By Casey Milliken
Contributing Writer
As North Carolina becomes another state to start backing away from the Common Core curriculum, several representatives from the military stepped forward to voice their support for the nationwide public education standards.
Common Core, which was adopted in 2010, is not fully implemented in the school system, and some educational leaders are concerned that cutting it now will cause setbacks in the state’s education.
“We’ve spent millions of dollars, and we’re finally getting to a place where we understand Common Core,” said Dr. Julie Duclous-Greenwood, Director of Instructional Services for the New Hanover County Board of Education. “If we cut it now, we would be so far behind.”
Some detractors of Common Core believe the expectations set by the standards to be too rigorous for school children. Other critics believe the standards take away from classroom innovation through the use of generic teaching molds.
“Education doesn’t seem to be too hard for other countries,” said retired Lieutenant General Marvin Covault, U.S. Army. “The state of education in America is a national disaster.”
Covault is an active member of the nonprofit organization called Mission: Readiness, a group dedicated to the state of education for American children.
The organization has been one of the most vocal groups in showing support for Common Core. Representatives from the group held a news conference to make the case for the educational standards, claiming that cutting them would harm future recruits and military students.
“The military needs a potential pool of qualified people to fill ranks,” Covault said. “In North Carolina, 20 percent of high school graduates can’t even pass the Army entrance exam.”
Mission: Readiness released a report showing some of the faults in American education, highlighting how standardized curriculum will help build a stronger military and economy.
“No one is opposed to high standards,” said Don Hayes, Chairman of the New Hanover County Board of Education. “I’m sure the military wants to ensure that possible recruits are meeting these standards.”
Having standardized curriculum across the United States potentially benefits the transient living situations of military families.
“With Common Core, you can judge students from Connecticut, New Mexico, North Carolina, and all over to make sure they are meeting these standards,” Hayes said.
However, for some families, the educational transition does not pan out with such ease.
“Our move in February required us to make the decision to either keep our son in pre-K per North Carolina standards or have him start kindergarten halfway through the year as the youngest in the class,” said Alleigh Bradshaw, Marine Corps wife.
Bradshaw’s family recently left base in North Carolina for Camp Pendleton in California and found that their son’s educational transition was not as smooth as anticipated.
Other military families speak out in favor of Common Core, claiming the standards help transition from school to school.
“I don’t believe Common Core standards should be cut,” said Casie Tucker, mother of a military family based in North Carolina. “My children have had to adjust to different standards from time to time, and it was stressful on them.”
For the Tucker family, the standardized curriculum helps alleviate the stress of moving from school to school by providing stability in instruction in each state.
“Do we want to cater to convenience and stability for a child or customized learning depending on specific needs?” Bradshaw said. “Both are costly and time consuming, but as a nation we will have to make that decision.”
Legislators are currently negotiating whether North Carolina’s academic standards should be reviewed and revised or cut altogether. The House wants to cut it. The Senate and government want to revise it. Both bills would cut the program in 2015 but no action has yet been taken as of press time.
