Reply to Common Core's epic fail: Special Education

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]"Writing opinion papers" in kindergarten?   "Writing expository text!!!"

Holy shit!   That sounds super scary and outrageous!  In KINDERGARTEN?!?!?!

Wait a minute....

The standards actually say....

[quote][b]Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing[/b] to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.

[b]Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing [/b]to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic or book (e.g., My favorite book is…).[/quote]

etc.

So when I teach my Kindergarten ESOL students, we read a book about a snowman.   Then I have them "write" in  their journal about the snowman.   I have them draw a picture of their snowman and add some details, like  a hat and a scarf.  This is drawing, it is fun and enjoyable for them.

Then underneath, they "write" their "expository text"!!   Maybe they tell me about their snowman, and I write it for them.  (dictation).   Maybe I write the word "snowman" on the board and they copy it underneath.   Some kids already can sound out words, so they might write "snm" for "snowman".   Some are more advanced and write "I lik mi sno man"   Kids in the grade level classroom (not ESOL) can often write : My snowman has a red hat" or whatever -- my kids aren't that far along yet.

All of these responses are part of the "expository text" we are looking for by the end of K year -- this idea that you can tell other people some information about something in your own head.
[b]
NOT SCARY AT ALL IT TURNS OUT!!![/b]

[/quote]

Note that this is a thread about Special Education and Common Core. Many, many kids with disabilities cannot do this.  So they are "failures" starting in Kindergarten. [/quote]

I would not label a child with disabilities a failure in Kindergarten if they were unable to draw a picture of a snowman by the end of the year (or something) and then in some way, through dictation, or copying text, or more drawings be able to tell information about that snowman (or picture).

However, if a child with disabilities was unable to do that, yes, it would be true that the child had failed to meet grade level standards by the end of the year.   That is not making a value judgment about that child, but stating that there are expectations for Kindergarten, and that the child had not met them.

Please note that the vast majority (some say as many as 80%)  of learning disabled children ARE able to meet many of not most of these standards by the end of kindergarten, with specialized instruction and extra help perhaps needed to get there.
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