Mixed reviews to Common Core highlight of Education Nation Town Hall
Students and teachers at the annual Education Nation town hall on Sunday expressed mixed reactions to the Common Core, mirroring divisions in the wider national conversation about new standards in math and English adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia.“I see students rolling their eyes,” said Melissa Harris-Perry, MSNBC host and moderator of the Student Town Hall, after College Boardpresident David Coleman – who was deeply involved in writing the standards – promoted their value before several hundred students.
Coleman explained that the new standards would allow teachers to spend more time teaching basic concepts and create a solid foundation for learning.
Why, then, a student audience member asked, were some states backing away?
Coleman answered by listing supporters of the Common Core, including what he said were almost 80 percent of teachers and a bi-partisan coalition of Democratic and Republican governors.
A high school student and Coleman’s fellow panelists didn’t seem satisfied.
“Can you answer the question?” Perry insisted.
Coleman responded by denying that states were backing out of the initiative but added that they were tweaking the Common Core standards to meet their own needs and address their own concerns.
States including Alabama, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Louisiana are some have been distancing
