In the blue corner.
In the red corner.
(Hour 3a,b,c) Michael Petrilli, Executive Vice President of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and former Education Director to George W. Bush, debates Rich on why conservatives should support Common Core. Believe us, this one will go down in GAL archive history.
In this first clip, Rich sets the stage and gives us his take.
But in this second clip, the legendary duel begins! Was Mike involved with No Child Left Behind and, in his opinion, was it a success? Are the standards of Common Core higher than what we have in place now? What about the lowering of standards in Massachusetts and California? Find the answers to these questions and much, much more.
Resources: Article on Governing American Education (referenced by Rich)
So basically, states like California and Massachusetts should “take one for the team”?
“Conservatives should rally around Common Core?” Hardly. The Republican National Committee unanimously passed a Resolution against Common Core on April 12, 2013.
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2013/04/rnc-passes-resolution-to-shut-down-common-core-curriculum.html
Petrilli inappropriately equates “local control” with “union control.” He lacks any understand our history of self-governance and local control of education which built this country. Local control has been undermined by both unions and federal education reform/grants for decades.
Decentralized, local governance of schools is a cherished right of the American people.
New Hampshire adopted the District System in 1805, which allowed parents to change districts, or create a new district based on the written petition of 10 residents, taking the school portion of their property taxes with them. This created civility within districts and a respect for parents that is no longer apparent. http://nhfamiliesforeducation.org/content/district-system-established-new-hampshire-1805
Horace Mann believed the District System used in most states during the 1800s was the most “unfortunate law” ever enacted. Mann’s goal was centralization of education, similar to that of Common Core. http://nhfamiliesforeducation.org/content/horace-mann-believed-district-system-most-unfortunate-law-ever-enacted-state
The head of the Teacher’s unions support Common Core. Randi Wiengarten. Why did Mike leave that out of his rant against unions? I wish he had mentioned how much Gates paid the NEA and Fordham for their support of Common Core