LET’S TALK CSCOPE
CSCOPE is the controversial online curriculum currently used by about 875 school districts in this state. It’s the one that has taught Allah is GOD, Christianity is a cult, and that dumping British Tea was a terrorist act. Students have even designed a flag for a new Socialist /Communist Country. Wow ! Everyone is doing CSCOPE. It must be terrific. Has anyone heard of any field testing that might have been done? Does anyone know anything about the the writers and consultants hired to put this together? Is anyone aware that students have been asked to read material from Socialist Robert Owen who promoted Agenda 21 where people no longer own private property but all things are granted to them through a kind Socialist Government? An article in the Brownwood Bulletin, written by a BISD staff member, defended CSCOPE Sunday, March 10, 2013, but failed to mention controversial material in the program.
CSCOPE curriculum was developed by leaders and staff of the twenty Texas Educational Service Centers using contract writers, outside curriculum consultants and technology. It is a comprehensive K-12 program, providing an early foundation, then adds layer after layer of information as the student progresses through the program. The indoctrination begins when the child enters Kindergarten.
The online curriculum system is designed to develop COMMON scope and sequential learning across the District, and most of the State. The material covers language arts, math, science and social studies. These are the four core subjects that make up Texas education standards. Throughout these core areas, CSCOPE authors have chosen words and ideas which indoctrinate rather than educate students.
Socialist doctrine is presented as an ideal state for society through writing and presentation. The material also contains factual errors, grammar/usage mistakes, and inappropriate content. Lessons are taught and there is built in frequent assessment to determine mastery of the information.
CSCOPE content has not been reviewed, monitored or controlled by the Texas State Board of Education. Classified as supplementary materials, that oversight was avoided. It is based on the premise that education should be more about how students feel about things, rather than facts. It becomes important to promote positive feelings for what they want society to be, rather than what society actually is. Thus the ongoing lessons about Socialism, the down play of the Christian religion, and the promotion of Islam. This confluence of various writers who have chosen to push their political and personal ideology has created an end result that is neither trustworthy or to be respected.
It is important to note that Region 4 Service Center Director, Dr. William McKinney, serves on the Board of Directors for Fetullah Gulen’s International Science Fair Organization. Perhaps that is why Islam has been given such extensive positive coverage in CSCOPE, and Christianity given such a short mention with negative connotation. There are about fifty Gulen Charter Schools in Texas where taxpayer funded school busses stay late, and students participate in after school religious Islam education. They are then driven home in taxpayer funded vehicles.
Although CSCOPE was paid for by taxpayers, CSCOPE leaders chose to illegally form a Private Corporation to copyright curriculum material. It is rented to the Districts each year. Parents have not been allowed to view the lessons, and teachers have had to sign non-disclosure statements.
Parents and educators brought their concerns about CSCOPE to the Texas Legislature and a Senate Hearing was held in January, 2013. There much of the controversy over the material became public. Texas Service Center leaders became testy and defiant during the hearings, and provided conflicting information to the Senate Committee. CSCOPE staff had consistently denied the existence of controversial material in the curriculum, but admitted the existence during the Senate hearings. They defended the non disclosure to parents and public stating public viewing would infringe on the copyright. The Committee recommended sharing all information, while test materials would be kept private.
Changes to allow more public and parent material review were promised. This was touched on by a BISD representative in an article published in the Brownwood Bulletin March 10, 2013. Despite the January hearing, there remain many unanswered questions about the material and limited access for parents and interested taxpayers to see what they have bought. We must remember at a 2012 training session, the following document was handed out:
“To support implementation of this detailed curriculum, districts must have processes and people in place to insure that there are sustained monitoring of the curriculum and that individual teachers do not have the option to disregard or replace assigned content.”
CSCOPE was developed, in my opinion, by Common Core advocates who were unable to get the Common Core standards pushed by Washington established in Texas through the legislative process. Consequently, CSCOPE was born. Common Core Standards are those authored by the Federal Government which define what students should learn and form the basis for national tests. The Feds used money to encourage adoption of Common Core Standards, and they are now in use in 45 states. They were adopted by those who believe mental sugar pills will make all students college ready with little thought or consideration of the dangers inherent in the acceptance and use. Common Core is a transparent attempt by the Obama Administration to nationalize public education and eventually control curriculum content with little parental oversight.
That appears to be the direction CSCOPE is going with little thought to what it will do to education in Texas. I believe the project was begun with good intentions, but went awry quickly as writers and consultants injected radical ideology.
The Texas Association of School Administrators has been lobbying vigorously for federal “Race to the Top” funds, which are contingent on the acceptance of Common Core. They will soon use state dollars to attend a conference in California where radical activist and documented Bill-Ayers associate Linda Darling-Hammond will speak. According to some, Mrs. Darling-Hammond is actually writing C-Scope material, though she is listed as a professional development consultant in CSCOPE project materials.
As an aside, perhaps many of you do not know about Obama friend Bill Ayers. He is a committed Communists/Socialist terrorist who bombed the Capitol, the Pentagon, and was instrumental in the murders of federals officers in the early 70’s. His conviction was overthrown, and he has been free all these years to spread his radical ideology as an education professor at the University of Illinois. Most recently he organized and taught in the “Occupy” movement and he remains active and committed in to destroy the free market system of the United States and bring about Socialism. He is a colleague and dear friend of Linda Darling-Hammond, whom he endorsed for US Secretary of Education prior to Arne Duncan’s appointment.
District leaders are using textbook funds rent CSCOPE each year at a cost of approximately $7.00 to $10.00 per student. The program has never been evaluated except by the users . It should be.
Many Texas Association of School Administrators members don’t know a whole lot about education. They do know a lot about perks if they follow TASA leaders. CSCOPE is a group think, collective product, adopted by districts with no research or study. It is the prelude to Common Core which your school Administrators will be learning about from the Radical Activists. . Administrators want it because of Federal money it will bring to their District., It is possible CSCOPE could, with some modification be approved by the US Dept of Education as equal to COMMON CORE and generate federal funds for the districts. In fact, there is a section in CSCOPE Corporation documents which state the federal government can take over the curriculum if Texas Education Service Center CSCOPE Corp. dissolves. Aha! Never mind this product is toxic. Remember, as soon as someone tells you something will save education; hide your children and your back pocket.
Information provided by BISD about CSCOPE indicates that all 8 principals, four teachers from each campus and three central office staff will attend the state CSCOPE conference in the summer of 2013. Conference attendees will then return and set up district staff development and learning communities to train all staff.
Parent access will probably be on demand, and they may see only what the leaders show them, rather than having blanket access.
Brownwood Independent School District should establish a parent/community review committee made up of interested parents, retired teachers trained in the subject matter, or perhaps subject matter specialists from a neighboring University. CSCOPE material should be reviewed by this committee before students are given access to the material. If that is not possible the material should be removed from classrooms, and the $100,000 or so the district spends then spent on quality supplementary materials.
Is this what is to become of Public Education? School Choice may now be almost the only option for parents who insist on quality education. When school choice is available education dollars stay with the student, rather than the district. Top charter schools that promote factual information and pride in our heritage as Americans can and should be developed. The Muslims are doing their thing in Charter Schools all over Texas. Texas families who want quality programs for their children can do it too.
There is danger ahead. Texas School Superintendents may hand Texas Public Schools over to the Federal Government without another thought, in exchange for dollars. This cannot happen .
Mrs. Mickey Mathis (RetiredSchool Administrator and School Psychologist)
