To me, Common Core defies logic. Classic literature is ignored. Math is not math. I can see the goal is to train kids to read instruction manuals, but that's not an education. Education is more global than that. Direct access to classics, and biography, and unfiltered history are what teach kids how to think and feel and have compassion and understanding. Free expression of ideas in a safe environment, without a grid of political correctness is what creates diversity, not the mandatory one-size-fits-all compliant mentality the curriculum seems to demand.
It doesn't help teachers, either. Teachers are teachers because they have a point of view and can bring it to the classroom in creative ways. I'm not in a formal school enviornment any more, but I work at a job where I deliver a lot of information in a very limited amount of time to people in the age range of birth to senior citizens. I watch people come alive when I talk to them about what they see and they relate to it in their own ways. I don't have a vested interest in what they take away from my tours except that they have a good time. But I talk about science, history, and math in the limited time I have. I can't imagine being given a structure that takes my unique personality and gifts out of the classroom. I would lose my ability to relate to students and find creative ways to deliver material to them.
I really do not like it when kids are forced to produce an assignment that expresses only one opinion. It is divisive in their families, and robs them of the opportunity to reflect on the material and be challenged. In a volunteer setting I brought WWII veterans together with girls ages 9-13. The girls asked the most interesting and thoughtful questions. I could never have taught them that. Later on we went to an Anne Frank exhibit, and the girls brought the veterans' experience to that setting and their reactions were very, very profound. Again, I could never have done that. It is just a shame that Common Core will take that opportunity out of the very setting where it belongs.
