Anti Common Core Warriors: Congratulations and Thank you
Posted on April 4, 2014
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I have been monitoring the hearings at the House Education Committee this week; listening to what attendees are saying; what the lobbyists are saying and the ultimate results and impressions from what by all reports I’ve received was an exhausting, emotional and tumultuous experience.
One central discussion and thread I’ve heard throughout is that Common Core proponents “won” and those opposed “lost”.
I firmly disagree with this analysis although I completely understand why people would feel this way after participating in a similar kangeroo hearing at BESE last year Common Core. After that fiasco I felt the same way for a few days.
If you were expecting Common Core, something billionaires and multi-national corporations have spent hundreds of millions and billions of dollars promoting and buying elections and elected officials to support, you were probably underestimating the problem and what would be needed for a solution.
What happened on Wednesday was corporate interests bussed in and paraded before the House Education Committee carefully coached kids and parents (I heard a 10 year old testified he loved taking the new tests instead of learning new material). Business interests and organizations (like Stand For Children) that get funding specifically to promote Common Core got 4 hours to testify. Numerous real local grassroots parents and children’s groups and hundreds of parents were