCATION AGENDA -- (BY D.L. CUDDY, PH.D.) (Extension of Remarks - July 14, 1998)
• For those who would like to see the connection between the workforce development boards, the workforce investment boards, local schools, workforce training ...  Arkansas has it's one stop website in operation ...  http://www.onestop.org/      The material on the website is so blatant, I'm not sure how anyone could  miss the intent or meaning.    Lynn M Stuter

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• ASB - Associated Student Body
• ASB Basics, or how the money is supposed to be spent. Val Barschaw

• Finance
• Teacher's Salaries are of interest right now. Analysis shows that salaries for the first 15 years in Snohomish are going up at the a rate between 2.44% and 5% each year, while the inflation rate is essentially flat. Interesting to note that average income in 1995 for our region was $32 -$35,000. Spreadsheet..4/19/99
• Does one 2nd grade teacher who receives twice the income as other teacher twice as good at teaching? A look at some teachers' salaries , (2001-2002).
• District salaries far exceed the amounts supplied by the State, leaving only approximately $9 million for books, supplies, and other items. Salaries..4/11/99
• State Level Support of Teachers Salaries needs to be raised in order to account for the loss in real wages due to an annual inflation rate of 1.5 -1.6%. Yeah, Sure!!! A look at the State schedule shows an annual wage increase of approximately 3% each and every year. Take a look!
• How to read your School District's budget- Shirley Basarab
• How your School Levy dollars are spent. Spreadsheet analysis derived from Snohomish School District documents shows that levey dollars are not reaching the classroom, but are being used to support programs 94 and 97. No wonder the kids have no books. The spreadsheet is in Quattro Pro.
• In the l996-97 school year the district took out $800,000 from the basic education revenues supplied by the state to spend on programs other than basic ed.
• In the 1997-98 year, $1,100,000 was budgeted out of Basic Ed.
• In the 1998-99 $1,000,000 is budgeted out of Basic Ed.
• More than 80% of the levy money is going into administration, and not the classroom.
• "Most surrounding districts run at least a 20% levy. Our past two levies have been at 18%. It may be relevant to note that had we passed a 20% levy this debt would not have occurred." Candace McKenna's words after ESD briefing on what went wrong in the school district. We, the citizens are to blame.
• The State Auditors Office audits the district. CleanAudit?
• The truth about funding in the Snohomish School District Or How can Students Learn with 37 in a Class? Dave Stewart
• Contractof Snohomish Principals and the School District.
• Assistant Superintendents -- Can you imagine $95,000 per year, with 12 paid holidays, and 29 days of vacation? Read the Contract! And no books for the kids, but they CARE! Contract
• They say they care for the kids, but nothing is too good for our administrators!
• The amount of money that is allocated by the state to the district for principles' and administrators' salaries is a specific amount that is set by the legislature. Snohomish chooses to pay a higher amount. So where does the money for the higher salaries come from?
• A letter to the District Board Member, and the District's answer (1996-7).
• Administrative salaries, plus 'personal development'. Oh My, Oh My where does it come from? (1997-8 ) Wow!
• Administrative salaries for 1998-9. (Dec 4, 1998)
• Administrative salaries for 2000-2001, 2001-2002
• A Lawsuit is filed to appeal the School Board's decision obligate the District for over $2 millions in supplemental employment contracts for Certified and Administrative personnel.
• A retired Principal goes to work for the district. Questions, and maybe few Answers..
• During the week days of August 6th, 7th, & 8th ( Wed. - Fri.)of 1997, the school administrators took a week-end retreat to Leavenworth for leadership training and strategic plan implementation. What a week-end! Leavenworth
• Poetic Justice, Val Barschaw comments on elected officials

• Control of Outcomes in Groups
• The Delphi Method, developed by the Rand Corporation think tank, is a way of working with large groups in coming to a desired outcome. It uses group psychology to achieve concensus of the group. Lynn Stuter.
• Psychological Group Control Techiques for controling groups in public meetings. Shirley Basarab.
• Consensus, Have we reached a consensus? Whats' Wrong With Consensus? Lynn Stuter

• Lifetime Student Tracking
• Requests for Student Social Security numbers, A Number, Not a Name: Big Brother by Stealth, an essay by Claire Wolfe, May 1998. Big Brother is watching your student.
• The State of Washington is Tracking your student. Database Tracking of Students, an exerpt from Education Reform--The Silent Weapon. Shirley Basarab
• High School HiJinx    (Or not all the Donkeys are seated in the grass. Or as one city officicial stated, the administration is out of control) E-mail from a parent who no longer has students in school.

• The School Board:
• Minority Report, Communications Task Force, August 23, 1997. Teach phonics? Naaah!
• The School Board Protocols: What do they say? Operating Protocols.
• Six Rules of Education, Max Rafferty
• Deierling resigns: "In the past year, I have experience the humility of ostracism by administrators and board members, I have seen the duplicitous actions of our education community leaders in ways that are disingenuous to not only our students and staff, but to the very citizens who are responsible through their representation of the integrity and academic excellence that the Snohomish School District has be acclaimed for."              Included in her resignation statement, Deierling  encloses documents on Neal J. Powell's un-accredited Phd.
• Neal J. Powell claims a Ph.D. from the University of Santa Barbara. Report of the The Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education committee that evaluated the claim of USB

• Local Control of Education in your District?  Nah!
• The following press release is from the State Board of Education in

Washington State.  Of particular note is the part about state money to
school districts being tied to schools exhibiting the Nine Characteristics
of High Performing Schools, listed following the press release.  Money now
becomes contingent on districts complying with state and federal requirements.    Lynn  Stuter
• No Child Left Behind? right out of Goals 2000.  OSPI document
• No Child Left Behind? An e-mail from Arkansas on Frameworks program, and the federal rules.
• No Child Left Behind - Gerald W. Bracey is an independent researcher and writer living in Alexandria, VA, an Associate of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation and an Associate Professor at George Mason University.
• No Child Left Behind?  While the No Child Left Behind Act amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to require that public high schools turn over students' names and addresses to military recruiters, it also contains an opt-out clause for concerned parents. [if parents know about it- df] cnsnews

 
• Part I: Supreme Court Issues Death Sentence for Private Schools ~Charlotte T. Iserbyt, former Senior Policy Advisor, U.S. Department of Education :
• "The Supreme Court's recent 5-4 decision allowing the constitutionality of financial aid to parents which they may use at religious or private schools, including virtual   academy(computer-assisted-instruction) charter schools available to home schoolers,  will result in the deliberate dumbing down of all education.In this latter regard, the writer of this article was told in 1981 by the Director of the Office of Libraries and Learning Technology, U.S. Department of Education, that "in the future all education will take place in the home, but that we will always have the schools for socialization purposes".  This is the UN's lifelong learning/brainwashing concept which places all community services under the umbrella of the community school.  (The National Alliance of Business refers to this agenda as Kindergarten-Age 80)"
• THE PERFECT CRIME: HOW PSYCHOLOGY AND HIGH-TECH MARKETING HAVE "DEFORMED" EDUCATION ~by  Beverly K. Eakman  ~Author, Educator and Executive Director - National Education Consortium  January 27, 2001
• So, in effect, children are being "warehoused," not educated. If you think back, you'll find that this approach to education mirrors the childrearing advice that started being disseminated in books and magazines beginning in the mid-1950s. Parents who continued to transmit even innocuous virtues like propriety, tact, and modesty had the rug pulled out from under them."Between 1968-1975, standardized tests started looking more like opinion surveys than cognitive measures. Teachers like me were told essentially not to teach-not to put red marks on pupils' papers, not to say anything that could even be construed as a negative comment about a youngster's work, clothing, or speech.      [snip]
• Now, four consequences necessarily follow from this shift of emphasis:
• First, both curriculum and testing center on passions.
• Secondly, the group is put before individual students. Today's "cooperative learning" concept is aimed at turning out "team players," not at supporting individual performance. That means peer pressure is heightened instead of alleviated. Which brings us to consequence
• #3: Children flit from one activity toanother, with no continuity between skill-bases, distracted and discouraged from the kind of study that results in the ability to make logical conclusions. Post-modern people, you see, are not supposed to be moved by reason, and given the events of the past 8 years, obviously they're not. So, the endless distractions create both an intellectual and emotional void.
• Finally, because group-think and consensus are rewarded over independent thought, the old school cliques we knew have "morphed" into violent, "Lord of the Flies"-style, kiddy subcultures, like Littleton's Trench-Coat Mafia, indulging in brutal territorial exercises. That's "mob rule."
• EDUCATION: Uncle Sam's Classroom~ by B.K. Eakman   http://www.beverlye.com/~eakman/classroom_20000821.html From the September 2000 Chronicles magazine, pp. 40-42 Under the section, Vital Signs    [This is a long article, but a real eye-opener,-df]

•  Laws:
• "School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994" - this is a searchable file. Use Control F and then type in the word you are looking for, i.e., mandatory.
• National and State Chronology of Education Reform, prepared by Roxanne Sitler
• Supreme Court decision on vouchers and choice. A trojan horse for Federal control over local education. Charlotte T. Iserbyt, former Senior Policy Advisor, U.S. Department of Education
• The WASL and other testing
• Why the WASL* is so Awful!   (*Washington Assessment of Student Learning)    Why parents are refusing to let their children take  the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). Shirley Basarab
• A rebutal to the Federal Way School District.
• An e-mail exchange between Patrick Patrick and Arthu Hu
• Mothers Against WASL,  an e-mail by an organizer.
• The NAEP Test -(NAEP = National Assessment of Educational Progress) The Maple River Education Coalition PAC  "...neither teachers nor parents are allowed to see the test. This way the federal government can include any questions it wishes to, while, at the same time, it cannot be held accountable by its citizens. The national system of education is designed to hold the citizens accountable to government, not the other way around."

 
• Links to internet web sites
• Education researcher Lynn Stuter: various articles on Education Reform. Mrs. Stuter is one of several education researcher in our State. Her site has many topics that provides valuable information for parents. This is a good site to bookmark.