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Morgan Turner
Professor Courtney
Intermediate Writing
11 August 2016

Common Core: Necessary Evil?

There is much need for education reform in the United States with the decline in
international education standards. Common Core seems to be the main response to the
outcry for said educational reform. However, there is much controversy about the
Common Core curriculum that is being introduced into the United States educational
system. The US Military has even engaged in implementing Common Core styles for
the basis of their educational reform. Is Common Core the response that the United
States needs, or is the stigma that surrounds Common Core rooted in recent events
that have cast a questionable shadow on the US Government as a whole?
The US Military relies on standards that are universal. Every technical manual is
updated at the same time and can be found one every based related to every subject
that is applicable to that base. This is so that whenever the fighting men and women
need to get a job done they can be transported across the globe and be planted with
complete strangers while still knowing exactly how to get a project done in an efficient
manner. It is no wonder that the Department of Defense Education Action (DoDEA) has
made efforts to implement a Common Core education reform to create a universal
standard for the children of families who are constantly in the move due the militarys
needs. Children of family members will be able to be relocated from base to base and
be plugged into a new school and work within its education system while not impeding
on the efforts of the teachers and other students involved.

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This type of plug-and-play setting is instrumental in the military and would only
benefit the students, faculty, and families involved in a system that shuffles families
across the globe on a regular basis. An example of this is in the statistic that: Frequent
relocation and academic upheaval have long been an unavoidable part of life for
children of U.S. military personnel. Forty percent of DoDEAs students change schools
every year. By comparison, Los Angeles, the nations second largest school district, has
a transiency rate of just under 19% (RICHMOND).

It is better on the families involved because it makes the transition for the child
much easier. The child benefits by knowing that the material covered isnt going to differ
so drastically that they are unable to keep up. The child may not integrate into the
school as easily if they struggle with trying to learn new or different material because
they are in a new state. This may affect their social status in school and their selfesteem overall. Giving the child a fighting chance to integrate smoothly into their new
environment can take a lot of stress of the family members also involved in the move. A
spouse to a military member may stress about their child and their ability to integrate
and adapt. Siblings may also be made fun of because their other siblings are ostracized
due to having to learn new or different material than they were used to studying. Stress
can move across the whole family because of it and will ultimately feed its way up the

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military member. When the family suffers the member suffers. When the member suffers
the mission suffers. When the mission suffers the Military suffers. The US Armed Forces
know well to take care of their people so that the mission can be accomplished. What
about the mission of the United States as a Nation?
Education reform has been a hot subject in recent years. With the United States
educational statistics falling compared to international competition show the need for
reform. Universal standards certainly make sense with a culture that is so fluid with its
movement across such a large country. Families move across the country all time for
personal, professional, and educational opportunities that may be more prevalent or
more sophisticated in other areas. When I moved to Utah at age fifteen with my family, I
had never taken a Utah History class. In fact, Colorado history wasnt going to be taught
to me until my junior year. This not only made for an awkward transition socially
amongst my peers, but it made for an interesting idea on how what classes I needed to
meet state requirements for graduation. I transitioned from a large public school to a
small public charter school and Utah History classes were filled to the brim with new
students in their freshmen/sophomore year so the school had to compromise and sign
me up for another history class to fulfill the requirements. The following history classes I
ended up enrolled in would occasionally reference Utah History and I would need to
work around the assignment, research extra information for the assignment, or do a
different assignment to receive credit. This strain was not more than could be worked
around but as an individual in their developmental years, I certainly felt left out from my
community when I had to adapt to those circumstances.

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The goal of common core is to implement efficient national standards to help

reform the educational system. This goal is realized by acknowledging the previous
system and what needs to be changed. The mentality that is embraced by Common
Core is epitomized in the statement:
Traditionally, learning has been measured by focusing on basic knowledge
and skills. Students are required to remember facts and apply procedures.
Conversely, the mathematics standards suggest that mathematical literacy
also includes conceptual understanding and participation in mathematical
practices. Thus, different perspectives need to be taken when crafting
measures of these other criteria. (Chandler, Fortune and Lovett)
Essentially it acknowledges that the current educational system needs to be reviewed
and that Common Core is a response to traditional approaches to teaching children. It
does so by utilizing concepts from other countries that are competitively ranked high for
educational standards yet allow for state and local educational systems to critique the
information to cater to local educational needs. Even in the aspect of mathematics it is
designed to cater to real life situations and give the students real world application of
mathematics (Common Core State STandards Initiative)
National standardized testing has been getting more and more prevalent.
Everything from the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act and Common Core
are national responses to the question of educational reform. During this timeframe the
US Government has been caught spying on its citizens and its allies with the NSA. The
Global War on Terror has sucked us into multiple wars and cost thousands of young
lives of Americans, Iraqis, Afghanis, Pakistanis, and many more. The United States has

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become rather war weary in the more recent years and trust in the US Governments
judgement is growing in question with the perpetuation of wartime efforts. The backlash
of questioning the government has affected every move they have made, include the
move for educational reform (McGuinn). The mass media portraying the US Congress
as being an incompetent organization that cant get anything done along with the
polarization during the last few, and current, election seasons have only furthered
animosity for the US Government. Is the lack of trust in the US Government the reason
for the lack of faith in the Common Core education system?
Or is it Americans growing distrust for corporations? It is no secret that many
Americans do not trust big business and havent for the last while. Since the most
recent economic collapse and even the US Governments bailout of the automotive
industry between 2008 and 2010 the media has been overwhelmed with animosity for
big business and big government. Protests such as the Occupy Wall street protest are
just the tip of the iceberg for social distrust with big business. The Panama Papers and
the social outcry surround them also heed evidence to people not trusting major
financial players and how they are in bed with governments that they also may not trust.
Pearson, the company responsible for common core testing, is an educational
organization that has been expanding its potential to the international market. In an
article posted in the business section of Wired outlines Persons involvement in
international business:
Pearson would like to become educations first major conglomerate,
serving as the largest private provider of standardized tests, software,
materials, and now the schools themselves. (Kamenetz)

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The article also outlines the potential global revenue of the educational market could be
$5.5 trillion and growing rapidly (Kamenetz). Kamenetz also points out in her article
that it is nearly as profitable as health care on the international scale. Is the American
populous ready to accept an interntional educational conglomorate as the new standard
implemented by their government?
Is Common Core truly a failed system that is not being implemented well? The
US Military has been implementing it as a solution to educating children who have a
high rate of moving from place to place. The United States is in need of educational
reform and has been attempting to implement changes. Those changes that have been
implemented have been receiving stiff opposition soon after its start. Is distrust in the
US Government responsible for the backlash with Common Core? Has Common Core
or No Child Left Behind been given a fair chance or ample time to succeed before being
shot down? One good question we really should be asking ourselves is: Do we have
any other choice at this point?

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Works Cited
Chandler, Kayla, et al. "What should Common Core assessments measure?" Phi Delta
Kappan Feb 2016: 60-63. Print. 1 Jul 2016.
Common Core State STandards Initiative. Myths v Facts. 2016. Web.
<http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/myths-vs-facts/>.
Kamenetz, Anya. Pearsons Quest to Cover the Planet in Company-Run Schools. 12
April 2016. 6 July 2016. <http://www.wired.com/2016/04/apec-schools/>.
McGuinn, Patrick. "Complicated politics to the Core." Phi Delta Kappan September
2015: 14-19. 30 June 2016.
RICHMOND, EMILY. "Schools on U.S. Military Bases are Adopting Common CoreBut
Dont Call It That." Education Digest October 2015: 18-24. Print. 1 Jul 2016.