Union Leaders Criticize Common Core Implementation
Recently, National Education Association president Dennis Van Roekel released a statement condemning the implementation of the Common Core standards. American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten has previously expressed similar sentiment about the standards.
A blog post written by TNTP president Tim Daly argues that while implementation of the Common Core has been difficult, it should still go on:
Change is hard – but this has almost nothing to do with “botched” implementation. Or standards. “Implementation” is a catch-all complaint that union leaders have often—and successfully—used to extract themselves from commitments they no longer wish to keep. Aiding in the rollout of Common Core is just such a commitment. The unions routinely complain that states are moving too fast in transitioning to the new standards, but the truth is that educators have already had years to prepare. In New York, for instance, the standards were adopted in 2010—four years ago. Implementation was always going to be difficult and, with a change of this magnitude, no one could ever be 100 percent ready. No matter how long the lead-up time, it’s easy to balk when you are staring at the year when it all counts. If four years is not sufficient, how long is? Eight years? Ten? Stretching out the timeline amounts to nothing more than a slow pull of the band aid.
