A Parent Letter on Common Core
There has been much controversy surrounding the newly rolled out Common Core standards (also called the “State Standards Initiative”) in public education. It is lauded by some as more advanced than previous standards and criticized by others as too formulaic, and nearly 1/4 of the states are exploring the possibility of opting out of the implementation.
This initiative might just be the biggest waste of taxpayer money the government has ever been engaged in. States have spent billions of dollars over the years determining what standards and tests work best for their students, only to now have to spend billions more to replace those systems with a government-mandated, nationwide curriculum.
One concerned parent (@suzibasterd) drafted this letter to her local Tennessee newspaper, expressing her thoughts on Common Core. She shared the letter (which has yet to be published) on Facebook.
If you have not done so already, take a peek at the standards. The English Language Arts Standards claim this:
The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (“the Standards”) are the culmination of an extended, broad-based effort to fulfill the charge issued by the states to create the next generation of K–12 standards in order to help ensure that all students are college and career ready in literacy no later than the end of high school.
But even this statement implies that the federal government sees itself as answer to all challenges facing individual states. Even worse, it implies that only Father Government knows what is best for our children.
There is just so much wrong with this I hardly know where to start. First, the exemplars in Appendix B are just that: exemplars, aka examples. Second, Common Core didn’t come from Washington. National Governors Association and the CCSSO. People, do your homework! Third, yes, kids in high school will be reading more non-fiction. Why? College and career readiness. How much fiction do you get to read in your job? Have you checked out reading levels for some jobs recently? Fourth, hours and pace of learning. Really? Rigor has nothing to do with the number of hours. Nothing. If the state educators think that, you’ve got different troubles and that has nothing to do with Common Core.
Common Core, designed by teams of educators in concert with the National Governors Association and CCSSO, is about student proficiency and freeing teachers to teach well, with strong instructional practices.
Yes, I work with an agency that helps educators figure out and implement common core shifts. And time and time and time again I hear veteran teachers muse how Common Core reminds them of how they used to get to teach. Yea, before NCLB.