Maggie's Farm

Common Core is relatively benign, despite the fevered claims that it is going to bring a plague o'er the earth. It's not going to do the good its advocates hope, but it will probably do some. I can't see anything damaging about it, despite all the clutching at the breast.

NCLB, George Bush's foolish attempt to prove he could work with liberals by adopting Ted Kennedy's ideas, has lots of vagueness coupled with bureaucratic standards that supposedly measure quality. State governors asked the feds for some guidelines and examples to clean this up. Somehow, conservatives - and I am one, though less and less so on education because of rank foolishness like this - have gotten the idea that the suggested reading list in the index is required, and YOUR CHILD WILL BE MADE BY THE FEDS TO READ INAPPROPRIATE MATERIAL!!!!

There are a fair number of professors at evangelical colleges who have had a hand in this. Math at Gordon, just as an example I know secondhand. People who actually teach, read research, and have some idea what are the important skills kids should learn.

That's not to say it's going to do much, or that other approaches aren't also deserving of consideration. It's a friggin' education program. What have those ever done, for good or ill? A bit here and there. I wrote on it here a week or so ago. http://assistantvillageidiot.blogspot.com/2013/09/common-core.html

But it's this year's cause for conservatives to get worked up about, and I doubt I nor all of us together are going to stop us from throwing ourselves over the cliff yet again, illustrating our stupidity. I'd leave the movement if I could, but my other choices are greens, liberals, and libertarians, so I guess I'm stuck.