"A child's learning is the function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher." James Coleman, 1972

Saturday, October 05, 2013

Do educators support the common core?


Last month (September) the National Education Association announced " that a "Majority of Educators "strongly" support the Common Core State Standards" (headline of an article that appeared in NEA Today).

 

I have been unable to find the details of the questions and the results on the internet, but the NEA's own report of the results are not consistent with their headline.


First, the poll, done by the NEA, only surveyed NEA members. Second, we are told that 26% were "wholeheartedly in favor of the standards," 50% supported them with "some reservations" and 11% were opposed. Also, 13% didn't know enough about the standards to have an opinion.

In other words, only 26% strongly support the CCSS.  The headline could easily have read "Most NEA members polled have reservations about the common core or are opposed."

The NEA has strongly supported the standards, and the media is constantly filled with cheerful pronouncements about the common core from the US Department of Education.  My interpretation of the poll results is that many teachers are not convinced, thanks to their own experience.

http://neatoday.org/2013/09/12/nea-poll-majority-of-educators-support-the-common-core-state-standards/

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