I’m still back on the diet analogy Mike. To me, reading your analysis and the other commentary since Monday, it’s sounding a little bit more like the Atkins diet, and you know what happened to him right? (He allegedly died of a heart attack, after doing what I’m doing right now at my desk as I type — eating only protein!)

Here’s the skinny, so to speak. The Atkins diet is apparently the worst thing you can do to yourself, according to traditional nutritionists who want us to eat major portions of grain and carb-rich veggies every day. They have attacked the Atkins followers, like me, through Doctors, and health plans, and in their pushing of nutra-this or that in a bottle, can or in an IV. They say if we follow this one approach to dieting we will lack valuable nutrients, increase our cholesterol and unhelpful fats and probably risk the fate of the diet’s author. Meanwhile, millions of us who follow the Atkins diet in whole or in part do very well in keeping our fats down and our tummies tucked.

Sadly, the same orthodox view we see toward dieting by traditionalists is the attitude I’m seeing from my friends and colleagues toward those who are challenging the conventional wisdom on Common Core State Standards. I’m not sure I know the answer, but what I am confident of is that many reformers and leaders are all too quick to dismiss as heresy, radicalism, libertarianism or stupidity anyone who questions Common Core.

So I welcome your delving deep into the issues, and presenting differing points of view, like the analysis today that reveals literally thousands of allegedly aligned common core curriculum and lessons and programs that – surprise – all cost money and have no validity per se in fact.

You know what it reminds me of? I can remember it like it was yesterday. When the “Reading Wars” finally appeared to be finished, those who believed phonemes are essential ingredients to be directly taught through true phonics-based instruction really won the day. Or so it seemed. When California woke up to scores right next to Mississippi, and then former CA Superintendent Bill Honig did a major mea culpa on what he had prescribed, the flood gates opened and suddenly the importance of ensuring reading be taught like the science it is broke through the whole language literacy crowd and took root. New charters cropped up “selling” a return to the basics, and entire states had phonics instruction at the core of their objectives. (What happened to those state standards is a lesson for Common Core, for another time). What’s more is that big districts starting boasting that they were doing phonics, too.

I’ll never forget the day these huge, 11×14 books arrived at my kids’ school, and the title of that famed publisher’s text was simply PHONICS. I was skeptical that this big, fat book really was filled with phonemes and exercises devoted to helping students learn to read phonetically, which requires more teacher led work than fancy, schmancy, colorful pictorials.

Sure enough, my skepticism revealed some of the nonsense the phonics movement sought to undo in American schools… pictures of Fishies and Factories and Fun with instructions to use the letter F in different ways in “constructed” sentences filled the book. If you used the letter F enough times, you were deemed, at least the teachers manual seemed to suggest, proficient in the letter and sounds of “F”.

If it was that easy to make stuff up on reading instruction, it seems it would be just as easy to make up that some book or program is “common core” aligned. And who’s to say it’s not? Who’s the judge and the jury? What’s the consequence for your book or program or technology not being common core when it says so? Who is going to look at the objectives and determine that a particular lesson doesn’t meet its essence. And who ensures that the arbiters are right?

It didn’t happen for Phonics and despite a temporary few clicks up in reading achievement initially, the nation’s report card began to fall flat again after the initial sense of urgency died down and everyone boasted that their reading instruction was Phonics-aligned! The same happened after Fuzzy math was supposedly killed. And frankly the same happened after the great states of Massachusetts and Virginia, and Colorado and finally California created remarkably high, rigorous evidence-based standards and after a few years the assessments created to determine progress were watered down and the standards themselves were avoided by districts who said they were too high.

History is a bit like dieting. If we could only remember what we ate that put all this weight on or created that double chin, we might actually not have to try so hard again.

NO OSCAR, YET. Finally, the state of Maine enacted a charter school law, with collective applause from around the country. But, it’s too soon to give the state star status in the charter school world. CER’s Alison Consoletti, vice president for research, told the Kennebec Journal, in a strong article on Maine’s foray into charters, that the state’s Charter School Commission, appointed by the State Board of Education with three members overlapping between both boards, does not pass muster. “If you have the strong, independent authorizers, they can hold the charters accountable,” explains Consoletti. “So the schools tend to be higher quality and better managed.” Consoletti also points out that the state’s law is so new, it is unclear precisely what the climate will be to instill flexibility and accountability in charters statewide. “All we really have to go on is what the law says,” according to Consoletti. “While some pieces, like the funding, seem to be better than average, it’s still difficult to see until a charter school is open how funding flows; how the law is going to work.” Calling on Maine charter fans to do what it takes to ensure a strong charter program is created and maintained with appropriate authorizers.

BOOOORING. Students nationwide are not challenged by school. Yes, there is a sliver of kids stressed out over mountains of homework, seeking the Holy Grail of an Ivy League education, but, in general, students say they are not expected to rise to higher standards in the classroom, according to a study just released by the Center for American Progress titled “Do Schools Challenge Our Students.” Pivotal in the survey of students is an “increasing be[lief] that student surveys can provide important insights into a teacher’s effectiveness.” The report’s authors, Ulrich Boser and Lindsay Rosenthal, refer to the Gates Foundation’s Measure of Effective Teaching Project that finds student feedback better predicts teacher performance than whether or not that teacher holds a master’s degree, for example. A totally expected finding is that students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to have rich academic experiences and learning opportunities…which is why parental choice is essential to quickly move children from schools that fail to rich, learning environments that ooze success.

SPEAKING OF AN OPPORTUNITY GAP. Harvard Professor Robert Putnam released research that reveals a growing divide between children of the affluent and those less well-off when it comes to various opportunities. Coupled with the student surveys above, the urgency to offer all students a top-notch education takes on new meaning, with charters and choice leading the way.

NOW, HERE’S AN OPPORTUNITY. Shearwater High School, a charter sponsored by Saint Louis University, was anointed by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon as a model for other charters to replicate. On top of that, Emerson, a manufacturing and technology company, donated $500,000 to the school for its “groundbreaking” work. Shearwater targets students who have left or were suspended from traditional public schools. The St. Louis-Post Dispatch writes that nearly all of the students enter Shearwater with elementary school levels in reading and math and the staff dedicates itself to getting these kids on the college/career path ASAP. “I will not settle for less when I can do so much more,” said one of Shearwater’s graduating students. And, that pretty much sums up why far too many students don’t feel challenged in their zip code-determined school.

The original Common Core adheres to the notion that rich content matters, and that while states are squeezing more time into reading and math, there are actually subjects that teach them how to think “critically and imaginatively” about the world that are being overlooked. Says the Common Core mission statement:

“We believe that a child who graduates from high school without an understanding of culture, the arts, history, literature, civics, and language has in fact been left behind. So to improve education in America, we’re promoting programs, policies, and initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels that provide students with challenging, rigorous instruction in the full range of liberal arts and sciences. ”

We agree. Check out the information for teachers, administrators, and policymakers on how to do this on the original Common Core’s website.

So as the other Common Core winds its way through millions of dollars, staging, and processes that leave many questions unanswered, there are guides and resources like this one that can make standards come alive for kids and help them achieve, right now.

So, in the face of all that accomplishment, and with nothing else seeming to occupy their legislative agenda, what could responsible elected officials do other than reward DPS?

1) Allow for more choice and educational opportunity for Detroit children and their parents. ↓

2) Tighten financial accountability to ensure money is going where it should. ↓

3) Throw more money and resources at the problem in hopes that it will go away. ↑

House Democrats have seen fit to lower the standards of what defines a “first class school district” from 100,000 students to 60,000 students, allowing for continued funding and other perks.

One perk the teachers’ union has fought for is blocking charter school growth in the city. With a current enrollment of just over 94,000 kids, Detroit is poised to lose its “first class” standing under current law. Without a legislative re-definition, the restriction on community colleges authorizing new charter schools would be lifted.

The House may consider the new definition of a “first class school district” today, and with a party line vote expected, congratulations to DPS and the teachers’ union on your victory. If you lower expectations enough, perhaps one day you will be seen as successful.

Keep up the good work.