Randy Bish Common Core Cartoon Analysis

“Education is primarily a State and local responsibility in the United States.” ~ (U.S department of Education.) Common Core is a federal education system in the Untied States. It tries to better the education system by treating all students the same, however this cookie cutter de-individualizes students in attempt to create mindless clones as a result of the education system. Why is it a system, which is supposed to be run by the state, is now run by the federal government? Randy Bish the cartoonist has this to say about his cartoon: “Common Core makes the students turn out the exact same.”(Bish as quoted in Cashiola) Bish uses the familiar shape of a cookie cutter to get his message across.

The cartoon itself is only one frame, which shows

As written in the tenth amendment, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people” The mission for the department of education has always been “ to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access”(“Federal Role in Education”). This means while each school strives to not only create a competitive education environmental but also to separate the individual students needs from the whole as an individual not a group. Common Core started with a single state in 2009 however the organization can trace its origins started back to 2007. (Common core standards.org.) According to “Common Core Standards” “ Common core is not a curriculum. It is a set of shared goals and expectations for what knowledge and skills will help our students succeed. In contrast teachers feel, “U.S. public school teachers if they are experiencing each of seven possible emotional reactions to the new curriculum standards initiative” Based on a new poll, 65% said they are worried and 62% frustrated. Nearly half agreed they feel hopeful, but relatively few said they feel confident (27%) or enthusiastic (20%).” According to the article (“Teachers Feel

Because there is only one frame and one central picture the words are able to compliment the picture. If this picture was seen without the captions in the context of education, many people could come to the conclusion of what the cookie and cookie cutter are representing: Common Core. The image itself is realistic as it is of a real thing. As far as looking cartoon it is a mixed balance between cartoon and realism. There is just enough realism for it to be believable while it is still easy to look at. While the cartoon may have the context of having a lighter tone the federal government’s role in education is a serious topic. Cookies are normally associated with happy thoughts, but not in context of education. Even if there are no characters and only one frame in Bish’s Cookie cutter Cartoon it still tells a story. Bish uses symbolism as well to convey his story, which is very elementary. The cookie cutter, which is Common Core cuts into the dough, which are the students. Students especially at a young age are more malleable than students who were thrust into Common Core later in their educational career and are in college today. Students who are beginning school with common core will have very different experiences than