Indiana Dumps Common Core

Western Free Press ^ | 3/26/14 | John Walker

[mandrews222]

Move Could “Open the Floodgates” Against National Standards

Indiana Governor Mike Pence burst into the headlines with his announcement that Indiana will be the first of 45 states to opt out of the national education standards known as Common Core.

“I believe when we reach the end of this process there are going to be many other states around the country that will take a hard look at the way Indiana has taken a step back,” Pence said, “designed our own standards and done it in a way where we drew on educators, we drew on citizens, we drew on parents and developed standards that meet the needs of our people.”

Pence is unlikely to be the only governor to make a move against Common Core. In fact, he could unleash a trend fueled by the backlash against national standards that dictate school curriculum.

Jim Stergios, Executive Director of the nonpartisan think tank Pioneer Institute, told FOXNews.com that Pence’s decision could “open the floodgates” against Common Core.

“Indiana, under (Republican Governor) Mitch Daniels, was one of the early proponents of Common Core, even the poster child,” Stergios said. “By pulling out, it sends a strong signal to other states, particularly red states, that, ‘Hey, if they can do this, then why can’t we?’”

The controversial and expensive program has been around for a number of years. But opposition is growing as parents and lawmakers examine the impact on students and the growing cost of K-12 education.

“The whole process behind Common Core was developed in a way to minimize input or popular knowledge of what was going on,” Stergios said. “It was to be expected that parents would not react, positively, or negatively, until their kids started coming home with this new material. And legislators only start to get the message when they are confronted by new costs and angry voters.”

Some states, including Arizona, have renamed Common Core to avoid controversy. Nevertheless, the program moves apace with adoption of curriculum and student preparation designed to meet national standards.

Glyn Wright, Executive Director of the Eagle Forum, noted that no governor besides Pence has moved decisively against Common Core.

“We hope that other principled governors like Scott Walker (Wisconsin), Bobby Jindal (Louisiana), and Sam Brownback (Kansas) will emulate Governor Pence’s leadership by defending taxpayers, families, and state sovereignty in leading their state out of the Common Core.”

As Arizona prepares to elect a new governor, candidates in both parties should be challenged to describe in detail their support or opposition to Common Core. Improving K-12 education in Arizona will be a top priority for the next governor. Now is the time to put the candidates on record.

[SandRat]

HOORAY for Indiana

[SharpRightTurn]

Good news from Indiana.

[outofsalt]

“The control of our children’s education belongs with the parents, not the government.”

Thankfully, Virginia opted out. http://www.commoncoreie.org/the-exodus-states-not-participating-in-common-core.html

[smoothsailing]

Yahoo Indiana!

[lee martell]

I’m not seeing ghosts, but I do see Pence in The White House, and have for some time. Just like Gov. Walker in Wisconsin, Pence is a worker bee, not an attention hog, so he does not get a lot of notice.

[12th_Monkey]

Smart move.

I hope others states follow for the sake of our kids.

[JACKRUSSELL]

"...But the new law doesn’t mean Indiana students will be learning anything dramatically different from kids in neighboring states. The legislation strikes references to Common Core and requires the state board of education to adopt what it calls “college and career readiness” standards that meet national and international benchmarks and comply with federal standards while maintaining Indiana’s sovereignty.

It does not specifically prohibit Common Core goals from being included in the new state standards, and some critics of the board of education say the standards they are developing hew too closely to Common Core. The bill still requires Indiana to meet federal education standards in order to preserve education funding.

That’s similar to the approach several other states are taking: Pass standards nearly identical to Common Core, but under a different name. An Oklahoma state Senate committee on Monday passed a version that would strip the Common Core name while leaving many or most of the same requirements intact..."

Indiana First State To Pull Out Of Common Core

[ridesthemiles]

Kudos to Mike Pence.

[Salvation]

Smart state!

[livius]

I hope Indiana is the first of many, particularly Florida. I was surprised that Rick Scott went along with Common Core, except that I guess he was tired of fighting with the teachers’ union over the test-based teacher accountability standards that used to be part of our system (which started under Gov. Bush and did a huge amount to improve our schools).

[Prince of Space]

He handed me his card as we came up from the metro on our way to the 9/12 rally. I’ve always liked that guy. He was one of the few conservative politicians actually in the trenches with us.

[hockeyfan44]

I like your image for commie core I’d love to borrow it ;)

[smoothsailing]

It’s yours!

And you can make them here...

http://www.1001fonts.com/

Have Fun! 8^)

[Galatians513]

According to Education Week magazine (Vol 33 No 27), Indiana is developing its’ on standards using Common Core as input, so it’s unclear what will really be different about the standards.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

It takes courage to be the first knowing you may be the only.

[dforest]

Don’t get too excited as I once was. Apparently the replacement looks a lot like common core. I am pissed at Governor Pence for this.