
Arguing from ignorance
Argumentation — make a claim and support it with evidence and reasoning — is at the core of Common Core English. Kate Ehrenfeld Gardoqui used to think teaching students to argue was empowering. But it’s backfired, she argues in Education Week. She sees “too many students . . . learning that the first step to crafting an argument is finding evidence to support a pre-formed opinion.” The internet makes it easy. By teaching students “to focus on finding evidence to support claim