The idea of implementing a Common Core curriculum in schools in the U.S. doesn’t sit well with me, because I believe in the need for adaptable, resourceful and creative teachers who can build a relationship with a student, and it seems to me that a government mandated curriculum would disincentivize these qualities in educators, and incentivize hiring cheaper, little or unqualified men and women who can simply prepare children for tests. The more freedom the state takes away from educators, the more education becomes about kids learning how to cheat the system, rather than become equipped for the world ahead socially, economically, personally, etc. This article discusses the need for reforming the Common Core educational reform. One argument against it is that too much time is being spent on test-prep in classrooms, and they want to add a cap to how much time can be spent prepping.
I don’t disagree with the push for improving schools, and in fact I appreciate how motivated people are to provide better education for youth. But, I disagree with the philosophy of these reformers, and it seems that the data simply doesn’t support the measures school boards and states have been trying to take. I remember at the beginning of our class, Dr. Glassman asked, “Should we use the global marketplace to serve our students, or should our students be used to serve the global marketplace?” That’s a relevant question, and based on the tactics we’ve seen become implemented, I’d say that the general feeling in our nation is the latter. Which is terribly unfortunate, because there is more to life than serving our nation’s economy and being as competitive as possible with other nation-states. Capitalism, though a seemingly well-functioning economic institution, has produced a terribly flawed perspective in our society, which promotes greed above our own children’s futures.
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