Debate Over Common Core's Impact On Literature Curriculum Continues

Education Week (1/30, Gewertz) reports on the controversy surrounding the requirement in the Common Core Standards regarding informational texts, noting that teachers "are finding themselves caught in a swirl of debate about whether the new standards require them to cut back on prized pieces of the literary canon to make room for nonfiction," noting that recent media reports about the issue have sparked concerns about the Common Core overall. "Prominent coverage has been given by mainstream news organizations to a handful of teachers' complaints that they have had to drop cherished works of literature from their curricula." In response, "the Common Core's staunchest advocates have tried to correct the record, arguing that great works of fiction are a bulwark of the standards."