The great majority of the fracas over the Common Core State Standards for public school curricula has involved adults.
By and large, Georgia’s children were not heard on the matter. Rather, it was activists and lawmakers who tussled over whether to abandon the so-called “Obamacore” standards that, in truth, arose from a Republican-led group of state governors. Those who should know better either forgot or deliberately ignored that one of Common Core’s leading champions was Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Like students who hadn’t studied much for final exams, such facts didn’t seem to matter to anti-Common Core legislators who fought to give Georgia the freedom to not be beholden to national education standards that most other states had embraced. In the end, the revocation effort thankfully ground to a legislative halt.
Now that the General Assembly’s election-year hijinks are done for this season, we’ve found ourselves thinking about the 9 in 10 Georgia children who attend public schools. Which took us to the Old Testament book of Isaiah and its 11th chapter, which includes this oft-recited verse: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.”
We’d put special emphasis on that last sentence and note that this chapter also speaks earlier of a spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel and knowledge. All of which can find fruitful use in and around the Common Core debate.
Which brings us to Georgia’s children — the real end-users of our education system. Whatever wisdom, foolishness or anything in between that we visit upon our public schools will impact our children — and our future. For that reason, we believed it worthwhile to ask some Georgia students about Common Core. As the debate swirled around them, what were their thoughts and beliefs — good, bad or indifferent — about the voluntary curriculum standards adopted with much fanfare by the state of Georgia in 2012?
Their opinions are on this page and online at ajc.com and MyAjc.com. Like the adults in this state, their views are far from monolithic.
Their voices should be heard, since these young people will long live with the effects of decisions adults make in their name. That alone should be a sobering thought for policymakers and lawmakers alike.
