Despite all of her nutty racially-charged rhetoric, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis commands attention.
So people should be interested in her views about the national Common Core initiative.
Lewis is a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers and a member of its executive council. Despite the AFT’s solid support for Common Core national standards, Lewis says she’s “not a personal fan.”
Speaking to the City Club of Chicago, Lewis said, “We’re flying the [Common Core] airplane as we’re building it. So we’ll see. Who knows what that will bring?”
She also said Common Core was never “field tested,” which is an indisputable fact that worries many education experts around the nation.
And yet billions of dollars are being spent to implement the national standards as we speak. Lewis’ statements should cause much concern among state leaders who have no real idea what they’ve signed their schools and students up for.
There’s serious doubt about the potential success of Common Core. There are concerns about what it might do to state and local control of public schools. There are worries about student privacy and parental control of their children’s education.
That’s why we’ve created “Common Core Watch” on our website. It’s dedicating to monitoring the important news and developments related to state-by-state efforts to repeal Common Core.
The implementation of Common Core standards has been “paused” in three states -- Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana. There are similar efforts elsewhere around the country.
The page also features the latest news Common Core news around the country -- reported by allied reform organizations as well as the mainstream media. For example, we recently linked to a story about repeal legislation being introduced in New York state, as well as the Heritage Foundation’s report on the impact the standards will have on homeschoolers.
The aggregated information shows there’s little consensus that Common Core will be a positive change agent for our children’s education. It’s still a subject of passionate debate, and we’re going to cover that conversation until it’s over.
Please check out Common Core Watch to track the latest developments, and please share your group’s information as well as news links from your area.