Editor, Ceres Courier,
Many news and opinion articles convey the impression that almost all opposition to the nationalized standards for K-12 education is coming from conservative citizens and groups. In his guest column, Rick Manning does a good job of establishing how broad-based the public rejection of Common Core is. ("Is the bell tolling for Obama's Common Core?" August 27).
Louisiana's Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal is waging perhaps the highest-profile campaign (including now a federal lawsuit) against education nationalization, but a number of prominent Republicans - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, among them - continue to back Common Core. Meanwhile, as Manning points out, some of the sharpest criticism of CC has come from teacher union leaders who rarely give aid or comfort to Republicans and/or conservatives. What a telling comment from Richard Iannuzzi, president of New York State United Teachers: "We'll have to be the first to say {Common Core} has failed."
Indeed, teachers across the nation who have had to sit through training for implementing these one-size-fits-all standards are reaching their own conclusion. In just the past year, teacher opposition has more than tripled, from 12 percent to 40 percent, according to a poll done for the journal Education Next. Moreover, a solid 60 percent of the general public opposed CC (with only 33 percent in support) in a recent Gallup Poll done for the Phi Delta Kappan journal.
In truth, Americans across the political spectrum are making clear their conviction that parents and teachers should be in charge, not distant bureaucrats and federally-funded theorists.
Robert Holland,
Senior Fellow for Education Policy,
The Heartland Institute,
Chicago, Ill.
LETTERS POLICY: Letters to the editor will be considered for publication but must be signed and include an address and phone number. Letters should contain 250 words or less and be void of libelous statements. Letters may be sent to The Ceres Courier, 138 S. Center Street, Turlock CA 95380 or emailed to jeffb@cerescourier.com
