The Internet Misinformation Virus

photo credit: TedRheingold via photopin cc

This headline made me laugh.  But is also gave me pause.  Because it is easy enough to see the fear virus in education.

 It's easily transmitted through the Internet of Misinformation.

I have spent this summer looking at a topic that is a vocal view of very conservative people.  It is based in a belief that the Common Core is a Social Evil and you are the unintentional victim of mind control. Don't believe it? Check these articles designed to quash the Common Core.  Why? Because it is, in their eyes, an affront to their freedom, federal control of education, buying education by the Gates Foundation, an attack on their religion, spreading Marxism, and data mining akin to the mark of the beast. They are passionate about what they believe, which is one of the reasons they fought hard for homeschooling in Iowa in the last year.

I believe in freedom of speech, and I have had some lively discussions, but I don't agree.

That is why I appreciated seeing Conservatives for the Common Core  (@CFHStandards) come out with a website to in support of the initiative, using the names of @TerryBranstad and Mike Huckabee as supporters.  If nothing else, take a look at the Myth vs. Fact section.

Because all of us will encounter this at some point.  And if we believe in our curriculum, and Iowa Education, we should be educated enough to be able to answer.