Why BATS Fight the Common Core

CCSS- which I have renamed Common Core Stealth Standards because of how they have been introduced- should be treated as fruit of the poisoned tree. Given the undemocratic manner in which they were developed, rushed through legislatures, and are currently being implemented, teachers and parents should respond to them with the utmost wariness and suspicion. This is ultimate Legislating by the One Percent- with Bill Gates in the lead. Curriculum should be developed from the bottom up, by teachers, not from the top down, and should be implemented only after a long trial period where there is true collaboration and freedom of discussion. Can anyone seriously say there has been collaboration and freedom of discussion associated with Common Core? It has been a forced march marked by bribery and intimidation. That's why BATS put "End Federal Support for Common Core" as the first demand of our March on Washington. The push for Common Core epitomizes the elitist, undemocratic forces reshaping- and undermining- public education in the US. Undermining it, deconstructing it, and ultimately stopping it is not only an important step in pushing back the TEST MACHINE, it is an important step toward revitalizing public education and restoring democratic participation to public education discourse.