New Jersey Governor Wants to Get Rid of Common Core
Common Core was dealt a serious blow today when one of the nation's most visible governors announced his desire to abandon the national education standards. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie — who is rumored to be a Republican presidential candidate — announced his change of heart about the program a mere five years after agreeing to institute the controversial initiative across the state's schools, saying:
"It has brought only confusion and frustration to our parents. And has brought distance between our teachers and the communities where they work. Instead of solving problems in our classrooms, it is creating new ones."
Governor Christie isn't alone in his criticism of Common Core. Stephen Colbert, Louis C.K., and countless other parents have complained that the system has teachers teaching to the test, rather than a curriculum, and the standards are set by business leaders, not educators.
"We must reject federal control of our education and return it to parents and teachers," Governor Christie said. "We need to take it out of the cubicles of Washington DC where it was placed by the Obama administration and return it to the neighborhoods of New Jersey."
His plan includes having New Jersey parents and educators create and grade the exam, but skeptics think he's just posturing as he prepares for his presidential run. Either way, it sounds like the kids will win.