NOW National PTA Wants Your Opinion on Common Core

Kind of late but okay.  Cast your vote.  Currently it's 89% against (38K+ votes) and 11% for (4600+votes).  PTA tweeted this yesterday:

Have your voice heard on ! Poll in advance of Sept @IQ2US debate wants to know if u "Embrace the " http://ow.ly/AveEH 

The link in the tweet takes you to a poll which is tied to an upcoming debate. The event will be live streamed here on September 9th at 6:45pm EST.

Where Do You Stand?

 For The Motion

The Common Core is a set of clear and consistent standards, based on extensive research, that encourage critical thinking skills. They are designed to give teachers flexibility in how they teach to individual students’ needs.

Higher and more rigorous standards will better prepare American students for college and the workplace, and help to close the achievement gap between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. (Center for American Progress)

The Common Core has a great deal of support, from educators, the public, business leaders, and the over 40 states that have freely adopted its standards.

While the inaugural curricula face issues, these are growing pains in implementation, rather than flaws inherent to the instructional philosophy.

Against The Motion

The Common Core was created with little input from teachers or the public, and there is no governing body tasked with oversight now that they are in effect. (New York Times)

These tougher, more stringent standards will do the opposite of their intent: instead of creating fairer, more equitable K-12 schools, they are widening the gap between the haves and have-nots.

School districts and teachers should have the autonomy to create their own standards and curricula at the local level, rather than being held to national criteria and impossible standardized tests.

The narrow focus of the Common Core standards places high value on certain skill sets while overlooking others, such as creativity, imagination, and vocational training.

Comments

Linh-Co said…
PTA endorsed Common Core before they even read the standards. I hope the unfavorable results will be shared.
Anonymous said…
The state PTA would not listen to any naysayers against common core. One delightful (male) higher-up in the state PTA belittled a parent who was also a teacher when she spoke up against the standards because no one had yet read them (not finished). She was told she was being hysterical and ridiculous, and that the standards meant all kids would get the same curriculum no matter if they were in South Carolina or Southern California, which would make it easier for people to move. Lame. I heard the National PTA had similar reactions to those who weren't completely on board with supporting standards that hadn't even been completed.
You wouldn't buy a house without an inspection (unless you're tearing it down), or a car without checking it out. So why was it OK to force standards on students and teachers before anyone had checked them out to make sure they were truly appropriate? How much money has been wasted converting all this curriculum, all this training to common core crap with stickers and trademarks before anyone had a chance to test the standards out? The state and national PTA each have a huge share in the blame game when it comes to the wasted $$ that could have been better spent in low-income schools with struggling populations, reducing class sizes and providing additonal resources and staff. I no longer support the PTA in any form. Too little, too late. They showed their true colors and now want to backpedal.

CT
Po3 said…
Common core standards may have some merits; but all we ever hear about is the additonal/new testing related to common core so much so that my kids now think common core is a test.

Steep climb back from that perception.

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