Common Core Controversy: Good or Bad?

COURT HOUSE – Controversy swirls around the national educational states standard program known as “Common Core.” Critics of the Common Core curriculum insist that it is a big government, radically progressive, one-size- fits-all approach to American public education and educational standards.
Proponents of Common Core insist that the program promotes unity in the educational process, enhances critical thinking skills in students, and allows a state by state comparison of standardized test scores. The heated national debate concerning Common Core has flourished since its inception and implementation.
Forty-five states have adopted the Common Core program. Five states that declined and opted out of Common Core include Virginia, Texas, Alaska, Nebraska and Indiana.
Critics of Common Core claim that the $4 billion of stimulus money provided by the Obama Administration enticed economically-challenged states and their school systems to accept the untested educational program. However, many educators have embraced Common Core standards, and feel comfortable with this new educational program.
Karen Slack, a teacher at Cape May Elementary School for the past 39 years, has worked on curriculum development and textbook/program selection for the past 20. “Having developed curriculum using the former New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards as well as the new Common Core state standards, I can say with certainty that the Common Core raises the bar for students with its increased rigor and depth of subject matter,” said Slack. “Whereas the old standards covered a wider array of concepts/skills at each grade level, Common Core targets clusters of concepts/skills at key grade levels which require greater depth of instruction and student learning, with the goal of higher student understanding and mastery than what was achieved with the old standards.
“Even though Common Core is state mandated, individual school districts still have the flexibility to implement the standards through locally-driven curricula, textbook/program selection, and teaching methodologies. As with any new curriculum, it needs to be treated as a living document, subject to constant review and modification as it is applied to student learning and instruction. Most schools are in the ‘toddler stage’ of implementing Common Core, stumbling at times, but learning from their mistakes and successes. In time, as students grow up with its tenets more masterfully applied through classroom instruction and student engagement, I think Common Core will assert itself as a very positive and significant school reform.”
Many critics of the Common Core program believe that the educational subtext indoctrinates students with a left-wing ideology. Critics state that the 10th Amendment establishes the states to oversee education – that the freedom and responsibility rests with the states and not the federal government. Critics state that Common Core “dumbs down” traditional educational standards as well. In the realm of English for instance, classical literature is replaced with informational texts.
Critics also claim that with Common Core there is an authentic de-emphasis of literary standards that actually harms vocabulary development as well as creative thinking skills. Another criticism leveled at Common Core is that it collects data on a student: aspects of a child’s academic and social life will be tracked over time thus violating a student’s privacy. Further criticism of Common Core includes the introduction of sexually inappropriate reading material for children and young adults.
Common Core has its supporters and many are notable such as Bill Gates and Jeb Bush who have been vocal in their endorsements along with educators and administrators nationally. It is no secret that our public educational system has needed to be addressed for decades as America has fallen below other countries in its test scores, especially math and science. Common Core seeks to address these test scores and is designed to improve students overall performance.
In any event, the Common Core debate rages on in communities across America, as schools struggle with this new educational initiative and agenda.
In June 2013, a petition bearing 300 names in opposition to Common Core State Standards was presented to freeholders June 11 by Jan Lenox of North Wildwood.
She asked the board to sign it. Michelle Mellon of Green Creek also spoke against Common Core State Standards, which the state Board of Education and state Department of Education adopted in June 2010.
Lenox told the board she represented citizens from South Jersey who, like herself, believe the entire program needs to be scrapped in favor of local school boards mandating what it taught in their districts.
Lenox, Mellon and others met with Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-1st). She said they presented him with copies of their petition, and explained that they were not willing to support the “Race to the Top” with mandates which, she believes, are wrong.
Among those, Lenox said, are having students fill out many forms containing data about their homes and families, which ought to be personal, she said at the time.
To contact Terence Harris, email tharris@cmcherald.com.