Voluntary federal standards aren’t evil
Anything we can do to ensure that students across the nation receive a standardized education should be welcomed with open arms, right?
Wrong. At least that’s what 14 South Carolina legislators, only a drop in the bucket among numerous other politicians across the nation — currently think. These standards, also known as Common Core under the Obama administration, have suddenly become the topic du jour for many who dislike anything the federal government does that tries to wrestle away local control of education from the “little people.”
But this does nothing of the sort. It puts in writing what many good teachers and many educational experts already deem necessary for a fundamental education for students. The simple fact of the matter is that students across the country do not receive the same education.
In America, what one learns at the K-12 level varies drastically depending on not only what state you live in, but what school district, what individual school and even what teacher and classmates you have.
This is a culmination of what people across the country have been clamoring about for years; in fact, it’s already been adopted amongst 45 states. Common Core represents a big step forward for both America and its students any legislation that would bar it would be a big step back.
At the end of the day, the only thing that Common Core really seeks to do is to at least level the educational playing field and make it so that each child has the opportunity to learn the most that they can. As Americans, this isn’t something we can condemn; it’s something we have to applaud.