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Parents Hold Common Core Protest

With the Common Core State Standards drawing controversy from a variety of sources, one group held a formal protest on Nov. 18, 2013.

Parents opposed to the new standards organized National Don’t Send Your Child to School Day. Organizers were hoping that classrooms across the country would be empty that day in a symbolic rejection of the CCSS. A Facebook page dedicated to the protest recorded over 4,700 people willing to participate.

The organizer of the protest, Janet Wilson of New York, told The Huffington Post that she felt compelled to act against what she claims will be the downfall of the American education system.

“This is Big Brother, George Orwell, 1984. We are living in it,” Wilson told The Huffington Post, referring to Orwell’s dystopian novel. “If we don’t speak up now, federal education will be the beginning of the end of this country as we know it. It’s God uniting his army. That’s how we feel about it.”

The goal of the Common Core State Standards are to ensure that students around the country are measured against the same benchmarks. The standards’ mission statement speaks to the goal: “The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.” 

Article by Jason Tomaszewski, EducationWorld Associate Editor
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