Until now, the New York Times has followed Arne Duncan’s formula to explain opposition to Common Core, which is to demonize critics as Tea Party yahoos. However, Motoko Rich wrote a story about the unlikely alliances that are forming on both sides of the issue.
Supporters of the Common Core cross a wide spectrum and include big corporations and anti-public education zealots like Jeb Bush and Michelle Rhee. Critics of Common Core include conservatives who worry about federal overreach and educators who object to standardization. The teachers unions, by the way, have vigorously supported Common Core, except for the Chicago Teachers Union, which voted unanimously to oppose it. Some critics see Common Core as a massive diversion of billions of dollars to vendors of tests, technology, and other new materials and services.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is an uneasy alliance that I can not be part of. How can I ally with anyone who ultimately wants to destroy our public school system? Why, to win one battle in this war over our nation’smost important asset?
Here are some of the other battles going on at the same time as CC; charters, consolidation gimmicks, tax caps, vouchers, privatization, Pearson, Texas controlling our textbooks, attacks on tenure, attacks on unions, unfunded mandates, RTI used to deny services, data mining, class size, virtual schools, attacks on pensions, making new hires pay more for pensions and insurance, attacks on steps, and more.
Most of the hard Right view Common Core as a left wing conspiracy to control the hearts and minds of children and ultimately align with some sort of grand world wide scheme. That’s tin foil hat stuff… how can educators align with that?
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rratto, that’s just it. You’ve just parroted Duncan’s line, and it is not true.
We’re not talking about the “hard right”, we’re talking about a genuine populist surge that crosses party lines. “They” hate Pearson, too. “They” want to raise the minimum wage. “They” are fighting for “their” public schools.
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Don’t believe the mainstream media narrative. Many of us are just parents very concerned about the loss of local control, child privacy issues and reducing the quality of our schools–public, private and otherwise.
Remember that the majority of the “right” probably have their kids in public schools and most support their public schools. But what happens when, after Common Core, the “right” decide they have had enough and pull their kids (and eventually their dollars) out of public schools and into homeschools and private schools? It’s happening right now across the country.
Then what is left for public education?
Despite the media narrative, public schools aren’t the enemy to the “right.” There are “tin foil” folks on both sides of the issue, but some of have looked at this issue intelligently — its nearly impossible to support CommonCore when you look at it carefully and objectively. That is, unless Bill Gates gave you a million dollars or Arne Duncan is your cousin.
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The thing Rich never mentions is the opposition to CORPORATE education control. She never writes the word “Pearson”, for instance, even though most sources she “quotes” very selectively are united in opposition to their lobbying.
I went over every line, and her omission has to be deliberate. It’s striking how this distorts our position without seeming to censor. Motoko is a more enlightened tool, that’s all, still trying to assure her own place in the sunshine of corporate favor.
I’m off to downtown Boston to see if I can get a seat at the Warren/Piketty discussion.
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I was interviewed and quoted in the article. We talked on the phone for about twenty minutes, and my opposition to common core, corporate reform, privatization, VAM, standardized testing, etc. was all I talked about! I mentioned my support over and over for Diane Ravitch and the BATs and what I feel most teachers stand for. Her questions (like what do you think of the alliance between tea party groups and democrats?) made me wonder what angle she was taking for her article. I am very grateful she talked to teachers! But I wish she would have written more about how I feel.
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This is more than hard right or left. Opposition and support for CCSS is coming in from all sides. As a teacher, to hear that teacher unions support this, makes me sick. I’ve been fighting this for 4 years. I’m also living CCSS as a parent. Am I surprised by some of my new alliances against CCSS? Absolutely! CCSS needs to go and bring in the NYS Standards that were supposed to happen.
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It was nice to see a more balanced article but……
The idea that support for the Core has “…largely held up among educators….” is still off the mark. I read that on Sunday and I was, like, WHAT?????
[Here’s that section from the piece: “Of course, not everyone is opposed to the recent changes. Despite the populist furor, support for the Common Core, for example, has largely held up among educators and legislators.”]
I don’t know who this Times reporter was talking to? But it’s clear that the Core is a “rolling ball of madness”, to use the words of the late Hunter S. Thompson.
And, no teacher or administrator I respect seems to disagree when push comes to shove.
Of course, there are those educators who are afraid to go public with their criticisms or are just going through the motions so they can grab their paychecks and hit the gate as quickly as possible.( I mean who who can blame people trying to protect their physical health and sanity?)
Then there are those teachers who are sucking up or looking for a high paying consulting gig or have just plain drunk the Core-flavored Kool-Aid. Sad. Scary, really, considering what it means for our democracy. (I was just saying yesterday that the Core implementation sometimes reminds me of the old movie “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. Those pods were put next to people then the next morning they are talking like robots…. That’s what it reminds me of when I hear teachers who have totally bought into the Core-porate curriculum
Maybe THOSE are the people the Times interviewed???
I keep hoping the union bigwigs will really start to fight this thing because that’s what the rank and file need.
It’d be nice if everywhere Cuomo went between now and November a group of teachers was there to greet him with signs, protests etc……
By the way, I’m glad to hear you are feeling better, Diane. That’s great.
I haven’t written on here for a while but that’s because whatever gripes I have with all the change going on pale in comparison to some of the disasters your readers have to deal with each day in their classrooms. Their courage and integrity is inspiring.
Plus, some of the writers on here are just so sharp. Thanks so much to Mercedes Schneider, Bob Shepherd, Carol Burris, Lloyd Lofthouse and everyone else. If only you guys were running things.
I keep recommending this site to everyone I talk to.
-John O.
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John,
I was interviewed and quoted for the article, and I’m not sure where she got that idea (that teachers support CCSS) either! It certainly wasn’t what I said! When I was talking with her, she asked me several questions. It wasn’t clear where she was going with the article. One thing I am happy about is that she talked to teachers. I wish she would have written more of what I said and how I feel, but it’s a start.
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Yes, I agree, it’s a start.
I’ve just been so disappointed in the New York Times.
Take care
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The NEA (National Education Association) may be the only teacher’s unions that supports Common Core.
Watch this video from AFT. Common Core isn’t mentioned but the video removes the argument used by Bill Gates, Obama and Arne Duncan that they and the other fake education reformers use to support the Machiavellian Common Core standardized testing regime that would make Hitler, Mao and Stalin envious, and it also takes away any justification for the private sector Charter school movement.
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Great video! Thanks so much for posting it!
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May I suggest that you click on that YouTube link in the lower right hand corner, go to the source on YouTube, copy the html address and then share far and wide through e-mails and even Blog posts.
I’ve already done it here along with a few other videos. If you click on that link to my post, scroll down to watch the others. You may find them interesting to say the least.
If you have a WordPress blog, all you need do is copy that link into this formula between the equal sign and the far right bracket (no spaces inside the brackets):
The biggest argument the fake education reformers have is the U.S. average ranking on the PISA test. Therefore, we go after that evidence to discredit it.
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Sorry, it seems that I can’t even show the coding formula for embedding a video. It was there in the comment but it didn’t show up in my comment. Therefore, here’s in instructional video on how to add YouTube videos into a WordPress post:
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Last week, Truthout had an article describing the causal factors for NEA’s seeming impotence.
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The list of prohibited topics (excuse me — Sensitivity Guidelines) on SBAC question items should offend ALL Americans: http://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/TaskItemSpecifications/Guidelines/BiasandSensitivity/BiasandSensitivityGuidelines.pdf.
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Worthless all of them. No one wants any teacher leaders. No one cares. It’s all money and politics. CA teacher
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