The Common Core:
A New Incarnation of an Outmoded Way of Thinking
By Joseph Ganem, Ph.D.
In the apparently endless cycle of school reforms a new one is taking hold -The Common Core. It arrives with all the attributes of reforms of the past in that it is:
- Well-intentioned - I've attended informational meetings hosted by my county school superintendent with the state school superintendent, along with representatives of parent and teacher groups, all answering questions. I can attest to the sincerity of their beliefs in the advantages of the Common Core and their desire to do what is best for children.
- Intentionally disruptive - Teachers in my home state of Maryland, a state that has adopted the Common Core, are severely stressed as they alter their curricula and practices to conform to the new standards, and to the new expectations for how their job performances will be assessed. The teachers union in Baltimore County has filed a grievance protesting the additional uncompensated hours being required of teachers in order to adopt the new standards.
- Arousing suspicions of nefarious motives - I was present at a meeting where a parent was forcibly removed and arrested for disruptive behavior. He insisted the Common Core was actually lowering standards. The video of the arrest, shot just a few feet from where I sat, went viral the next day and aroused the ire of right-wing pundits who saw it as another example of federal overreach into local education policy.
- Surrounded by misinformation - Actually the Common Core is not a federal initiative or requirement. It originated from the states and states voluntarily decide whether or not to adopt the standards.
Despite these predictable issues that come with any new program, it remains an open question