Why do Republicans hate Common Core educational standards?

[Minoosh]

They all believe in teaching creationism in science classes. Doesn't that count?

In an attempt to understand precise objections, I Googled "conservatives common core" looking for precise objections. For what it's worth, I offer this link from the Deseret News, which is Mormon-owned. It struck me as quite evenhanded, and substantially at odds with the title of this thread.

The conservative battle over Common Core Standards
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865593349/The-conservative-battle-over-Common-Core.html?pg=all

I'm fascinated with education threads but they often devolve into partisan bickering, and that's OK, except that such bickering doesn't really move conversations forward. Actually the conversations often start as ideological bickering so "devolve" might not be the right word.

Anecdote: A formerly home-schooled 3rd-grader, quite bright, was watching a film in class on plate tectonics. She raised her hand and said, "My religion doesn't believe in this." The teacher - who was an observant Mormon and had home-schooled her own children - simply said, "That's all right, this isn't about anybody's religion. These are just facts."

I admired that answer.

Anyway, though some Republicans despise Common Core, others don't.

 

[Unabogie]

In an attempt to understand precise objections, I Googled "conservatives common core" looking for precise objections. For what it's worth, I offer this link from the Deseret News, which is Mormon-owned. It struck me as quite evenhanded, and substantially at odds with the title of this thread.

The conservative battle over Common Core Standards
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865593349/The-conservative-battle-over-Common-Core.html?pg=all

I'm fascinated with education threads but they often devolve into partisan bickering, and that's OK, except that such bickering doesn't really move conversations forward. Actually the conversations often start as ideological bickering so "devolve" might not be the right word.

Anecdote: A formerly home-schooled 3rd-grader, quite bright, was watching a film in class on plate tectonics. She raised her hand and said, "My religion doesn't believe in this." The teacher - who was an observant Mormon and had home-schooled her own children - simply said, "That's all right, this isn't about anybody's religion. These are just facts."

I admired that answer.

Anyway, though some Republicans despise Common Core, others don't.

In reading those conservative objections (at least the ones that don't reference crazy conspiracy theories) the most prevalent one is that they want local neighborhoods to decide their own curriculum, especially homeschool curriculums. In other words, it's not actually about how Common Core may teach mathematics, but how Common Core may teach science in a way that conflicts with religion. It's really about religious fundamentalists wishing to teach their kids mythology as science. I don't see how that's a persuasive argument. It seems likely to lead to a generation of misinformed morons.

 

[thaiboxerken]

They all believe in teaching creationism in science classes. Doesn't that count?

And forbidding critical thinking in school.

 

[Minoosh]

In other words, it's not actually about how Common Core may teach mathematics, but how Common Core may teach science in a way that conflicts with religion. It's really about religious fundamentalists wishing to teach their kids mythology as science. I don't see how that's a persuasive argument. It seems likely to lead to a generation of misinformed morons.

My main point in posting the link was that there are, or were, Republicans who strongly supported Common Core standards, calling into question the premise of the thread. I hadn't known there was so much conservative support. In my state, even with a conservative state Legislature, science is already taught as science, inseparable from some degree of critical thinking. But, this isn't really a Bible Belt area.

 

[MattusMaximus]

I will try to avoid undue generalization lest I give offense....

There's been a lot of comment on the resistane to Common Core on the various NPR shows I listen to.
It seems that much of this is due to a dislike/distrust of federally-mandated standards. The often-repeated phrase you hear is that "parents and teachers know best how to educate their children"... That this should be done at a local level, rather than have standards imposed from above.
This in the face of the fact that all of those foreign countries who's children outperform ours have nationally-mandated standards...
And the nagging thought that one should think that if "parents" know best how to educate their kids, what happens when those parents are the product of sub-standard educations?
Why do we require teachers to have university degrees?
Seems a waste of money.

This ^

 

[thaiboxerken]

Common standards would mean that the conservatives couldn't teach their kids:

http://www.alternet.org/education/1...r-schools-are-teaching-americas-kids?page=0,1

their own version of history.

 

[eeyore1954]

I don't know about common core and science but has anyone ever tried to do a simple 1st grade subtraction problem using the "new" math. I have, it is not easy. I also can never correctly do my daughters 7th grade math. Get the right answer but I never follow the approved path.
The support manager at my job also said she helped her first grader with math and the paper came back covered with red X's.

 

[ravdin]

I don't know about common core and science but has anyone ever tried to do a simple 1st grade subtraction problem using the "new" math. I have, it is not easy. I also can never correctly do my daughters 7th grade math. Get the right answer but I never follow the approved path.
The support manager at my job also said she helped her first grader with math and the paper came back covered with red X's.

"In the real world, simplification is valued over complication."