Have you seen the common core movie?

It asks important questions such as: Are opponents “making the perfect be the enemy of the good?”

The 40-minute documentary by HSLDA presents speakers pro and con, informing with a positive tone in which interviewees with various viewpoints and knowledge bases speak of their respect for each other while holding opposing views.

The video shares sources and provides context for many points which have come forward in the media, and which some may have read on discussion forums.

0. Intro to 5:56
1. Part 1: The Players (5:57 – 12:00)
2. Part 2: The Validation Committee (12:00 – 15:45)
3. Part 3: “Among the best in the world…” (15:45 – 26:10)
4. Part 4: Humans, Not Machines (26:12 – 31:30)
5. Part 5: The Lynchpin (31:33 – 37:00)

Some key points regardless of one's view of common core may be:
- "Is education about the child, or the system?"
- “… the single most important element in a child’s education is parental involvement.”

Some may enjoy or find chilling:

Marc Tucker's “Dear Hilary” 17-page letter about transforming US education by approximating the German system: focusing on workforce development, and creating great databases of student information. (7:58 – 8:16)

Implications for impacts to college/university education (18:39-24:00), including Jason Zimba's testimony: “not for selective colleges” (20:49-21:24)

In past experience, HSLDA's "pro and con" treatments tend to involve straw men-- it's an extremely ideological organization. Not having seen this film (and not planning to), I wouldn't expect it be anything resembling fair.

I do not feel the need to persuade or convince. In raising awareness that a 40-minute documentary exists, with proponents and opponents sharing their views, as part of the national discourse on common core... each person may respectfully follow his/her own inclinations and leanings.

BTW, what do you define as "fair" in this context...?
Factual, truthful...?
Transparent, crediting sources...?
Offering both proponent views and opponent views... ?

Or favorable to your viewpoint...?

Some might say that posting a link also helps propagate a point of view.

As with other topics on the forum, sharing a link may raise awareness of what is available. If others have resources they may wish to share, please feel free to do so.

Thinking along those lines, the U. S. Department of Education's 15-page document, "Race to the Top Program Executive Summary", dated November 2009, and available online at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/executive-summary.pdf, may be of interest. The document mentions that standards are not stand-alone when it states, "... developing a rollout plan for the standards together with all of their supporting components;" (emphasis added). Interested parents may read the document for information on "all of their supporting components".

The U.S. Department of Education's factsheet on "Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems", dated July 2009, and available online at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/slds/factsheet.html, may also be of interest.

While some may see the statements in these documents as positives and others may see them as moving in a direction opposite to the best interests of our students, few may question the credibility of the source.