Georgia schools are well into building instruction around the Common Core State Standards. Yet two different state bodies are holding hearings now on the use of the standards in our schools and whether the federal government had a role in developing them, an issue I take up today. Readers share their view on Common Core and the backlash against the standards. And a guest columnist stands up in favor of the arts, saying we ought to focus on creativity in schools rather than credentials.

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Angie McBrayer, ex-wife of James Aaron McBrayer, leans her head on her son Sam McBrayer as she and her three children and two grandchildren (from left) Jackson McBrayer, 3, Piper Jae McBrayer, 7, Katy Isaza, and Jordan McBrayer, visit the grave of James McBrayer, Thursday, November 20, 2025, in Tifton. He died after being restrained by Tift County sheriff's deputies on April 24, 2019. His ex-wife witnessed the arrest and said she thought the deputies were being rough but did not imagine that McBrayer would die. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC