At the third sub-committee hearing on Common Core, State Board of Education President John Austin testified and defended the board’s decision to adopt the Common Core. Before he testified he tweeted the following on Twitter,
In moment will have chance to affirm benefits of #commoncore, for michgan refute misinformation being spread by out of town agitators
— John Austin (@John_C_Austin) August 14, 2013
Wow!.
Austin was no doubt referring to Dr. Sandra Stotsky, Dr. Williamson Evers, and Dr. Diane Ravitch (via Skype) testifying as experts against the Common Core.
Dr. Stotsky has an impressive resume. She is the leading expert on the English Language Arts in the nation and served on the Common Core validation committee. The validation committee was an integral part of the process to development of the Common Core. Dr. Stotsky refused to sign-off on the ELA standardsa She was asked to testify before the committee to learn why she rejected them. When an expert on the standards rejects them, Mr. Austin and Michigan policy makers should be learning why not rejecting her as an “out of town” agitator.
Alongside Dr. Stotsky was Dr. Evers and expert on education policy and research fellow at the Hoover Institute. Previously, Evers was the” US assistant secretary of education for policy from 2007 to 2009. He was a senior adviser to US secretary of education Margaret Spellings during 2007. From July to December 2003, Evers served in Iraq as a senior adviser for education to Administrator L. Paul Bremer of the Coalition Provisional Authority.” Given the federal government’s authority and use of “incentives” to help states adopt the Common Core, Evers should be welcomed not insulted by Dr. Austin.
Finally, Dr. Diana Ravitch testified via Skype. Ravitch’s testimony against the common core was compelling given her previous experience in education policy, “From 1997 to 2004, she was a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the federal testing program. She was appointed by the Clinton administration’s Secretary of Education Richard Riley in 1997 and reappointed by him in 2001. From 1995 until 2005, she held the Brown Chair in Education Studies at the Brookings Institution and edited Brookings Papers on Education Policy. Before entering government service, she was Adjunct Professor of History and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University.” Dr. Ravitch’s reversal on education reform strategies and her testimony onCommon Core should be welcomed. She’s not an agitator but a critical thinker that should be respected by our State School Board.
Ironically, during the hearing Mr. Austin said the Common Core was “developed with the best minds of the country” but for some reason when the “best minds of the country” come to Michigan to share their expertise they become “out of town agitators.”
Mr. Austin didn’t stay to here the testimony of the public and all the “in state agitators” who were also against the Common Core. I read his tweet to the committee but I could not ask Mr. Austin directly why it is okay for “out of town” experts to collaborate on the Common Core and share “best practices” between states but when it comes to testifying we must be “pure” Michigan?
Mr. Austin you didn’t grow up in Michigan either. He was educated at Harvard and served as a DC lobbyist before marrying someone from Michigan. Should we reject your testimony as not “home grown?”
Common Core standards seeks to develop critical thinking skills in our children. If we are going to require critical thinking in our kids, then let’s demand it of ourselves as we debate Common Core? Character assassination is the tactic of those with a weak argument who want to distract from the central issue. Critical thinking demands that we analyze arguments on the merits of what people state NOT by which state people choose to reside.