THE
CORE
spond with this vision.
If implemented effectively —
that is, if the standards actually
reach the classroom and teachers
are given the materials, training
and support they need — the Core
will dramatically change what it
means to be a student in American
public schools. Its supporters hope
it will create more effective teachers and, in the long run, help the
U.S. improve its international educational standing after a decade
of stagnation. They say this new
education paradigm could also be
game-changing for the U.S. economy, as American schools begin to
teach lessons in sequences similar to those of higher-performing
countries around the world, such
as Finland and Singapore.
Yet it appears that after three
years of relative quiet, the initiative is poised to become a political football, both imperiling its
implementation and potentially
undermining any good its supporters think it could do. What’s
at stake is the classroom experience and outcomes for over 40
million kids, as states and local school districts find themselves caught in the middle of
this debate and continue to face
troubles transitioning to a com-
HUFFINGTON
02.02.14
plex new system. In New York,
the transition has been so rocky
that after months of prodding
education commissioner John
King to do a better job helping
teachers adapt, the state’s teachers union’s board of directors
last weekend unanimously voted
“no confidence” in King over his
handling of Common Core. The
board also withdrew support for
Common Core as it has currently
been implemented by the state.
What started as an effort by officials to remake
American education has become a favored
punching bag of pundits and parents alike.
“White suburban moms”-gate
showed just how much more scrutiny the initiative is getting these
days. Detractors across the political spectrum have associated the
Common Core with, at various
points, “zombies,” “Hitler” and
“vampires.” Some Republican officials who helped create the standards are having trouble holding
down support as their constituents argue the Core represents
yet another way for federal officials to micromanage their lives.
Right-wing organizers are channeling this anger into a campaign
to take down the Core. Earlier this