Even though they are not required to follow them, home-schooling parents across the country are quickly becoming the loudest voices in the call to repeal Common Core Standards. These families oppose the standards based on principle and believe in the importance of decentralizing all educational pursuits. The charge is being led by groups like the American Principles Project, Home Schooling Without Common Core and the Home School Legal Defense Association.
Speaking to the Huffington Post, mom of three Megan King said that:
“All parents should be concerned about this. This is our children. To me, it’s not political.”
King herself decided to home school two of her sons because of the Common Core English and math standards in the public school. She went on to co-found Kansans Against Common Core. King believes that, among other things, the Common Core Standards are poorly designed and that they are heavy on memorization and information retention, while shallow on literature requirements (a sentiment most groups opposing Common Core Standards share).
In a more logistical sense, home schooling families could feel the brunt of Common Core requirements if they start to be incorporated in standardized tests, like the ACT and the College Board (the owner of the SAT). Kids who were not required to follow the rigor of the Common Core could be punished for that fact in the form of low test scores that result in college application rejections.
This is yet another example of how incredibly permeating the Common Core debate is for all types of U.S. education — and how it impacts even those who are not required to abide by it.
