Who's telling truth and who's spinning it?

I read with interest Tom Bokowy’s letter, approvingly describing a fifth-grade Revolutionary War debate in which students, thanks to Common Core, don’t just memorize names and dates but examine each other’s sources, interpret facts, and thus engage in critical thinking.

This sounds great! But it begs the immediate question why it hasn’t always been the case. Teachers reportedly tell him that Common Core is to be credited for this great performance. Are we to believe that they were oblivious to that kind of teaching before? That they used to think names and dates were sufficient? That only because of Common Core they know how to teach critical thinking and engage students in meaningful discussions?

Unwittingly, while trying to boost Common Core, a picture of teacher incompetence is painted, only recently improved through the fabulous Common Core.

It’s hard to buy that image of our teachers. It’s even harder to buy a judgment of excellence, rendered just three months after Common Core began.

Even Superintendent Shawn Woodward won’t go that far. A professed supporter of Common Core, he will not be reporting on its results until 2015. And he cautions that we may see poorer performance from our students for at least three years.

Which leaves a skeptical public wondering: who’s telling the truth and who’s spinning here?

ANITA PERRY

Sandpoint