What's Wrong With Common Core? Part 1

Common Core shifts power from parents and teachers to a "national leadership."

If you had to choose who knows your child best academically, who would it be? For the majority of people, the answer would be parents and teachers. But unfortunately, the two most trusted voices for our children, have been left out of the equation when it comes to the development of Common Core. The architect who designed Common Core is Yale graduate and Rhodes Scholar, David Coleman. Although he is well educated, studying at two of the most prestigious schools, he is not an educator. In fact, Mr. Coleman has never taught in a classroom. Yet despite his lack of classroom experience, he has been entrusted with developing a national set of standards that most of the country's schools must adhere to. The implementation of Common Core within 43 states, usurps the local state power and submits it to a "national leadership." No longer does the school board have say within our local schools when it comes to curriculum, because Common Core takes precedent. A teacher's success within the classroom is now measured by their strict adherence to Common Core administrators and not to parents and the local community. Because states have adopted a "national curriculum", when an educational issue arises within the classroom, principals or the local board do not have the final say, but rather a national authority.

Brittany Corona, researcher at the Heritage Foundation, says it best. She contests that Common Core will lead to a shift in decision making power: "Under current state standards, if parents have questions about what is being taught in their child's classroom, they can address their child's classroom, they can address their child's principal, the district office or school board. When content matter is centralized nationally, the state has surrendered its educational decision-making authority, and parents can no longer address their concerns to local leadership."