Common Core

 

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 The NY teachers union, a group composed of more then 600,000 educators has withdrawn support for it and have shown no confidence in this initiative.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

Over Reactions.....

 

 

As soon as I pulled into the school car line I noticed the news van antenna. "In the name of all things holy", I thought.  "what has happened"  !
I got no emergency phone calls... couldn't be that bad.

I ask around and no one seems to know. The ladies are all oblivious... 

Then I got home, and check the new stations web site and there is the story and it will be on the local news tonight:

Last Thursday, a 1st grader brought bullets. The teacher, instead of confiscating them and making it all an issue. Asked the child to put them back in his backpack and take them home.

On Friday, parents learned of the incident...then the over reaction started. All chaos has ensued and parents want the teacher fired, and their kids moved out of her class. School ends in one month... just put the teacher on administrative leave or something until then...

They suspended a 5 year old for making a gun out of Lego's , this was in Hyannis West elementary in Boston area. In Maryland a 6 year old WAS suspended for a "finger gun" and saying bang. An 8th grade student was expelled for wearing an NRA t-shirt. And please let us all not forget the poptart incident.
 This kid actually brought a bullet, he should be expelled for life! I mean come on now!

My point is, yes it was wrong for the student of that age to have a bullet, and it was wrong for the teacher not to confiscate it AND notify parents. Lets leave it at that. Lets stop this irrational fear of guns, that's all over reaction  like this is meant to do.

People have been saying for months, Guns don't shoot themselves! and for Gods sake bullets don't shoot without guns. If you hit a bullet square with a hammer, it'll explode and yeah it is potentially dangerous. But its not being launched through a barrel at 1000s of feet a second. People actually pulling their child out of school because some kid brought a bullet, these people are afraid of their own shadow and an embarrassment.. 

I have since learned that it did not happen to ND or NWs teachers. I love those ladies and would not want them to suffer through this..

-JUGM

My Prayers....

Today my blog goes dark..out of respect for the lives lost in the Connecticut school shooting.

This afternoon, after hearing about the horrific scence at the elementary school in Connecticut. I picked up our children, and immediatly told them I loved them. I was relieved and happy to see them.
My heart goes out to the parents who lost their little ones today. I can't fathom that kind of pain. I pray for them and this horrible loss, it comes at the worst time of year...Holidays will never again be the same for those parents.

This morning, just like we all do they got their children up, gave them breakfast, said an "I love you" and got a smile and kiss back..not realizing it was the last.

What kind of sick F%$# could do this to little children who have not even began to live? Kill yourself, or an adult if you feel you have to, but God Forbid...why take the life of an innocent child who had nothing to do with any of your issues? All they were doing was sitting in their little class room coloring, or having a story time..completely innocent.  It just angers me to tears..

I got our children home and immediatly hugged them, kissed them and said more "I love You"s....
You never  know when what is here one day will be gone the next...don't take anything for granted.

Again, all my thoughts and prayers goes to those parents, and all the family members who lost a child and a loved one today. I Pray God help them make sense of this tragedy, and comfort them...


-JUGM