Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates "Embrace The Common Core" At Kaufman Center, September 9th

When Louis C.K. lashed out on Twitter against the Common Core curriculum earlier this year, calling it "a massive stressball that hangs over the whole school," it was merely the tip of the iceberg: by some counts, in New York alone, over 40,000 students elected to skip the tests, and protests against Common Core policies have swept the country from Portland to Newark. Installed as a means to address concerns that American students were falling behind their foreign counterparts and graduating high school without the necessary skills for college and the workforce, the Common Core State Standards for English and math have been the source of much discussion, with educators, policy makers, and parents lining up on both sides.

On September 9, Award-winning debate series Intelligence Squared U.S. (IQ2US) will host the first debate of its fall season at New York’s Kaufman Center on the motion “Embrace The Common Core.” Four authorities will debate whether the Common Core raises the bar so American students can catch up to their global competition or whether the federal government has overreached and saddled our schools with standards that have been flawed from the start.

Arguing for the motion:
• Carmel Martin, Exec. VP, Center for American Progress and Fmr. Assistant Secretary of Education. 
Before joining American Progress, she was the assistant secretary for planning, evaluation, and policy development at the Department of Education and served as a senior advisor to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
• Michael Petrilli, President, Fordham Institute & Co-Editor, Knowledge at the Core. 
He is also a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and executive editor of Education Next. Petrilli has published opinion pieces in the New York Times, Washington Post, Bloomberg View, and Wall Street Journal.

Arguing against the motion:
• Carol Burris, Principal, South Side High School & Blogger, Washington Post’s “Answersheet.” 
Burris was named the 2013 NASSP New York High School Principal of the Year and the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the New York State School Administrators Association. She is an outspoken opponent of many of the Race to the Top reforms, including the Common Core. 
• Frederick Hess, Resident Scholar and Director of Educational Policy Studies, AEI. 
An educator, political scientist and author, Hess studies K-12 and higher education issues. He has edited widely cited volumes on the Common Core, the role of for-profits in education, education philanthropy, school costs and productivity, the impact of education research, and No Child Left Behind. 

Before the debate, audience members will vote on the motion; afterward, the audience votes again. The team that moves the most voters to its side will be the winning team in the debate. People can also weigh in online here: http://shorefi.re/1sYRZcn

The debate will also stream live online, then air soon after as part of the NPR show "Intelligence Squared U.S." On September 9, online viewers can tune in here: http://shorefi.re/1uslyGn

WHAT: Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates “Embrace the Common Core”
WHEN: Tuesday, September 9th, 2014 / Reception 5:45-6:30 / Debate 6:45-8:30 PM
WHERE: Kaufman Center/129 W. 67th Street (bet. Broadway and Amsterdam)/New York, NY 10023
TICKETS: $40 ($12 for students w/ ID). To purchase, visit http://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/

ABOUT INTELLIGENCE SQUARED U.S. DEBATES (IQ2US)
Founded in New York City in 2006 by Robert Rosenkranz, IQ2US reaches millions through podcasts, national NPR broadcasts, international webcasts and other digital media. The series has won a 2014 Clarion Award for Radio Regular Feature Program and the 2014 New York Festivals International Radio Bronze Award for Best Public Affairs. The debates have attracted some of the world's top thinkers, including Steven Forbes, Dr. Neal Barnard, Paul Krugman, Karl Rove, Malcolm Gladwell, and Arianna Huffington. With close to 100 debates, Intelligence Squared U.S. has encouraged the public to “think twice” on a wide range of provocative topics. Author and ABC News correspondent John Donvan has moderated IQ2US since 2008. The executive producer is Dana Wolfe.