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Common Ground on Common Core – Review

When I saw there was a book coming out called Common Ground on Common Core, I was intrigued. While the issue certainly has opponents (and supporters) on both ends of the political spectrum, this seemed like a unique take on the topic, so I reached out to one of the people involved in the project, and was connected to Kirsten Lombard.

Post by Learning Tangent Homeschool Magazine.

Kirsten is the editor of Common Ground on Common Core, and founded Resounding Books in February of 2013. We have had many wonderful conversations, and have many of the same ideas about bringing people together; it is wonderful to have a kindred spirit in the publishing world!

Back to the book! It is a series of 17 essays from education experts and advocates from across the political spectrum. People who may not see eye to eye on many things, but they see the danger of Common Core. Sound interesting?

I started reading it between getting details finished for the Fall issue and crowd-funding campaign, I had planned to wait, but I couldn’t! After just a few pages, I realized that this is the book we all need to read, and I hadn’t even gotten to the essays. While reading the editor’s note, I came across this statement from Kirsten …

“In truth, our problems almost all stem from Big Biz and Big Gov working hand in hand.”

This is what I have complained about myself! Big business and big government working hand in hand is a recipe for disaster, and yet they have managed to sell it to us as a positive thing. Common Core is another such beast.

The essays come from a variety of people, from homeschool parents to education professionals and everything in between. They pull no punches, and discuss a wide range of problems with Common Core, the way the states adopted it, the funding it received from major corporations and philanthropic organizations, and problems with the standards themselves. Each one is logically written, without using the inflammatory emotional terminology so often found in political discourse. They are all extensively annotated with source documentation and well-researched.

The subject matter is weighty, but anyone who has researched Common Core will be aware of this. For most of us, researching Common Core was, and is, a mind-numbing, eye-bleeding experience, but the essays contained in Common Ground on Common Core put a good portion of the problems in front of you in a concise manner so it’s a lot easier to digest! This is a must-read book for anyone with questions about Common Core. 

Common Ground on Common Core will be available very soon, all the details are being finished up and editing done. You can find it on the Resounding Books website at www.resoundingbooks.org.

Disclaimer: This book were given to us at no charge in exchange for our honest opinions, we have endeavored to be fully honest and thorough in the review. We are NOT required to give a positive review. There are affiliate links which pay us a small commission on purchases of items when using those links, but they do not affect the cost of the products you purchase. See our full disclosure policy.

5 thoughts on “Common Ground on Common Core – Review

  1. This book is excellence in a world of confusion. Kirsten has unified the best voices from the most diverse backgrounds to declare a unified message. The reader will be amazed to know that not “everybody” supports this experiment called, Common Core.

  2. I’m almost done reading this and I love it. It’s SO good. I’ve been studying the Common Core for almost 2 years now and this book has touched on every single thing, practically, that I have bumped into in my research. Some of it I decided to go beyond the initial “bump” and followed the rabbit trail that there just simply isn’t enough time to go into in the book. But it gives me hope that there are people out there that know this stuff and have gone deeper also.
    I even enjoyed the essays written by folks who I know I don’t agree with politically and have had uncomfortable conversations with.

    1. It really is THAT good, isn’t it? I love how well everything is put together and yes – some of it is very uncomfortable, but isn’t that the natural process of growth?

  3. Common Core is the marriage of the absolute worst aspects of big government and big business. Thanks for reading and reviewing!!!

    Mary Calamia, LCSW,CASAC

    1. It was my pleasure! Each of the essays were terrific, and made the content digestible because they’re bite-sized pieces addressing a particular issue. I hope to see more of your work in other places!

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