Apparently, Bill Gates thinks that the pro-Common Core movement was derailed by online comments consisting of 140 characters or less — what most people know as tweets.
This, presumably, is why his foundation paid for this recent study (on top of the $2.3 billion he has already invested into Common Core) analyzing the amount of artificial activity on Twitter opposing Common Core. The study claims the activity managed to “skew” the debate.
Tweets destroying Common Core has to be the most creative excuse that I’ve heard regarding the workforce development model’s failure — at least more creative than the original argument of “poor implementation” of Common Core (i.e. the teachers just aren’t smart enough to implement it).
Yes, tweets — tweets! — are what brought down Common Core. $2.3 billion down the drain because of 140 characters. Damn you, Twitter!
The failure of Common Core had nothing to do with concerned parents.
It had nothing to do with standards that flat out didn’t make the grade.
It had nothing to do with the false PR campaign that outright misled (read: lied) about Common Core’s attributes.
It had nothing to do with cutting parents out of the process or the continued centralization of education control.
Nope. It was definitely tweets on Twitter, where parents and teachers go to get their news. Insert one hundred million eyeroll emojis.
Unbelievable.
Photo credit: Red Maxwell via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0
