Exploring Excellence in Education! Sept 19, 2013, 6:30pm
BEHIND THE HEADLINES: COMMON CORE, CHARTERS, AND CHOICE
The Levin Jewish Community Center, Durham NC
The second ICON (Issues Confronting Our Nation) Lecture Series was held on Thursday, September 19, 2013, in Durham, North Carolina, and was enthusiastically attended. Excellence in Education was the theme of the lecture with discussion on the Common Core Standards, Charter Schools and School Choice which are controversial subjects throughout our country. The panel of experts who led the discussion were Dr. Terry Stoops of the John Locke Foundation, Robert Luebke, Policy Analyst of Civitas, Darrell Allison, President, of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, Dr. Sandra Stotsky, an authority on Common Core’s English language arts standards, and Representative Larry Pittman, North Carolina State House.
The Panel:
- Darrell Allison, President, Parents for Educational Freedom NC
- Robert Luebke, Policy Analyst, Civitas
- Representative Larry Pittman, NC State House
- Terry Stoops, John Locke Foundation
- Dr. Sandra Stotsky, Guest and Lecturer at Lt. Gov. Dan Forest’s Education Conference
Sandra Stotsky is Professor of Education Reform in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, and holds the21st Century Chair in Teacher Quality. Her research ranges from the quality of teacher licensure tests (e.g., [1] and [2]) to the question of gender bias in the English curriculum (e.g., [3]). She reviews books in education (e.g., [4]) and writes op-eds commenting on current educational fads (e.g., [5]). She is an advocate of standards-based reform and strong academic standards and assessments for students and teachers.
Moderator : Bill Flynn
The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA). These learning goals outline what a student should know and be able to do at the end of each grade.
Charter Schools
char•ter school
noun
plural noun: charter schools
1. (in North America) a publicly funded independent school established by teachers, parents, or community groups under the terms of a charter with a local or national authority.
Websites for further information on our speakers:
Darrell Allison www.pefnc.org
Robert Luebke www.nccivitas.org
Rep. Larry Pittman
Terry Stoops www.johnlocke.org
Recommended Reading:
“What is Common Core?” – Darcy Pattison
“Leading the Common Core State Standards: From Common Sense to Common Practice” – Cheryl A. Dunkle
“The Global Achievement Gap” – Tony Wagner
“Something in Common: The Common Core Standards and the Next Chapter in American Education” – Robert Rothman
“The Dumbest Generation” – Max Bauerline
“Children of the Core” – Kris Nielson
“Someone Must Fail” – David Labaree
“Obama’s Education Takeover” – Lance Izumi
Related articles:
http://dianeravitch.net/2013/02/26/why-i-cannot-support-the-common-core-standards/
http://www.johnlocke.org/acrobat/spotlights/Spotlight435CommonCore
