Common Core question for proponents

[Anonymous]

Let me guess again . . . you either work for a publisher, are a university professor, or work as a "specialist" in central office (and have for years). You haven't been in a classroom in years.

None of the above. Long term primary teacher who quit to be a SAHM and has volunteered in primary classrooms.

[Anonymous]

I said it was not being taught robustly enough, and that a lot of the traditional phonics emphasis has given way to sight words, which I think is a mistake.

I am a huge proponent of phonics instruction. However, there are some kids who struggle with it no matter how creative and intense the instruction. Do you plan to ignore them? Kind of like music: some people are just tone deaf.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I said it was not being taught robustly enough, and that a lot of the traditional phonics emphasis has given way to sight words, which I think is a mistake.

I am a huge proponent of phonics instruction. However, there are some kids who struggle with it no matter how creative and intense the instruction. Do you plan to ignore them? Kind of like music: some people are just tone deaf.

Unless that student has a bonafide, serious and well documented learning disability, that is simply unacceptable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The people who put out the standards have to be held accountable. No one is above accountability. Account for how the standards were decided on. We need an educationally sound explanation for these CC standards in particular. Where did each one come from if they were pre-existing in certain states? Detail each standard and the rationale behind it and where it came from if it pre-existed. Were they just considered "good" because someone thought so or was there data to justify their soundness. If teachers are to be evaluated on data from these standards, the makers of the standards should be held to some quantifiable accountability as well (or are some people in the process above that while others are not?).

Yes! This!

CC calls for kids to be accountable, teachers to be accountable, schools and districts to be accountable. But the CC creators -- they get a big flipping pass.

Let's see the CC creators lose their jobs, credibility and futures when the CC is huge frickin' failure. But of course, they wrote into the standards that they have no liability for the standards they are shoving down the nations' throat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I said it was not being taught robustly enough, and that a lot of the traditional phonics emphasis has given way to sight words, which I think is a mistake.

I am a huge proponent of phonics instruction. However, there are some kids who struggle with it no matter how creative and intense the instruction. Do you plan to ignore them? Kind of like music: some people are just tone deaf.

Unless that student has a bonafide, serious and well documented learning disability, that is simply unacceptable.

As long as the child learns to read, why does it matter? Or are you saying that it is impossible for a child to learn to read without phonics?

[Anonymous]

Unless that student has a bonafide, serious and well documented learning disability, that is simply unacceptable.

What do you teach that makes you so convinced of this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The people who put out the standards have to be held accountable. No one is above accountability. Account for how the standards were decided on. We need an educationally sound explanation for these CC standards in particular. Where did each one come from if they were pre-existing in certain states? Detail each standard and the rationale behind it and where it came from if it pre-existed. Were they just considered "good" because someone thought so or was there data to justify their soundness. If teachers are to be evaluated on data from these standards, the makers of the standards should be held to some quantifiable accountability as well (or are some people in the process above that while others are not?).

Yes! This!

CC calls for kids to be accountable, teachers to be accountable, schools and districts to be accountable. But the CC creators -- they get a big flipping pass.

Let's see the CC creators lose their jobs, credibility and futures when the CC is huge frickin' failure. But of course, they wrote into the standards that they have no liability for the standards they are shoving down the nations' throat.

They *are* accountable - to the state Governors and State Education Officials. Again, you should educate yourself a bit more on the actual process behind CC as opposed to just repeating these same old debunked anti-CC talking points.

[Anonymous]

They *are* accountable - to the state Governors and State Education Officials. Again, you should educate yourself a bit more on the actual process behind CC as opposed to just repeating these same old debunked anti-CC talking points.

Not the PP, but why should they be accountable to governors and officials and not to the people: the students and the teachers and the parents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I said it was not being taught robustly enough, and that a lot of the traditional phonics emphasis has given way to sight words, which I think is a mistake.

I am a huge proponent of phonics instruction. However, there are some kids who struggle with it no matter how creative and intense the instruction. Do you plan to ignore them? Kind of like music: some people are just tone deaf.

Unless that student has a bonafide, serious and well documented learning disability, that is simply unacceptable.

As long as the child learns to read, why does it matter? Or are you saying that it is impossible for a child to learn to read without phonics?

It's not impossible, but the difference is a person who is really only semiliterate and who may be constrained to a vocabulary of 1000 words throughout their lifetime, a person whose vocabulary will only see very slow and limited growth, a person who probably won't make it to college - as opposed to a person whose vocabulary, knowledge and understanding will continue to grow throughout their life, potentially to tens of thousands of words, and who will have far more opportunities and richer life experiences available to him, not to mention far greater income potential. That's the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

As long as the child learns to read, why does it matter? Or are you saying that it is impossible for a child to learn to read without phonics?

It's not impossible, but the difference is a person who is really only semiliterate and who may be constrained to a vocabulary of 1000 words throughout their lifetime, a person whose vocabulary will only see very slow and limited growth, a person who probably won't make it to college - as opposed to a person whose vocabulary, knowledge and understanding will continue to grow throughout their life, potentially to tens of thousands of words, and who will have far more opportunities and richer life experiences available to him, not to mention far greater income potential. That's the difference.

So you're saying that, unless the child is explicitly taught using phonics, the best that a child can hope for is semi-literacy?

Empirically that can't be true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

They *are* accountable - to the state Governors and State Education Officials. Again, you should educate yourself a bit more on the actual process behind CC as opposed to just repeating these same old debunked anti-CC talking points.

Not the PP, but why should they be accountable to governors and officials and not to the people: the students and the teachers and the parents?

The governors and state education officials are accountable to the people.

[Anonymous]

The governors and state education officials are accountable to the people.

And, the people are speaking. They don't want Common Core.

[Anonymous]

It's not impossible, but the difference is a person who is really only semiliterate and who may be constrained to a vocabulary of 1000 words throughout their lifetime, a person whose vocabulary will only see very slow and limited growth, a person who probably won't make it to college - as opposed to a person whose vocabulary, knowledge and understanding will continue to grow throughout their life, potentially to tens of thousands of words, and who will have far more opportunities and richer life experiences available to him, not to mention far greater income potential. That's the difference.

You do know that some learn phonics backwards, don't you? Also, do you sound out every word you read? Guess what, you, too, read by sight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The governors and state education officials are accountable to the people.

And, the people are speaking. They don't want Common Core.

Well, some of the people are speaking and don't want the Common Core standards. But others of the people are speaking and do want the Common Core standards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The governors and state education officials are accountable to the people.

And, the people are speaking. They don't want Common Core.

Well, some of the people are speaking and don't want the Common Core standards. But others of the people are speaking and do want the Common Core standards.

Fewer and fewer every day. The bottom will drop out in the next 8 weeks when all the bullshit testing starts.