I am proud when my children appropriately challenge authority. Most often, this may be a quiet aside with the teacher rather than holding the rest of the class hostage but sometimes it is necessary for the rest of the class to be involved. I remind them that their absolute rights end where others' rights begin so they need to exercise good judgment. This is not purely altruistic as it is part of developing necessary social skills and to avoid becoming pariahs. Like Bostonian pointed out, chaos serve no one. It's also a balancing act since no one child's right to constant questioning trumps all the other children's rights to classroom instruction and practice.
As for Common Core (at least the standards themselves), I am a conformist not because I am a sheep but because I believe that it is good particularly for the poor performing states to be held to a higher standard. Of course, the implementation of Common Core in some states/districts has been problematic and there is the additional political issue of the federal government using funding to "coerce" states to comply.
Ultimately though, it simply boggles the mind the vast difference between the education in a high performing state versus a poor performing one. I feel so sorry for all the kids that are getting such substandard education due to where they live because it is hard to catch up in college, particularly if they end up attending a competitive university.
