Common Core Marketing Mistakes Will Lead to Its Demise
Marketing is everything. A wise English professor once told me, you might write the worst book in the world, but if you have a good marketer, connections, not to mention financial backing, it will be published and it will probably sell.
Common Core has been sold to the American people, backed by a lot of powerful people—governors, Republicans and Democrats, Pearson and other publishers, think tanks and Bill Gates and corporate leaders. A lot of money has been put into it and they want to see it pay off in the long run. In fact, the use of money to give public schools to market this program is worrisome.
But while selling a message might initially be easy, keeping it afloat is more difficult. I think that is what we are now seeing with Common Core. Here are four mistakes I see in their marketing:
1. The Use of the Word “Will”
Whenever I hear Common Core being peddled in the media by Ed. Secretary Arne Duncan, media shills or superintendents they say Common Core:
- WILL get students college and career ready.
- WILL be better than the old standards.
- WILL be more rigorous.
- WILL teach reading and math better.
- WILL raise achievement.
- WILL close learning gaps.
- WILL bring students with disabilities up to the level of everyone else.
This air of certainty is too much. No standards are this perfect. Most are filled with flaws.
Plus, there has been no serious research surrounding the Common Core. Even Bill Gates himself said “It would be great if our education stuff worked, but we won’t know Common Core Marketing Mistakes Will Lead to Its Demise: