The Common Core Brouhaha
These days one needs a scorecard to keep track of the politics of education: The Common Core, the two national tests now being piloted, bubble test fatigue, the opt-out movement, opposition to top-down technocrats, and the ‘commodification’ of education–all are factors in a serious brouhaha.
The New York Times recently acknowledged that the right wing is making political hay out of the Common Core State Standards. Earlier in the same week, conservative columnist David Brooks attacked the attackers, likening them to the occupants of a clown car. Like the Times’ reporter, Mr. Brooks wrote as if all the opposition were coming from the right fringe.
The left, feeling left out, wants it known that it too belongs on the list of the disgruntled. From that side,Diane Ravitch and others are doing their best to be heard. A central complaint: teachers were not part of the development of the new standards, which, they maintain, treat education and children as commodities. More about that later.
The glib analysis, which is is actually kind of clever, goes something like this: the right hates the CCSS because they are ‘common,’ and thus denigrate individualism and limit choice, while the left detests them because they are ‘core.’ (Or maybe it’s the other way around.)
When left and right find common ground, something big is happening. In fact, we may have a perfect storm brewing, where forces upset about a variety of controversial issues create enough noise, rancor and controversy to reshape public education. These groups may not be against the same things—and they definitely are not for the same things, but the weight of their outrage may be enough to topple the Common Core State Standards and the accompanying national testing.
At least two other issues are at play: bubble test fatigue and concern over The Common Core Brouhaha | Taking Note: