Common Core Opponents Hijack Supporters' Twitter Blitz
Opponents of the standards are fired up, and supporters need to up their intensity, one analyst says.
Common Core supporters tried a new outreach approach, and opponents took advantage.
Opponents of the Common Core State Standards have made their opinions heard far and wide – they don't like the standards, and they'll say why you as a teacher, parent or lawmaker shouldn't either. They're so passionate about it, in fact, that they made strides to take over a social media campaign aimed at gaining traction for supporters on Tuesday.
Common Core opponents gained more time in the spotlight – and perhaps an upper hand – recently when Glenn Beck and Michelle Malkin held a town hall meeting simulcast in hundreds of movie theaters last month. The "We Will Not Conform" strategy session characterized the standards as a move away from local control of public education.
Supporters' attempts to quell concerns, on the other hand, have catered largely to the more calculated reasoning of policy wonks than the emotional connection parents and teachers have with what goes on in the classroom, some say. In a recent interview with "Bloomberg EDU" host Jane Stoddard Williams, College Board President David Coleman – an architect of the standards – said supporters will "lose things of great importance" if they dismiss opposition to Common Core as "an extremist position."
Following the intensified media push from opponents, backers of Common Core began to ratchet up their efforts to bring awareness to the other side of the debate.
Organized by the Collaborative for Student Success and supported by other groups like Teach Plus and Educators 4 Excellence, teachers and other Common Core supporters took to Twitter Tuesday to launch an outreach strategy encouraging teachers, parents and other leaders to voice why they are Common Core Opponents Hijack Supporters' Twitter Blitz - US News: