If you do not have a school aged child then perhaps you have not heard of it. Basically Common Core is a new government education initiative to be rolled out in 45 states starting this year. More then half are all ready teaching the standards with Alabama leading the way.
What it was created to do was bring diverse curricula to all school aged children. When the stimulus was hatched in 2008-09, the school districts were offered stimulus money to help them through the recession. If they took the money they had to commit to teaching CC. Now if a district does not teach CC, they will not be eligible for federal educational funding.
What is the worse part about CC ? Is that it is even being forced on home schooled kids..If home schooled students are not taught CC and cannot pass CC testing, they will not graduate.
As our oldest progresses through the 3rd grade, Senior and I are starting to see signs of CC. He never brings home a book, only work sheets. He is currently working on 100 math problems to solve in 5 min. The class can not progress to the next level until every one has passed the current level they are on. So for instance: Student A who flies through the questions and passes, he can not advance until every one else as passed as well, thus holding Student A back.
So now, because not every one has passed in our sons class, they are actually falling behind. Currently they should be doing multiplication problems, but the entire class is still stuck on subtraction.
Michelle Malkin had a typical 3rd grade CC math problem posted on twitchy today, and please note that there are no shaded areas :
The good news about CC is that support is sinking. The NY teachers union, a group composed of more then 600,000 educators has withdrawn support for it and have shown no confidence in this initiative.
Texas, Minnesota, Alaska, Virginia, Nebraska are charging forward and telling the federal government to stay out of the their classrooms, Four opted completly out, and MN opted out of the english portion. South Carolina's governor; Nicki Haley is supporting state legislative action to block it as well. Florida has adopted the legislative but is opting out of the testing phases.
resources:
http://twitchy.com/2014/01/27/good-luck-solving-this-3rd-grade-common-core-math-problem/
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-04-28/common-core-education/54583192/1
http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/11/unlike_alabama_these_five_stat.html
One more set of low information training... Don't get me started!!!
ReplyDeleteGovernment Intrusion at its finest... Every day when our kids come in from school, I feel as though Senior and I have to de-program them.
DeleteOn the other side of the coin, teachers are opposed to tests which they can't pass themselves.
ReplyDeleteagreed.....
DeleteIt really gets my goat when these so called "educators" always mess around with the tried and true ways of teaching. Remember the sight reading debacle? I had to teach my kids to sound out the words with phonics and then they "got it". Or how about the "new math" a few years back. If teachers were more interested in the kids they were supposed to teach and not in their union benefits and striking, we might get somewhere. Grrrrrrrrrrr
ReplyDeleteWhile doing my research today, i did read what a debacle New Math was. And I remember the phonics / sight reading thing. When our youngest went through speech therapy, that is what they stressed.
Deletethis is another thing that I hope will fail. If NY teachers oppose it, then it must be bad
Designed to bring everyone down to the same level and then teach them only Multi-Cult propaganda after they get there.
ReplyDeleteit is the systimatic dumbing down of our children, start them young so when they are adults, they will all ready be indoctrinated.
DeleteSchool has changed since we all graduated.
ReplyDeleteits not really "school' any more...its like "screwll"
DeleteHell, Rob, look at the country, much less the schools. What a shame. Sorry, Pretty Girl.
ReplyDeletePublic schools program children to pass a test which in turns generates money for the school. On test they are give the answers they are programed to give without any thought if it could be wrong. Unless you are good parents such as you and Senior and deprograming , children are growing up without the hope of being an intelligent adult. They are taught young that the government is the answer to everything and grow up believing this.. God help our children!
ReplyDeleteThat was the price the schools paid for getting funds from the stimulus. Today NW ( the 3rd grader) brought home this childrens newspaper that he had to read and answer questions on for homework..it was about being a reporter, and how these child reporters got to meet the President and how wonderful he was. And how actors like Morgan Freeman are a Godsend. sickening stuff !
DeleteWhile I did not like him having to read that garbage, I also helped him with it, and told him that we may not agree with what was being said through out the little paper, but it was still homework, and we have to do it for the grade.
My kid's education begins at home, not school. We do fun stuff with an educational angle. If they wanna know why the sky is blue, we investigate. Always feed a curious mind!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd those are also the things that Senior and I try to do. I encourage questions...because if they don't ask, how will they ever know anything. I try to make learning fun for them, and help them figure out how things work..
DeleteJUGM,
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy all of my kids are out of school, the last graduated in 2012. When our son was in school, he was required to take state testing (like all kids in Oklahoma) in certain subjects. The teachers spend most of their time teaching each child how to pass these tests. They don't spend their truly teaching. You had to pass 5 out of the 7 tests taken in order to graduate. Schools don't like having parents totally involved. Therefore, I was always visiting the school to see what was going on, getting totally involved with my son's education. I even sat in classes periodically.
I so feel for you and Senior being that you have younger children. It's good you both are totally involved with your children's education.
School is getting to be a real jungle, every day I drop my two off I say a prayer..I worry about them so dang much. Private School is an option, but with two kids it is just so expensive.
DeleteThere is also this new thing in FL about the yearly testing..at the end of the day what they would like kids to do is sit for 8 hours a day and constantly test..just so nuts.
What would you advise for me to do? I have a five year old boy (October birthday) who hides to master skills (i.e., will not permit me, his father, or any of his grandparents) to teach him, and it seems that our local parochial schools are heading toward Common Core, too. I am flat lost.
ReplyDeleteHH I wish I had the answers...But i don't. I am in the same boat as you with a 7 and 8 year old. It is a sad day for America, when even the private schools and home schooled kids are not safe any more...
DeleteAll I and Senior can do and you and your husband for that matter is to stay involved in anything and ever thing your son does. When my two come home from school..I sit with them while they do homework, and help them through it.
I might not always agree with what they are doing, and I try my best to reinforce my conservative values. Politicians are not making a parents job easy any more. And it scares the heck out of me.
Your five year old child will not 'permit"..... Really? That does not compute with me at all. I must be too old school. Try taking some privilege away or maybe talk to his teachers. Put your foot down while you still can.
ReplyDeleteI never saw him learn to crawl, pull up and cruise, or take his first step. He went and hid until he was satisfied that he had the skill down. He pretends he doesn't understand until he has a chance to sneak off and figure it out. I've found him trying very hard to teach himself how to read, and getting frustrated with no progress; however, he still isn't willing to learn from me. Or from his dad, or his grandparents.
DeleteGurlie - i really feel for the frustrating situation you and Senior find yourself in! i don`t know much about this common core stuff but from what i know, it sounds like they are trying to bring all children down to the lowest common denominator. which completely makes sense if you are trying to propagandize an entire society. you and Senior just keep doing what you are doing...helping the boys to think critically and to question. all my best to you and all of yours! your friend, kymber xox
ReplyDelete