On a rainy Tuesday night in late September, the Calvert
County League of Women Voters sponsored a forum on the Common Core Standards,
which you may know are included in Maryland’s College and Career
Ready Standards. Thanks to the LoWV for
sponsoring such an effort.
The information was presented by a panel sharing perspectives
on the standards. Panel members
represented students, teachers, parents and administration. The mic was opened to the audience members
who asked some good questions.
I encourage folks who have questions or concerns to first
familiarize themselves with the standards as written. They are internationally bench marked and
challenging. They are not
curriculum. We decide the curriculum
locally around the broader standards. See them directly at:
Sometimes I fear that those who oppose the standards wouldn’t
know one if it bit them on the bottom.
Opponents seem to be upset about where they come from and who is behind
them. In fact, one questioner at the
forum implied that Saudi Arabia was behind Common Core. That was a new one to me. Other opponents generally blame President
Obama, the Democrats or Washington in general.
The Common Core Standards were developed under the leadership of the
National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers
(not the U.S. Department of Education). An
interesting little side note: the new head of the College Board, David Coleman,
responsible for SAT college placement exam and Advanced Placement programs, is
viewed by some as the architect of the Common Core.
Some who oppose the common core standards, do so because they see them
as too much federal intrusion into local control. That ship sailed with the passage in 2001 of
federal, bi-partisan legislation known as No
Child Left Behind. The goal, as
touted when President Bush signed it in January 2002, was “to advance American competitiveness and close the achievement gap for poor and minority
students.”
Under the threat of lost federal dollars, each state began to dance to
the tune played by the NCLB
fiddler. Every new initiative from the
state level was aimed at compliance with NCLB.
Then along came Race to the Top in 2009.
When the states lined up for the hundreds of millions of dollars
available through RTTT, they agreed to implement Common Core Standards.
It’s hard to read the standards and come up with reasons to oppose any
one of them. They represent an effort to
raise the bar. They require a greater
depth of understanding and practice that shows application of skills and
knowledge - more writing, more critical thinking, more problem solving, more
effective communication. I welcome
anyone who, after reviewing them, wants to discuss their merits. I’d be glad to meet and chat.
What makes the biggest difference in a child’s future is not the broad
statements of standards, but the relationship between student and the
teacher. Each child who finds at least
one teacher who cares and pushes and supports will be successful.
