Dangerous blind spots in the Common-Core standards

08-24-2010

By William G. Wraga

The final version of the common-core standards for math and English/language arts, released in June by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association, contain two educational blind spots that, if ignored, can undermine not only the quality of public education, but also the strength of our democracy. The standards devote insufficient attention to the need for an interdisciplinary curriculum, and represent a contracted view of the “common core” that disregards the role of schools in preparing students for citizenship. Both blind spots stem from the disciplinary myopia that characterizes the standards. They were developed with a technical emphasis on disciplinary research and practice—at the neglect of a broad view of the entire curriculum and of the function of education in a democracy. In implementing these standards, state departments of education and local school systems must act to avoid the potential pitfalls of these blind spots, and groups involved in the Common Core State Standards Initiative should revise the standards to eliminate them. (more…)

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Dangerous blind spots in the Common-Core standards

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