When the CEO of an educational lobbying nonprofit is quoted as saying "The last thing we're going to do...is get wrapped up in curriculum battles" while at the same time two of her board officers authored the Common Core State Standards, you have to wonder, don't you? Common Core is a nationalized education initiative accepted by all but two states. If, as they say, Common Core simply acts as a framework for educators and states can tailor the standards to their curricular needs, why was it necessary in the first place? Every state already had its own standards and objectives. There must be something more afoot; and conservative watchdogs are questioning the initiative's goals. Common Core promoters are pushing guidelines which veer away from a broad liberal arts education to a narrowly defined utilitarian one. The Blaze reports many teachers including a ""former public school teacher who left the trade because of Common Core...believes that the initiative is "dumbing down"...(Read Full Post)