Twitter Rally Seeks to #StopCommonCore

By Napp Nazworth, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, May 02, 2013

Opponents of the Common Core State Standards Initiative will be using social media Thursday night to bring attention to their cause. For this second #StopCommonCore Twitter rally, they hope to surpass the 2,493,308 Twitter users who attended the first rally.

The rally is hosted by Parent Led Reform, a school choice advocacy group whose Twitter handle is @parentledreform.

"We are thrilled about the amazing turnout to share awareness of the concerns of Common Core Standards," Karin Piper, spokesperson for Parent Led Reform, told Truth in American Education. "Parent Led Reform opposes a lock-step approach to education that takes the focus away from the student and decisions away from the parent and so pleased to work in collaboration with organizations, parents, educators and citizens across the country to share these concerns."

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The rally will feature six panelists: Shane Vander Hart, editor-in-chief of Caffeinated Thoughts; Ben DeGrow, a public policy analyst for the Independence Institute; James V. Shuls, education policy analyst for the Show-Me Institute; Joy Pullman, editor of Heartland Institute's School Reform News; Will Estrada, director of federal relations for the Home School Legal Defense Association; and Emmett McGroarty, executive director of the Innocence Initiative at the American Principles Project.

"The last Twitter rally was amazing and we were thankful to be able to elevate the Common Core State Standards issue using this social media platform," Vander Hart said. "It is important for parents and citizens to become informed about this under-the-radar revolution in education policy so they can make their voices heard with school boards, state legislatures and Congress."

The Common Core is a set of K-12 education standards. Most states agreed to implement the standards as part of the competition for Race to the Top education funds. Proponents claim the standards will increase educational achievement and provide consistency across the states. Opponents charge the standards will make education outcomes worse, and they were implemented through dubious channels rather than through democratic processes.

The rally will take place from 9 to 11 p.m. To participate you can use this link or follow #StopCommonCore on Twitter.