Harvard Political Review gets it wrong on Indiana’s Common Core battle
Harvard Political Review has published an article entitled No Common Core, No Common Ground: The Battle for Hoosier Education. The author explains that the battle over Common Core was based on political partisanship, which continues to cripple Indiana from moving forward. To him, the argument was never about the actual standards.
His analysis of the politics behind Indiana’s “repeal” of Common Core is off-base; Conservatives weren’t only concerned about “federal intrusion” and teachers weren’t only concerned about “test-based teacher evaluations.” Both sides were concerned about the quality of the standards themselves, including: the lack of content; the excessive use of instructional strategies; the slowed pace of progression; and developmentally-inappropriate methods for younger students.
These complaints went unaddressed by Governor Pence and Superintendent Ritz when they simply rebranded the standards as Indiana’s own. Pence may be falsely under the impression that things are improved, but Superintendent Ritz has full knowledge that Indiana’s situation is the same today as it was under Common Core.
Indiana needs an honest eye to be set upon the “new” Indiana standards to make corrections that address the flaws contained. There is no question that these corrections can be made; the unknown, is whether Indiana has a leader courageous enough to get it done.
Well, they’re teaching our elementary kids to get the answer ‘approximately’right, so all they have to do to get into Harvard is during high school learn how to get it exactly wrong! :-0
At one time Harvard was the “gold” standard in higher education, but today, what they’re producing may only be fool’s gold instead. It certainly doesn’t take a rocket cientist to realize that Common Core is substandard and will cause America, and of course, Indiana to lag behind other advanced nations. This whole approach lacks the qualities that would produce students who can think and reason for themselves, but they will certainly be able to do the tasks required of the Deltas and Epsilons as in Huxley’s Brave New World.
Tom: Well I’m a little freaked out by your comment here on Brave New World having made a similar one about 1984, and also about Twain at this site I just came from:
http://www.independentsentinel.com/your-smart-tv-knows-everything-about-you-and-tells-third-parties/
Apparently ‘they’ are banking on the fact that those of us who matriculated decades ago are no longer engaged and will not be a factor on stopping the long slow march to serfdom, which is getting faster all the time.
Like most Poison Ivy League schools, Harvard rejects its history as a bible college.