The Common Core is good conservatism

The Common Core is good conservatism
In an opinion piece in The Washington Post that criticizes conservative opponents of the Common Core, Michael Gerson 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 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. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

Published by LEAP

Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.

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