6th Grade students given a rather concerning political identification assignment they are only allowed to do “in class”, along with an instruction “not to tell your parents about it”. Of course one of the Rebel Alliance members snuck the assignment sheet out of class and specifically told their mom/dad. Hence, you are now getting to review it.  “Are You A Democrat Or Republican”?
(Tupelo Mississippi) While it is unclear if this is explicitly a Common Core assignment or not, a group of students today in Tupelo, MS had quite an interesting assignment. The sixth graders at Milam Elementary were given an assignment to do in class, and they were not to discuss this assignment with their parents.

[…]  students are asked a battery of questions (Abortion, Gun Control, Healthcare, Taxes, Military, Death Penalty, Prayer In Schools, Gay Marriage, Pollution, Flag burning) each answer contains a (D) or an (R) next to it.  Ultimately students have their answers tallied up by the teacher and are graded as either (D) or (R).  Click Here For Hi-res Image

Naturally, telling a group of kids between the ages of ten and eleven to not tell their parents about an assignment is probably the surest way for them to tell their parents. In fact, it is typically a way to ensure a student sneaks a copy home.
The reason why this is so concerning is that Tupelo prides itself on data driven instruction. Now, data is nice if it helps you figure out if a student needs extra help in a particular area. However, what if that effort is aimed at monitoring the political views of a student? What if there is a shift in student opinion to say, the wrong opinion on gun control or say the wrong opinion on right to life issues? Is the school collecting data toward that end to monitor the political beliefs of these young children?
As you check out the school district’s video on data driven instruction, ponder for a moment where does monitoring education end and monitoring indoctrination begin? (continue reading and see the video)