5 Crazy Myths About Common Core

Chances are you’ve heard something ridiculous about Common Core State Standards. Without further ado, here are the five most absurd (and offensive) Common Core myths we’ve heard:

Crazy Myth #1: It promotes “Islamic extremism.”

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No, Common Core is not “part of an intricate plan to infiltrate every area of American society with Islam.” They are a set of learning standards, laying out what students should know by when in order to be successful in the next grade, or next stage of their life. They have not – and will not – dictate how this information is taught in the classroom, and certainly not what religion students should believe in.

Crazy Myth #2: Common Core leads to the “sexualization” of children.

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Legislators have accused Common Core of leading to the “sexualization of children” – with some even going as far as accusing the standards of forcing students to become “as homosexual as they possibly can.” As the Common Core is merely a set of academic standards for English and math, that hardly seems possible.

Crazy Myth #3: And “leftist ideologies.”

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Whether it’s climate change or “extreme leftist ideologies,” Common Core is always trying to indoctrinate us with something. So it seems perfectly plausible that English and math standards would teach students about climate change and socialism, right? Or that a set of academic standards – that only serve to ensure that students know fractions by the end of third grade, for example – would have an ideological bent? We thought this one was pretty outrageous as well.

Crazy Myth #4: Beware! It's a “one-size-fits-all” national curriculum.

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We’re not even sure where to start here. Common Core State Standards are not 1) one size fits all; 2) national, or; 3) a curriculum.

Common Core State Standards allow teachers to understand where students are falling behind (or moving faster than their peers) and personalize learning (read: not one-size-fits-all). They were adopted by individual states (read: not national) and continue to allow local school districts and educators to have full control over how the standards are taught in the classroom (read: not curriculum).

Crazy Myth #5. It's “dumbing down” America’s children!

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State education officials and governors created the Common Core State Standards to ensure that states were raising the bar for students – so it follows that these standards would be “dumbing down” our children, right? Seems like Common Core opponents are following the old “if you can’t say anything nice, say the most outrageous thing that comes to mind” adage.

Have all the crazy rumors left you confused about what Common Core actually is?

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Visit http://thecommoncore.com/ to learn more.