A group of Common Core supporters resorting to mocking parents and other opponents of the boondoggle education initiative is studded with likely GOP presidential candidates, establishment Republican governors, top corporations, and the primary private funder of Common Core himself–Bill Gates.
As parents by the thousands are opting their children out of the Common Core-aligned tests throughout the country, and many states are besieged by massive technological glitches that are preventing the tests from being administered at all, pro-Common Core headliners like Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, and Gov. Terry Branstad (R-IA) have joined together as a group called “Unicorns Are Not Real.”
Funded by PAC Alliance for Better Classrooms, the group purports to ridicule opponents of the unproven Common Core standards with the theme that “most of the things you’ve heard about Common Core” are not real, either.
With no independent studies whatsoever under their belts to prove the Common Core standards are “higher” or “more rigorous” than other standards, the group of mainly establishment, anti-conservative politicians, and education elites continue the same talking points they have put forward for the past five years about their pet reform. The group claims myths such as:
- The standards tell teachers what to teach.
- The standards will result in a national database of private student information.
- The federal government will take over ownership of the standards initiative.
- These standards amount to a national curriculum for our schools.
- Common Core standards are not any better than previous standards.
- Common Core standards take control away from schools/teachers/parents.
- Common Core standards mandate more student testing.
Last week, as discussion about education took center stage in the Louisiana legislature, a stuffed unicorn was placed on the desk of State Rep. Brett Geymann (R), who has spearheaded the anti-Common Core efforts in the Louisiana State House.
Louisiana parent grassroots activist Anna Arthurs told Breitbart News she understood more stuffed unicorns would be delivered to all lawmakers in the state. She said attached to the unicorn is a card with the group’s slogan, “Unicorns are not real and neither are most of the things you’ve heard about Common Core.”
“Of course, what they list as myths are actually facts, and vice versa,” Arthurs said. “The PAC has been put together by a man named Lane Grigsby, a very successful pro-Common Core businessman who is one of the largest political contributors in our state and uses his money to influence our legislators and legislation.”
The following is a list of all the supporters of “Unicorns Are Not Real” who have resorted to ridicule of the conservative base of the Republican Party, which opposes Common Core:
ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS
Chairman Conrad Appel, Louisiana Senate Education
Ryan Aument, Pennsylvania State Representative
Haley Barbour, Former Governor of Mississippi
Bill Bennett, Former U.S. Secretary of Education to President Ronald Reagan
Terry Branstad, Iowa Governor
Jan Brewer, Former Governor of Arizona
Jeb Bush, Former Governor of Florida
Steve Carter, Louisiana House Education Chairman
Carlos Curbelo, Miami-Dade School Board Member
Mitch Daniels, Amercian Academic Administrator & Former Governor of Indiana
Nathan Deal, Georgia Governor
John Engler, Former Governor of Michigan
Bill Frist, Former U.S. Senator
Dolores Gresham, Tennessee Senate Education Committee Chairman & Tennessee State Senator
F. Phillip Handy, President of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Excellence in Education [Jeb Bush’s foundation]
Bill Haslam, Tennessee Governor
Mike Huckabee, Former Governor of Arkansas
Toni Jennings, Former Lt. Governor of Florida
John Kasich, Ohio Governor
John Legg, Florida Senate Education Chairman
Tom Luna, Former Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction
Susana Martinez, New Mexico Governor
Matt Mead, Wyoming Governor
Butch Otter, Idaho Governor
Sonny Perdue, Former Governor of Georgia
Kraig Powell, Utah State Representative
Condoleezza Rice, Former U.S. Secretary of State
Bob Riley, Former Governor of Alabama
Chas Roemer, BESE President
Brian Sandoval, Nevada Governor
Rick Scott, Florida Governor
Rick Snyder, Michigan Governor
Gerald Stebelton, Former Ohio House Education Committee Chairman
Rick Snyder, Michigan Governor
John White, Louisiana State Superintendent of Education
ORGANIZATIONS AND BUSINESSES
Albemarle
Alliance for Education
Baton Rouge Area Chamber
Black Alliance for Educational Options
Blueprint Louisiana
Bollinger Shipyards, Inc.
Bossier Chamber of Commerce
Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region
Cajun Industries, LLC
Cajun Maritime, LLC
Center for Development and Learning
CenturyLink
Chamber Southwest Louisiana
Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans
Committee of 100 Louisiana
Committee of 100 Shreveport-Bossier
Contech Engineered Solutions
Council for a Better Louisiana
Democrats for Education Reform
Dupre Logistics, LLC
Eastbank Collaborative of Charter Schools
Educate Now!
Education’s Next Horizon
ExxonMobil
Fenstermaker
Fleur de Lis New Orleans Cuisine
Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce
Greater New Orleans, Inc.
Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce
Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce
ISC Constructors, LLC
Jefferson Business Council
Jefferson Chamber of Commerce
LA Association of Science Leaders
La Coste Consulting, LLC
Lincoln Builders, INC
Louisiana Association of Business & Industry
Louisiana Association of Independent Schools
Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools
Louisiana Association of School Librarians
Louisiana Association of Teachers of Mathematics
Louisiana Core Advocates Teachers
Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association
Louisiana Oil & Gas Association
Louisiana Science Teachers Association
Military Child Education Coalition
Monroe Chamber of Commerce
National Council of Jewish Women, Greater New Orleans Section
New Orleans Chamber
New Schools for Baton Rouge
New Schools for New Orleans
Noesis Data, LLC
Public Affairs Research Council
Red Stick Robotics
River Region Chamber of Commerce
Robert Evans, Con-Tech International
Roy O. Martin
Shell Oil Company
Shreveport-Bossier Business Alliance for Higher Education
South Louisiana Economic Council
Sparkhound
Stand for Children Louisiana
Stirling Properties
Teach for America
The Achievement Network
The Brylski Company
The Cain Center for STEM Literacy
The New Teacher Project
TTD
United Way of Acadiana
United Way of Southeast Louisiana
Urban League of Greater New Orleans
INDIVIDUALS
Craig Barrett, Former Chairman & CEO, Intel Corporation
Chester E. Finn, Jr. President, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation; Former U.S. Assistant Secretary for Education
Bill Gates, Co-founder, Microsoft
Michael J. Petrilli, President, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Michelle A. Rhee, Founder, StudentsFirst; Former Chancellor, District of Columbia Public Schools
Edward B. Rust, Jr., Chairman of the Board & CEO, State Farm Insurance Companies
“This action of mockery of the anti-common core legislators as well as citizens is the height of arrogance and insult coming from this group,” Arthurs stated. “It is unbelievable that these supporters think it is okay to set up a website such as this and then to place one of these stuffed animals on the desk of one of the most dedicated legislators we have in the House.”
Arthurs said two supporters of the Unicorns group–Chairman of the Louisiana Senate Education Committee Sen. Conrad Appel and Chairman of the State House Education Committee, Rep. Steve Carter–indicated they are planning to kill any anti-Common Core legislation that comes to their committees.
“What blatant abuse of their power and disregard for the legislative process in our state,” said Arthurs. “I guess the only positive I can find in this is that this action proves that supporters of ‘Unicorns’ only have stuffed animals to offer our legislators, while we bring actual facts and research to them.”
Geymann said he was stunned that public officials and professionals would stoop to ridiculing parents concerned about their children’s education.
“I find it very offensive that the arrogance of the elitists has led to the mocking of parents in public,” Geymann told Breitbart News. “To equate a mother who is fighting for her child to a person who believes in unicorns is unacceptable and pathetic.”
Geymann states the members of the PAC should resign immediately.
“They have crossed over the line of public debate and determined themselves to be part of the ruling class,” he asserted. “We intend to stop them.”