While criticism of the Common Core State Standards has largely come from expected conservative sources, such as the Republican National Committee, which this blog discussed here, other conservative voices have spoken up in support of Common Core.
In an opinion piece, entitled “GOP fear of Common Core education standards unfounded”, in The Washington Post that criticizes conservative opponents of the Common Core, Michael Gerson, former George W. Bush speech writer, argues that these opponents are applying a single, abstract principle — an ideological commitment to localism in education — and elevating that principle above all others, regardless of conditions and circumstances. Localism, Gerson argues, is not the answer to our educational problems, and in any event, the Common Core is not a federal approach but a national approach from institutions outside the federal government.
There is no ideal ideological world in which state and local control has resulted in education excellence, Gerson writes. Since we don’t have measurements to adequately compare outcomes between students, schools, and states, we have a patchwork of dumbed-down standards that render millions of American students unprepared for global competition. And resistance to the standards puts ideological conservatives in questionable company. In fighting the Common Core, some tea party activists have made common cause with “elements of the progressive education blob that always resist rigor, measurement, and accountability.” Localism is an important conservative principle, but so is excellence, in Gerson’s view. The measure of a successful education policy is a demonstrated presence of actual education.
In another opinion piece, entitled “The Good News of Common Core”, Liberty University (a Christian college often associated with the Religious Right) Professor of English Karen Swallow Prior praises the Common Core standards as an educational upgrade that properly elevates the role of literacy in society.
Prior remarks, “At this point, if you’ve heard of Common Core, you’ve probably heard from the opposition. Critics complain that it’s a federal program (it’s not) or that it’s too dramatic and difficult a shift for our public education system. As a college professor, I can tell you such a rigorous approach is needed, even if it’s a struggle for teachers and students to adopt. My colleagues and I in higher education see the deficits in reading comprehension far too often in the college classroom. The kind of sustained, deep reading taught through Common Core will require more discipline—on everyone’s part—but the rewards will have exponential results.”
Suffice it to say that there is an argument taking place within the American conservative community about the Common Core. It is also interesting to note that the most vociferous opponents of Common Core come from the far right and the far left, while those closer to the center on both aisles have voiced less criticism and often more outright support of the Common Core.
For more information, please visit the following websites:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/june-web-only/good-news-of-common-core.html?start=1
