Why are people so upset about Common Core?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The way I used to like it? It was a mess then, and now it will be worse because the fix it ...wait for it....more government intervention. Aces.

Ask any public educator how much money they need to fix the problem. They won't be able to answer honesty. Because no amount of money they throw at it has fixed it so far, and all they can say is 'we need more"...

So you are complaining about states choosing to have common standards, because they suck; compared to the way things used to be, which you also say, sucked, because it was too damn much government intervention in the public schools.

So you aren't really opposed to Common Core at all -- you are opposed to public schools, because they are sucking the taxpayers dry, and show nothing for it.

So you would support a return to what...? No standards, no taxes, no public schools?

Dame schools perhaps? Send the kids down the street to Widow Clancy, who will teach them their ABCs and 123s for a little egg money?

I am opposed to the way public schools are run. They have gotten so bureaucratic, that efficiency has gone out the window and the kids are the ones that are suffering. I am wholly amused at the constant fallback by you re: standards. You keep talking about the standards and then shrug and say that they are being implemented wrong, as if the two are not related or worse, that it doesn't matter much.

Saying 'well the standards are good' means nothing, when teachers are sending home worksheets with errors, problems that don't make sense, and worse, re-writing history under the guise of meeting an English standard (google search that last one - it's a doozy).

As for the Widow Clancy? Plenty of kids are home-schooled and do just fine. And by the way? I kind of resent having to still pay for the crappy public schools AND pay for my kid's private schools. But I'm sure I won't be getting that money back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The computer, as in the school computer, yes? What happens in middle school when that's not feasible? Same thing that happened in the upper grades of elementary school when it wasn't feasible. It was denied because the computer was not in the classroom.

Any and all writing had to be typed. He simply cannot think and write at the same time without a serious drop in productivity and quality. He was still told he was being lazy. We moved him to private where laptops were standard fare. Guess what. They forgot he even HAD a learning disability.

What was a big deal in the publics was not even a thought in the private. No comparison

My son was in public school. His teachers preferred him to use the computer rather than to decipher his handwriting.

What computer? The classroom's? The school's? You haven't answered my question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Free chapter from a book that discusses and critiques Common Core, debunks the myths, etc:

http://www.glennbeck.com/publish/uploads/2014/04/Conform-Ch-15.pdf

I'm so sorry, I am not going to click on the Glenn Beck website; certainly not to "debunk myths". Please.

Very telling.

I click on Mother Jones articles, even as a conservative. Guess we know where your biases lie and that you don't want to even consider a different point of view.

Please tell me you are not a teacher.

Glenn Beck makes it his life's mission to spread misinformation, with vague comments spreading Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.

I will read legitimate news or commentators; Glenn Beck is not such a source. He has proven himself not worthy of thinking people's time.

Really? Then you don't know Beck of The Blaze.

By the way? He's had boots on the ground since the devastation of the tornadoes in Arkansas, etc were announced. Can you say the same about FEMA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I am opposed to the way public schools are run. They have gotten so bureaucratic, that efficiency has gone out the window and the kids are the ones that are suffering. I am wholly amused at the constant fallback by you re: standards. You keep talking about the standards and then shrug and say that they are being implemented wrong, as if the two are not related or worse, that it doesn't matter much.

Saying 'well the standards are good' means nothing, when teachers are sending home worksheets with errors, problems that don't make sense, and worse, re-writing history under the guise of meeting an English standard (google search that last one - it's a doozy).

Is the standards are fine, but the teachers are sending home crappy worksheets riddled with errors (not happening in my kids' schools... but apparently it is a problem in your kids' schools?) then the solution is NOT to replace the standards, but to replace the workbooks. That's why it is important to note whether the problem is with the standards, or with the workbooks chosen to help teachers teach the standards.

As for the Widow Clancy? Plenty of kids are home-schooled and do just fine. And by the way? I kind of resent having to still pay for the crappy public schools AND pay for my kid's private schools. But I'm sure I won't be getting that money back.

Sadly, I know of plenty who are not doing just fine. And yes, it has become clear that when people oppose Common Core, a large number of opponents really just oppose public funding of education, in general.

[Anonymous]

Reposting to correct the formatting

Anonymous wrote:

]I am opposed to the way public schools are run. They have gotten so bureaucratic, that efficiency has gone out the window and the kids are the ones that are suffering. I am wholly amused at the constant fallback by you re: standards. You keep talking about the standards and then shrug and say that they are being implemented wrong, as if the two are not related or worse, that it doesn't matter much.

Saying 'well the standards are good' means nothing, when teachers are sending home worksheets with errors, problems that don't make sense, and worse, re-writing history under the guise of meeting an English standard (google search that last one - it's a doozy).

If the standards are fine, but the teachers are sending home crappy worksheets riddled with errors (not happening in my kids' schools... but apparently it is a problem in your kids' schools?) then the solution is NOT to replace the standards, but to replace the workbooks. That's why it is important to note whether the problem is with the standards, or with the workbooks chosen to help teachers teach the standards.

As for the Widow Clancy? Plenty of kids are home-schooled and do just fine. And by the way? I kind of resent having to still pay for the crappy public schools AND pay for my kid's private schools. But I'm sure I won't be getting that money back.

Sadly, I know of many who are not doing just fine. And yes, it has become clear that when people oppose Common Core, a large number of opponents really just oppose public funding of education, in general.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Sadly, I know of many who are not doing just fine. And yes, it has become clear that when people oppose Common Core, a large number of opponents really just oppose public funding of education, in general.

"Government schools", instead of "public schools", is the new rhetoric for this. (Glenn Beck uses it.)

Which always makes me wonder whether people talk about driving on government roads, drinking government water, flushing into government sewers, and heeding government tornado warnings. But anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reposting to correct the formatting

Anonymous wrote:

]I am opposed to the way public schools are run. They have gotten so bureaucratic, that efficiency has gone out the window and the kids are the ones that are suffering. I am wholly amused at the constant fallback by you re: standards. You keep talking about the standards and then shrug and say that they are being implemented wrong, as if the two are not related or worse, that it doesn't matter much.

Saying 'well the standards are good' means nothing, when teachers are sending home worksheets with errors, problems that don't make sense, and worse, re-writing history under the guise of meeting an English standard (google search that last one - it's a doozy).

If the standards are fine, but the teachers are sending home crappy worksheets riddled with errors (not happening in my kids' schools... but apparently it is a problem in your kids' schools?) then the solution is NOT to replace the standards, but to replace the workbooks. That's why it is important to note whether the problem is with the standards, or with the workbooks chosen to help teachers teach the standards.

As for the Widow Clancy? Plenty of kids are home-schooled and do just fine. And by the way? I kind of resent having to still pay for the crappy public schools AND pay for my kid's private schools. But I'm sure I won't be getting that money back.

Sadly, I know of many who are not doing just fine. And yes, it has become clear that when people oppose Common Core, a large number of opponents really just oppose public funding of education, in general.


As I said, I pulled my kids to private. It is clearly a problem still in the schools, because people are putting up photos of such. You are (deliberately) missing my point entirely - you say "replace the workbooks." What about the TEACHERS who don't even CHECK THE WORKSHEETS before sending them home. Again, I would have been fired if I did that. How does a teacher send home a worksheet with errors?

I am against funding of public education when it is clear that it has become a waste of taxpayer dollars. People with a solid business head understand the concept of not throwing good money after bad. How much money do YOU feel it will take to fix the problem, because clearly it's not enough. Or is the solution not throwing more money at it, but throwing OUT those who have no clear clue how to manage education at all?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sadly, I know of many who are not doing just fine. And yes, it has become clear that when people oppose Common Core, a large number of opponents really just oppose public funding of education, in general.

"Government schools", instead of "public schools", is the new rhetoric for this. (Glenn Beck uses it.)

Which always makes me wonder whether people talk about driving on government roads, drinking government water, flushing into government sewers, and heeding government tornado warnings. But anyway.

Public schools ARE government schools. There is no rhetoric involved. If government pays for schooling using our tax dollars, they are government schools. It's supposed to be handled on a local level, because that's where tax dollars for such are collected. Then the Feds got involved and, no surprised, things have not improved.

How many of the above government entities are handled efficiently at a LOCAL level? I pay FAIRFAX COUNTY water bills, which is a local level. Ditto sewer. There are other services besides national weather service, are there not? Or is NATIONAL weather the only thing that counts in your mind? How's FEMA doing with that tornado aid to the south, btw? Beck has had boots on the ground and supplies coming in within hours of the damage. He seems more efficient than the government.

Now let's look at those Government roads. Read your Constitution lately? Because that's the ONLY thing you mentioned that actually IN the Constitution and thus SHOULD be funded by Federal dollars.

[Anonymous]

Yes, public schools are government schools. They are also public schools. Both terms are equally accurate. So why, exactly, have certain people started calling them "government schools"?

And (as you say), it's also government water, government sewer, and government roads. Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County Water Authority, Fairfax County Wastewater Management, Fairfax County Department of Transportation. (And I certainly hope you don't believe that there are no federal regulations or federal dollars involved in the latter three.)

[Anonymous]

Sadly, I know of plenty who are not doing just fine. And yes, it has become clear that when people oppose Common Core, a large number of opponents really just oppose public funding of education, in general.

Wrong. I oppose Common Core. I am a product of the public schools--as are my college graduate kids. I also taught in the public school system. This Common Core plan is a mess.

[Anonymous]

What computer? The classroom's? The school's? You haven't answered my question.

His school jumped on computer bandwagon in mid-90's. He was taught keyboarding in second or third grade-at school. He took to it very quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Sadly, I know of plenty who are not doing just fine. And yes, it has become clear that when people oppose Common Core, a large number of opponents really just oppose public funding of education, in general.

Wrong. I oppose Common Core. I am a product of the public schools--as are my college graduate kids. I also taught in the public school system. This Common Core plan is a mess.

PP at 8:40, meet your associate in opposition, PP at 7:37.

[Anonymous]

Money spent does not translate into better results. Kind of like investment. Depends on where you spend it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

As I said, I pulled my kids to private. It is clearly a problem still in the schools, because people are putting up photos of such. You are (deliberately) missing my point entirely - you say "replace the workbooks." What about the TEACHERS who don't even CHECK THE WORKSHEETS before sending them home. Again, I would have been fired if I did that. How does a teacher send home a worksheet with errors?

I am against funding of public education when it is clear that it has become a waste of taxpayer dollars. People with a solid business head understand the concept of not throwing good money after bad. How much money do YOU feel it will take to fix the problem, because clearly it's not enough. Or is the solution not throwing more money at it, but throwing OUT those who have no clear clue how to manage education at all?!

Sorry, you would have been fired if you sent home a worksheet that had an error in it? Errors don't happen at your kids' private schools?

I am really lost with the rest of your paragraph. I sent my kid to private school for 2 years before I realized that his education was no better than it would be in the public school system. My kids have since been in public schools in MD and their education has been fine. I could take pictures of my kids' math homework for you if you would like... it's a pretty normal math series, with perfectly normal workbook questions. A time or two, I suppose there has been a typo or mistake; things happen. For errors I would contact the publisher; if the errors were frequent, I'd contact the public school official in charge of curriculum and instruction to urge them to replace the materials the next funding cycle. If they refused it would be a matter to take to the school board, I suppose.

I feel the public schools have been fine. I don't think people are throwing money at problems; they are spending money to educate kids.

[Anonymous]

Here's a great example of what I am talking about:

My 3rd grader came home yesterday with a worksheet -- she had to take a TIMED MULTIPLICATION TEST. She was given 5 minutes to answer 50 single digit multiplication questions.

Her class has been learning and reviewing their times tables all year long, practicing and practicing to gain fluency with their basic facts. Her teacher says it is because of Common Core.
Prior to Common Core, there were no standards for fluency with multiplication facts in the state of MD. Now, there are.

I could take a picture of her timed test (she got 100% correct!) and post it on Facebook as an example of Common Core Math. Do you think it would go viral?