The Great Education Struggle isaac@edstruggle.com (isaac@edstruggle.com)

On January 26, 2016, I watched live as the GED Testing Service announced major changes to the GED exam.  After two years of study, the Testing Service has decided to not just change the performance level indicators, but they also have determined the passing school was forcing GED graduates to actually met a much higher performance standard than their high school graduate counterparts.

In this episode, I explain the details and show how the GED might just be a better indicator of college and technical schools readiness than today's high school diploma.

Hundreds of thousands have been fighting the official federal takeover of public, private, and in large part, homeschool curriculum through the Common Core State Initiative.  Many of them see the similarities between the 20th-century totalitarian government schools systems and CCSS.  But often they are dismissed as using rhetoric, and living in the cold Cold War. But what would you say, if someone who lived in China under Mao Tse-tung rule, who completed her education in China and said, yes Common Core is the same standards and expectations Moa demanded of her and her classmates?

Yes, in fact, Lily Tang Williams has seen Common Core before!  It was the same education program she and her countrymen were forced to endure, and it has cost them and their country dearly.  Tune in this week, as we discuss Mrs. Willaiam's Chinese education roots and experiences and how they compare to what she sees in Common Core.

 

Lily Tang Williams
Born in the wild west of China, Sichuan province near Tibet,  and raised with her two sibling brothers by illiterate working-class parents, Lily grew up facing poor living conditions, food rationing, political, and social chaos.  In this tumultuous environment, she quickly developed both street smarts and compassion as well as the values of perseverance and hard work. At 17, Lily graduated at the top of her high school class and placed near the top of the national exams (held once each year for three eight-hour days).  She did well enough that she was only one of three students from her province of 80 million people to be accepted to Fudan University law school that year, one of China's top five universities.

Lily received her university law degree at Fudan University in Shanghai, practiced law and joined the Law faculty at Fudan.  She came over to the U.S. in 1988 to earn a Master's degree at the University of Texas at Austin, School of Social Work with a minor in Administration and Planning.

After her Master's degree, Lily worked with troubled youth from dysfunctional families in Ivanson Memorial Hospital and Wyoming Home Health Care in Laramie, Wyoming as a social worker. Later, she worked for corporations in Hong Kong and the United States as a corporate executive. In particular, as "China Operations Manager" for PREL Inc., directly reporting to it's president, she was responsible for the overall management of China-based office performing Wal-Mart manufacturer certification, quality control, and inspection.  In that capacity, she also acted as a liaison between Wal-Mart’s exclusive world buying agent at the time, PREL Inc., and vendors in China and Wal-Mart buyers.

Lily became a Colorado small business woman and entrepreneur in 2000. She is currently the President and founder of ACM International Corporation, a consulting and trading firm in Colorado specializing in China-related business services. She and her husband John also own and manage their rental properties in Colorado and Nevada.

After a long a long absence away from the mic, The Great Education Struggle is back. Join Virgina attorney and president of Deconstructing the Collision, Kevin R. Novak as we discuss framers presupposition, the proper jurisdiction of the civil government, and the abolition of the civil government education system.

Kevin R. Novak is a homeschool administrator, tutor and President of Deconstructing the Coliseum, LLC. Separate from Deconstructing the Coliseum, Mr. Novak is – as a member of the Virginia State Bar – a Virginia-licensed attorney who focuses on Education Law, including defending homeschoolers. Mr. Novak believes in defending homeschoolers because it is an offensive approach to advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mr. Novak is a sole practitioner and is therefore, able to give his clients individualized attention. Prior to lawyering, Mr. Novak spent over seven years in the insurance business and many years in Christ-centered basketball ministry and inner-city homeless outreach. He hosts Deconstructing the Coliseum Radio show, which discourages the man-centered (humanistic) religion that arbitrarily excludes Jesus Christ from law and education.

Deconstructing the Coliseum website: www.deconstructingthecoliseum.com
Email: kevin@deconstructingthecoliseum.com
Twitter:@DtColiseum

Kevin’s weekday Briefs, are aired on WVGV (West Virginia) and WAMV (Virginia).

On June 19th, 2015 America and Great Britain celebrated the 800th birthday of the Magna Carta. This small piece of paper represents one of the two greatest documents westerns have, yet most know nothing about it.  We can tell you about Robin Hood, Russel Crow and Kevin Costner versions, but we cannot tell you where the backdrop of this fictional story came from. But, without it, we do not the Bill of rights or our Constitution.  We simply would not have the United States of America.

Long, long ago, students were taught the principles of liberty in the school houses and homes, but that has long since passed away. While Common Core promises to equip today's children to be able to work in the 21st century, it does nothing to prepare them to live and operate as a free individual in a republic.

Bring your family around and join returning guest, KrisAnn Hall, as we discuss the significance of the Magna Carta.

KrisAnne Hall is  an attorney and former prosecutor who travels the country teaching the Constitution and the history that gave us our founding documents. She is the host of The KrisAnne Hall Show, she pulls no punches, puts Liberty First and gives no quarter to those who hide behind party labels. Like no other can, KrisAnne teachers tell what the founders had to say on today’s relevant issues.

KrisAnne is a disabled Army veteran, a Russian linguist, a mother, a pastor’s wife and a patriot. She received her undergraduate degree in Bio-Chemistry from Blackburn College in 1991 and her J.D. from the University of Florida, Levin College of Law. KrisAnne lives in North Florida with her husband JC and their adopted son Colton.

Education reformers have, for decades, decried the achievement gap among students and espoused the inequality of education throughout the nation. This is one of the major justifications for the implementation for Common Core State Standards. All sorts of reasons are pushed forward in an exempt to explain the achievement gap between all classes of students. But, seldom if ever, do the reformers discuss why the achievement gap is 25% narrower in private schools over public school.

In episode 63, Professor of Education at California State University, Long Beach and a Senior Fellow at the Witherspoon Institute, Dr. William Jeynes joins me as we examine the meta-analyses and relationship between the achievement gap in education and faith, Common Core, and the future of America. (Note: this conversation was originally going to cover really just the meta-analyses data analyst, and statistical analysis of the relationship between the achievement gap between public school and faith-based private schools. But, as it turned out we spent about the first 40 minutes talking aboutCommom Core.  For those who want to just listen to the analysis portion, you will want to fast forward to about the 4o minute mark.)

Go to the show notes for a full bio on Dr. Jeynes.

With the implementation of Common Core, Islamic proxy front groups have infiltrated the American school system, including Christian and homeschool curriculums. This is especially can be seen in the CCSS aligned Advanced Placement History Standards and textbooks.

Join Dr. Bruce Forrest and we examine What every American needs to know, but won't learn in school as well as attempt to answer the question, "Is Islam a religion of peace or is Islam a religion that is not practiced by the majority of Muslims?

Dr. Bruce Forrest has been a student of Islam since the 1960’s and for the last five years he has been serving as an Assistant Professor of Apologetics at Liberty University.

He has earned his D.Min from Liberty University. His doctorate thesis was titled An Introduction to Islamic History and Theology. He has earned his M.Ed. degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Northwest Nazarene University, his M.A. in Biblical Studies from Western Evangelical Seminary (George Fox University), his B.A. in Religion from NNU, and his A.S. Associate in Criminal Justice and Administration, Umpqua Community College.

Dr. Forrest has served as an Associate Pastor for 6 1/2 years, and has worked in Christian Education for 29 years.

Go to www.edstruggle.com/62 for additional show notes, including the list of the resources, Dr. Forrest mentioned in this episode.