Common Core faces opposition | GainesvilleTimes.com

With schools continuing the transition to Common Core, areas across the country have seen residents and some political leaders come out against the educational standards.

Representatives from local school systems said that they have not heard the same reaction from parents or politicians, while from an educational viewpoint they had mostly positive comments regarding Common Core.

On the other hand, the founder of the Lanier Tea Party Patriots, Mike Scupin, said that he believes there is a large contingent against the standards, and that the issue is only going to get bigger.

“I anticipate this being a major deal in the governor’s race if (Gov. Nathan Deal) continues to push these things,” he said. One of his complaints about the standards, Scupin said, is that they are copyrighted. This, he said, is a “top-down” approach that leaves no room for change or improvement.

The Common Core website, corestandards.org, does state that the standards are “protected by copyright and/or applicable law.”

While Scupin says that several in the state share his concerns, the standards have not brought forth much controversy locally.

Kevin Bales, the middle grades school improvement specialist with Hall schools, said that the few complaints the system has heard about them mostly involve overall governmental interference, not specific to Common Core.

“Every once in a while we have heard concerns just about the loss of local control,” he said, pointing out that Hall schools, along with the Gainesville system, are both Race to the Top districts.

via Common Core faces opposition  | GainesvilleTimes.com.