Common Core is simply about mastering the 3 R’s (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic) + Listening and Speaking adequately enough to have (A) worthwhile employment and/or a satisfying career.

Who would not desire this outcome if offered to them? The alternatives, most likely, are (B) hard labor, welfare, repetitive servitude or illegal activity. An effective counter argument could be that we live in a society and economy where hard labor and repetitive servitude are necessary. But, why would we aim our educational goals toward that end? Focusing on the perniciousness of motivations and enablers of Common Core or the difficulties encountered in transitioning to this educational approach sidestep from the recognition that our prior educational efforts have left more people in category B than A.

Lynn Shirley

Shepherdstown