I don’t know how I could have been so foolish for so long. It just struck me today that I really should support Common Core national standards. Here are the reasons I’ve changed my mind:
1) I learned from Diane Ravitch and Sol Stern that dramatic reversals in views generate a lot of attention. For some reason my new support for Common Core will have credibility and influence no matter how weak my reasoning for switching is.
2) If I play my cards right, there may be big money to be made with my new support for Common Core. In addition to book royalties and lecture fees, I see a big grant from the Gates Foundation in my future. Evil pays better than good.
3) I won’t get blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Education for opposing their favored policy positions. Yippee! I’ll get a piece of a big evaluation whose findings they can delay or distort.
4) Standards probably don’t matter anyway, so little harm can come from supporting mediocre standards being imposed on all states.
5) Did I say imposed? Darn, I have to get used to saying it’s voluntary.
6) Being bothered by the empty and manipulative language used to support Common Core has driven me to drink. Switching my view on Common Core will give my liver a much needed break.
Jay P. Greene's Blog 
April Fool’s Day to you too, sir! 🙂
There are some who are willing to hold firm to their principles (Jay)
There are some willing to sell them out (Finn)
The sad/funny part of your six points is that they are all true.
So you see, Lonestar: Evil will win because GOOD IS DUMB.
Hey, Jay – who is that shadowy figure hovering behind you in that picture where you all of a sudden love Common Core?
Do you need asylum? We can get your family out, too – but it has to be now.
In all seriousness, is it safe to say you don’t necessarily oppose “national standards,” but you do oppose CommonCore because they are weak?
I oppose national standards, not just these Common Core national standards.
And, you oppose them based on the idea of local control and autonomy? I was just wondering because I am interested in the correlation between Asian and European schools that use a national curriculum and credit it to greater equity in schools and academic success.
This was a terrible AFD joke. AFD is supposed to be about either ridiculousness or self-mockery. This sort of hit piece you could have written any day of the year(and, for that matter, I think you do write on at least 100 of them).
Was it April Fools? Oh, and did you watch the video?
Mr. Greene: The world has got it all wrong. The best way to reform education is to demand FLUENCY in alphabet-letter writing in the early grades. For an MS Word description of our study proving this, email Bob at rovarose@aol.com