Are Common Core educational standards really just rotten apples? That’s what one brochure indicated at a meeting in Manhattan Tuesday, organized by the Americans for Prosperity. Nearly 80 people showed up for the meeting, including parents, educators, legislators, and other concerned citizens.
Paula Davis is a home school mother of 12, who says it’s interesting to her that higher math and science is pretty much non-existent in Common Core.
Chuck Henderson with the Flint Hills Tea Party tells KMAN he wanted to hear finer details of the Common Core intentions. And he says he’s concerned about some very specific aspects of the program including “too much government control and interference.”
Other concerns were expressed about the cost of the program.
Tim McDonald, who is the Administrator of Flint Hills Christian School, says he only heard about the meeting the day before, but wanted to learn more. McDonald says he will continue to look at the whole aspect of how Common Core could affect his students.
Another attendee was Chris Towney, who is a member of the Flint Hills Tea Party and a board member of the Tea Party’s Educational fund. But she says she’s also concerned as a grandparent, saying she’s seen math skills dropping dramatically in her grandsons.
State Representative Ron Highland of Wamego was also at the meeting, saying he’s trying to gather facts, adding there’s been a firestorm on the issue across the state
Manhattan was one of six stopping points Tuesday for the informational meeting. A group of panelists made presentations, including Kristin George with Kansans Against Common Core. As a mother, George says she has some concerns about Common Core on many levels including loss of control, the cost, and questions about the quality of the standards.
Jen Rezac serves as Kansas Communications Director for Americans for Prosperity, and has been impressed with the turn-out–of close to 80 people in Manhattan, and that same average in other cities along the way. At least 100 were expected in Wichita. She says Common Core affects not just public schools, but also private and home school groups.
Other stops were in Johnson County, Garden City, Topeka, and Pittsburg.
