Common Core, bullying spur homeschool growth in Tahlequah

Homeschooling is growing in the Tahlequah area, Cathy Spaulding reports in the Muskogee Phoenix. She quotes Tavia Fuller Armstrong of the Tahlequah homeschool group as saying her organization's membership has tripled in the last six months.

“A lot has to do with the Common Core,” Armstrong said, referring to a controversial curriculum that supporters say promotes rigor and higher-level thinking skills. Critics, however, have said Common Core Curriculum encourages cross-cultural relativism and sloppy conceptual thinking.

The Oklahoma Legislature repealed the state’s Common Core math and English curricula in 2014, mandating that new standards be prepared. 

Armstrong said people continue to be concerned about Common Core influence, even with its repeal. “The textbooks have already changed,” Armstrong said. 

Parents also are concerned about bullying in schools, she said.

Armstrong said School Choice Week is not about opposing public education. “We encourage parents to have the best options to pick for their children — public school, virtual school, private school, or home school,” she said.