It is tempting to think that it is only parents and politicians on the right who oppose the Common Core. As the New York Times points out, that is not accurate. Common Core now has critics on the left and from the very liberal state of New York, no less.
“But the newest chorus of complaints is coming from one of the most liberal states, and one of the earliest champions of the standards: New York. And that is causing supporters of the Common Core to shudder.
Carol Burris, an acclaimed high school principal on Long Island, calls the Common Core a “disaster.”
“We see kids,” she said, “they don’t want to go to school anymore.”
Leaders of both parties in the New York Legislature want to rethink how the state uses the Common Core.
The statewide teachers’ union withdrew its support for the standards last month until “major course corrections” took place.”
Mike Petrelli, Vice President at Fordham, calls the alliance “bizarre.”
“It’s bizarre,” he said. “New York is in some interesting company, right up with the reddest of the red states. And you worry that there will be bleed-over from New York to other states.”
It’s not bizarre at all. It’s the power of parents and educators who were not consulted when the Common Core was being adopted in 2010 making their voice heard loud and clear in 2014. So much so that, New York’s Democrat Governor Cuomo is now a critic of the Common Core and appointed a panel to recommend changes.
Michigan parents are energized by the actions of other states like New York and rumor has it that Michigan lawmakers are worried. They believed that the battle over the Common Core ended when they gaveled through HCR 11, a resolution which allowed the implementation of Common Core to continue. Instead, their action energized parents into taking action and opting out of assignments and assessments. For many Michigan parents, Common Core is the litmus test for their vote in November.
Governor Snyder is facing a tough reelection battle. His endorsement of the Common Core has many parents reconsidering whether they will support him again.
“Michigan students will be better prepared to compete for jobs in our state and beyond as our partners in the Legislature took another key step to support the Common Core Standards.
“There is strong, bipartisan backing for the Common Core, an effort developed by states, for states, to set clear expectations about what students need to learn in math and English language arts to be college and career ready.
That strong bi-partisan backing of Common Core is crumbling fast. If Governor Snyder or state lawmakers decide to change their mind, we welcome their intervention to prevent any Common Core aligned assessments and any assessment not completely controlled by Michigan citizens. Smarter Balanced, PARCC, or ACT are NOT acceptable. Only a Michigan controlled assessments are acceptable.
To Michigan Parents, you don’t have to wait for Governor Snyder or state lawmakers to take action. If you decide not to have your child participate an opt-out form is provided below in PDF form. You can print and take this form to your child’s school to let them know your child will be opting out of assessments. PLAN, EXPLORE, and the MME are all coming in the next month.
Opting out worked in New York and go lawmakers attention, we can do the same here.