Common Core vs Right Wing

I think I have finally made some conclusions, of my very own, about the issues surrounding the opposition I keep hearing in NC concerning Common Core. Last week the lieutenant governor weighed in with opposition which sounded more political than grounded in substantial reasoning. I concluded that he had been listening to a certain radio personality and right-wing, Tea Party folks before launching his complaint.

Having been an educator in the schools of NC for more years than some of you can count and having worked with curriculum for many years I am more than familiar with core curriculum standards and the flow of skills developmentally. With that said, my understanding of the point of Common Core was to unify nationwide verbage (common language) used in teaching skills, the flow of curriculum, and to more fully develop the depth of understanding of concepts to enable our students to become better problem solvers and thinkers. and not merely students who quote back facts. By developing students in this manner we better prepare them for the twenty-first century and to be productive citizens. What I have said here is true for the curriculum part of Common Core as I understand it. I can not see how this could be bad for any student. Helping a student to explain his or her learning(s) is not evil!! It actually solidifies learning.

I believe the opposition I am hearing comes from testing, accountability, and data collection (use) that has been attached in some manner to Common Core. One person (who is not my FB friend) fired back at me that I did not understand CC. This person more or less accused me of not understanding or of agreeing with the mining of student data (data mining is the term right wingers have attached). The individual told me I needed to go back and do more study of Common Core. I knew to "let it go" with the individual at that point. There also seems to be some opposition to the following/tracking of student data throughout school years. I was confused as to why this would seem new to anyone as it is a well known fact that students' cum folders in NC Schools follow this type data throughout their school journey. Tracking students' data isn't a part of the actual curriculum....I am about curriculum.

Therefore....after the sifting of the yelling and complaints through my aged brain I have concluded that there remains nothing wrong with the Common Core Curriculum per se. What is questionable is the use of the data being collected. I don't know how the federal government might be involved with CC. I can't imagine why the government would be interested in or want to design curriculum. In spite of what some would have you believe we do not live in a dictatorship.

Let me add one more thought to this. One political official asked this week, "Why do schools do all of this testing?" The answer is so obvious that I was astounded that a head of state would ask. Schools / States do all of this testing (evaluation) because it has been mandated by politicians throughout the years. It is a part of that accountability politicians demand of schools and teachers. They dangle $$$ over high test scores and don't want to pay educators equitable compensation for the extremely taxing hard work they do. Not only do they not want to compensate educators (teachers primarily) adequately they deprive them of the rightful respect due the profession.

My say, not yours, and frankly I do not care if you disagree. I truly believe every word I have written here..