Women of Grace® and other concerned lay groups have cause to rejoice as news breaks that the U.S. bishops have heard their concerns and released a new FAQ paper on the controversial Common Core State Standards (CCSS) that acknowledges the “growing concerns about the effect of these standards on Catholic schools in our country.”
According to an article appearing on the Cardinal Newman Society website,
the newly released document answers a variety of frequently asked questions about the controversial program which has been adopted by most U.S. Catholic diocese.
“Catholic schools must consider standards that support the mission and purpose of the school as a Catholic institution,” the bishops say in the document. They assert that the CCSS was developed for a “public school audience” and is “of its nature incomplete as it pertains to Catholic schools.”
In what is coming as a relief to many parents and educators, the new document is calling for a cautious evaluation of the CCSS, saying that the standards “should be neither adopted nor rejected without review, study, consultation, discussion and caution.”
This position has come about after 18 months of pleading from parents and concerned laity to put the brakes on what seemed like a rush to accept the standards in Catholic schools.
“Many, including Women of Grace® members, sent letters or called their bishops with serious questions about objectionable material and texts aligned with Common Core that are contrary to Catholic moral values,” says Mary Jo Anderson, an expert on the CCSS. “Others have pointed out that CCSS aligned materials are so secular in tone and intent that they cannot be understood as compatible with a Catholic worldview.”
This was certainly the view of more than 100 Catholic scholars and educators, headed by Notre Dame Law Professor Gerard Bradley, who sent a letter to the bishops stating that they ” . . . are convinced that Common Core is so deeply flawed that it should not be adopted by Catholic schools which have yet to approve it, and that those schools that have already endorsed it should seek an orderly withdrawal now.”
A big supporter of the CCSS, the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA), claims that they have no position regarding adoption of the curriculum but have a vested interest in promoting it, Anderson says.
“The NCEA is anxious to accommodate the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which has given NCEA $100,000 to train Catholic educators in Common Core implementation in our schools. Thus NCEA is fully on board with CCSS and has initiated a ‘Catholic’ version called Common Core Catholic Identity Initiative (CCCII).”
As she describes in her blog, Anderson is troubled by the CCSS promotion of “work force ready” education – which she understands to mean grooming students to be “global worker bees” and the philosophy of NCEA director of public policy and educational research, Sister Dale McDonald.
“It is clear that the philosophy and worldview behind CCSS is not human centered, but is about ‘transformation’ of the world in the direction of earth-centeredness, a sense of oneness with the earth, sustainability as sacramental work, and a convergence toward a global community, where nation states recede and students are educated to become ‘global citizens’,” Anderson explains.
This is very much in keeping with the mission of Sister McDonald’s order, the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who are supporters of the radical Earth Charter, a document that espouses the erection of a new world religion based on the worship of the earth. Indeed, the mission statement of Sister McDonald’s community reflects this embrace of New Age eco-spirituality: “As Presentation people impelled by the radical gospel of Jesus and on fire with the spirit of Nano [the order’s founder], we consciously choose to be drawn more deeply into the mystery of God, the mystery of Oneness and the reality of people and Earth made poor. Energized by this evolving consciousness we engage in expansive partnerships that move us to personal and systemic transformation.”
Since the introduction of the CCSS, Women of Grace® has aired several TV segments on EWTN that covered the Common Core issues in detail. These programs urged viewers to speak to bishops, principals and teachers.
They have – and it worked!
The Bishops’ Secretariat for Education strongly reaffirmed that parents are the “first educators of their children as a God-given responsibility” and are reassuring parents that they have “the fundamental right to choose the formative tools that support their convictions and fulfill their duty as the first educators.”
While critical issues remain, this FAQ statement is a very important step by our bishops toward the goal to preserve authentic Catholic education, Anderson says.
“Women of Grace® members have played a significant role, as informed laity who take action on behalf of the Church, to impress upon the bishops the need for review of CCSS. Please continue your efforts to inform others and pray for the USCCB!”
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Click here for more information on our EWTN series on the Common Core Curriculum: What Everyone Needs to Know.
