The rollout of the Common Core has seemed more like a marketing campaign than an educational plan. A look at the funders, origins, and uses of the new standards shows why the pushback is building.

La introducción de los Estándares Comunes se ha parecido más a una campaña publicitaria que a un plan educativo. Un análisis de los fondos, orígenes y usos de los nuevos estándares demuestra por qué la resistencia en contra de ellos está creciendo.

A critical reading of close reading

The chief architect of the Common Core created a model lesson of a close reading of King's “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” A teacher from Birmingham compares that to King's own critical reading of the “word” and the “world.”

Writing toward justice

President Obama's speech about the Zimmerman acquittal in Trayvon Martin's murder—and Cornel West's response—are rich sources for students learning how to analyze, evaluate, and critique.

Incorporating gender and sexuality into 5th-grade curriculum

Instead of leaving “the puberty talk” to the nurse, an elementary teacher incorporates age-appropriate discussion into her regular classroom routine.

Incorporar el género y la sexualidad en el currículo de 5to Grado

En lugar de dejarle “la charla” sobre la pubertad a la enfermera de la escuela, una maestra de primaria incorpora a las rutinas de la clase discusiones adecuadas para la edad de sus alumnos.

Out of the classroom and into the past

High school students embed themselves in a community's history and people when they study the impact of “development” on historically African American Turkey Creek in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Teaching the other war in Iraq

A high school teacher uses a role-play to explore the economic dimensions of the war in Iraq.