Are Common Core curricula standards a good thing? Not exactly.
Dr. Sandra Stotsky, University of Arkansas, was a member of Common Core’s Validation Committee. She refused to sign off on Common Core, calling the standards "empty skill sets...[that] weaken the basis of literary and cultural knowledge needed for authentic college course work." She believes that Common Core "opens the door for bias and indoctrination."
The standards could easily reflect the political left leanings of its funders (Bill Gates), its creator (Marc Tucker), and the testing consortia (Linda Darling-Hammond). Proponents David Patti and Joan Benso, who wrote a recent Patriot News pro-Common Core guest commentary, failed to reveal that their organizations accepted huge amounts of money from the Gates Foundation to promote Common Core.
Teachers did not like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top because they were "teaching to the tests." What profound differences will Common Core make in our educational system? Nothing, except that it will change education for the worse.
GAYLE CRANFORD, Fairview Township