The Common Core is under fire from parents concerned about how the new standards may affect their children’s self-esteem.
In his opinion column for the New York Times, Frank Bruni argues that we must ensure our “impulse to coddle kids not eclipse the imperative to challenge them.”
Bruni says that while our current over-protective culture may be hurting students, the Common Core will help them better measure real success:
David Coleman, one of the principal architects of the Common Core, told me that he’s all for self-esteem, but that rigorous standards “redefine self-esteem as something achieved through hard work.”
“Students will not enjoy every step of it,” he added. But if it takes them somewhere big and real, they’ll discover a satisfaction that redeems the sweat.
