Making Room for History, Science, Art in the Common-Core Era

Several education experts recently made the case for the importance of ensuring topics such as history, science, and the arts get adequate classroom time and attention as states and districts begin to implement the Common Core State Standards.

The issue was the focus of a March 15 event hosted by the Washington-based research and advocacy group Common Core, which has just announced plans to create a set of curriculum maps in history and geography pegged to the common standards. Although the common standards primarily cover mathematics and English/language arts, they also address literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects.

"There is no such thing as doing the nuts and bolts of reading in kindergarten through 5th grade without coherently developing knowledge in science and history and the arts. Period. It is false. It is a fiction," said David Coleman, a lead writer of the English/language arts standards, according to a blog post published by Common Core....