Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't get it. I thought that the whole point of schools was to be a major influence on education.

That is why it needs to be at the local level where parents can control it.

Exactly. There is recent footage of a man in NH being ARRESTED for going over the 2 minute talk rule at a school board meeting at a library. They did not want him to talk about the book his 9th grade daughter was reading, which was on the list of advanced reading for Common Core. The book was Jody Picoult's "Nineteen Minutes. Want to read the passage he was objecting to? It's detailed here, along with the story and video: http://eagnews.org/new-hampshire-father-opposes-required-reading-of-pornographic-novel-in-9th-grade-english/

If you watch, you can see the policeman seemed hesitant and reluctant. He apparently told the man "He didn't want to do this".

It is INSANE a man can be ARRESTED at a meeting like this. Why does a school board need an officer there? Why are they feeling that parents will revolt against them?

The curriculum (which books are assigned, which materials are used" IS being decided at the local level.

That particular book has been used at that particular school since 2007 BTW. Common Core does not proscribe which books students must read. That is a curricular decision, made by the school district.

Now, to avoid a particular school district selecting a "bad" book, perhaps you would like a national curriculum? So school districts don't risk selecting controversial books, as this school district apparently did? Right now we do not have a national curriculum; Common Core is not a curriculum. But people keep posting examples of schools choosing bad books, and making bad assignments. Maybe schools can't be trusted to make these kinds of curricular decisions?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't like Common core, but this mess about the holocaust denial has nothing to do with it.

When a district states the paper was to meet common core standards, you have an issue. Clearly, the district didn't understand Common Core. Why is that?

I once had a kindergartener take a marker and write FUK and DAM on the bathroom walls. His behavior demonstrated mastery of the following Common Core standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.A
Print many upper- and lowercase letters.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.C
Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.D
Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.

That doesn't mean that the behavior was OK or that the standards are bad. It simply means that it's a teacher's job to teach their students when and how to apply their skills.

A student who can read papers by holocaust deniers and historians, decide which one they agree with, and write an essay explaining their argument while citing specific evidence from that text, is in fact demonstrating mastery of the CCSS. So, in that sense that district is right. This assignment does meet the CCSS. That doesn't make it in any way appropriate. There are, after all, many other topics a student can write about to demonstrate mastery of the same standard, just as there are many other words and surfaces my kindergarten could have used to demonstrate his prowess at spelling and handwriting.

They were given 3 reference books - all supported the hoax theory

And your point is.....?

That's kind of not unbiased research if the research materials were restricted to one side...

I'm the poster above, and I'll say that I didn't read the article in detail. It's quite possible that in addition to involving totally inappropriate content, that other aspects of the assignment were badly done. I think the fact that this assignment was chosen doesn't speak well for the intelligence of the teacher or curriculum developer who wrote it, so it wouldn't surprise me if the didn't balance the number of articles on both sides. It's also possible (although unlikely given the intelligence thing) that the kids had already studied the Holocaust in depth and so had access to additional sources from their research.

Nonetheless the topic and readings were totally inappropriate.

Anonymous wrote:

This is one of the things the Common Core seeks to address. If standards are aligned with what students actually need to know then students who were well taught will be successful on the test and in life. Common Core standards go further than many states' previous standards at describing higher level skills that are actually useful in real life such as argumentative essays rather than "_BCRs", and specifying the contexts in which students should be able to demonstrate skills such as the kind of content (science, history), genre, and text complexity.

That is a huge IF. A bigger IF is the test. And, please tell me, which class would you rather teach under these circumstances? GT or Title I?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm the poster above, and I'll say that I didn't read the article in detail. It's quite possible that in addition to involving totally inappropriate content, that other aspects of the assignment were badly done. I think the fact that this assignment was chosen doesn't speak well for the intelligence of the teacher or curriculum developer who wrote it, so it wouldn't surprise me if the didn't balance the number of articles on both sides. It's also possible (although unlikely given the intelligence thing) that the kids had already studied the Holocaust in depth and so had access to additional sources from their research.

Nonetheless the topic and readings were totally inappropriate.

Here's a link to the actual assignment. I just skimmed it but the materials provided don't seem like they were heavily geared towards "Holocaust was a hoax" and the assignment seems to be well intended, although far too complex for most 8th graders.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/222266515/Rialto-Unified-Holocaust-Essay-Assignment

(As a teacher, I shudder to think that as assignment I wrote, with good intentions, would be plastered all over the internet for viral criticism, but I guess that's the world we live in these days. Seeing people comment on all these assignments makes me feel it would be far safer to never create my own materials and just stick to the safety of published curricula.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't get it. I thought that the whole point of schools was to be a major influence on education.

That is why it needs to be at the local level where parents can control it.

Exactly. There is recent footage of a man in NH being ARRESTED for going over the 2 minute talk rule at a school board meeting at a library. They did not want him to talk about the book his 9th grade daughter was reading, which was on the list of advanced reading for Common Core. The book was Jody Picoult's "Nineteen Minutes. Want to read the passage he was objecting to? It's detailed here, along with the story and video: http://eagnews.org/new-hampshire-father-opposes-required-reading-of-pornographic-novel-in-9th-grade-english/

If you watch, you can see the policeman seemed hesitant and reluctant. He apparently told the man "He didn't want to do this".

It is INSANE a man can be ARRESTED at a meeting like this. Why does a school board need an officer there? Why are they feeling that parents will revolt against them?

If a school board in New Hampshire had a man arrested for talking too long about a book the school system decided to include in the curriculum, then obviously that must be the fault of the Common Core standards (plus also Arne Duncan and Pearson. Follow the money.)

Anonymous wrote:
I'm the poster above, and I'll say that I didn't read the article in detail. It's quite possible that in addition to involving totally inappropriate content, that other aspects of the assignment were badly done. I think the fact that this assignment was chosen doesn't speak well for the intelligence of the teacher or curriculum developer who wrote it, so it wouldn't surprise me if the didn't balance the number of articles on both sides. It's also possible (although unlikely given the intelligence thing) that the kids had already studied the Holocaust in depth and so had access to additional sources from their research.

Nonetheless the topic and readings were totally inappropriate.

Anonymous wrote:

The curriculum (which books are assigned, which materials are used" IS being decided at the local level.

That particular book has been used at that particular school since 2007 BTW. Common Core does not proscribe which books students must read. That is a curricular decision, made by the school district.

Now, to avoid a particular school district selecting a "bad" book, perhaps you would like a national curriculum? So school districts don't risk selecting controversial books, as this school district apparently did? Right now we do not have a national curriculum; Common Core is not a curriculum. But people keep posting examples of schools choosing bad books, and making bad assignments. Maybe schools can't be trusted to make these kinds of curricular decisions?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't get it. I thought that the whole point of schools was to be a major influence on education.

That is why it needs to be at the local level where parents can control it.

Exactly. There is recent footage of a man in NH being ARRESTED for going over the 2 minute talk rule at a school board meeting at a library. They did not want him to talk about the book his 9th grade daughter was reading, which was on the list of advanced reading for Common Core. The book was Jody Picoult's "Nineteen Minutes. Want to read the passage he was objecting to? It's detailed here, along with the story and video: http://eagnews.org/new-hampshire-father-opposes-required-reading-of-pornographic-novel-in-9th-grade-english/

If you watch, you can see the policeman seemed hesitant and reluctant. He apparently told the man "He didn't want to do this".

It is INSANE a man can be ARRESTED at a meeting like this. Why does a school board need an officer there? Why are they feeling that parents will revolt against them?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't get it. I thought that the whole point of schools was to be a major influence on education.

That is why it needs to be at the local level where parents can control it.

Exactly. There is recent footage of a man in NH being ARRESTED for going over the 2 minute talk rule at a school board meeting at a library. They did not want him to talk about the book his 9th grade daughter was reading, which was on the list of advanced reading for Common Core. The book was Jody Picoult's "Nineteen Minutes. Want to read the passage he was objecting to? It's detailed here, along with the story and video: http://eagnews.org/new-hampshire-father-opposes-required-reading-of-pornographic-novel-in-9th-grade-english/

If you watch, you can see the policeman seemed hesitant and reluctant. He apparently told the man "He didn't want to do this".

It is INSANE a man can be ARRESTED at a meeting like this. Why does a school board need an officer there? Why are they feeling that parents will revolt against them?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't like Common core, but this mess about the holocaust denial has nothing to do with it.

When a district states the paper was to meet common core standards, you have an issue. Clearly, the district didn't understand Common Core. Why is that?

I once had a kindergartener take a marker and write FUK and DAM on the bathroom walls. His behavior demonstrated mastery of the following Common Core standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.A
Print many upper- and lowercase letters.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.C
Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.D
Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.

That doesn't mean that the behavior was OK or that the standards are bad. It simply means that it's a teacher's job to teach their students when and how to apply their skills.

A student who can read papers by holocaust deniers and historians, decide which one they agree with, and write an essay explaining their argument while citing specific evidence from that text, is in fact demonstrating mastery of the CCSS. So, in that sense that district is right. This assignment does meet the CCSS. That doesn't make it in any way appropriate. There are, after all, many other topics a student can write about to demonstrate mastery of the same standard, just as there are many other words and surfaces my kindergarten could have used to demonstrate his prowess at spelling and handwriting.

They were given 3 reference books - all supported the hoax theory

And your point is.....?

That's kind of not unbiased research if the research materials were restricted to one side...

Anonymous wrote:I don't believe that there is as much wrong with the Common Core Standards, as there is something very wrong with the way the standards are being implemented, the push for data gathering, and the way the standards are driving the curriculum choices. I often hear the argument that Common Core is not a curriculum, it is a set of standards--however by default the current curriculum choices available to school districts in states who have chosen Common Core, all have to align with the Common Core Standards . Few publishers, whether they offer a solid educational product or not, can meet these very specific criteria. In addition, the states who have not adopted Common Core in name, have virtually adopted it anyhow due to their use of the Common Core aligned books.

With all that said, even though the problem is more with the implementation than the standards themselves, that doesn't mean that the standards are not also fraught with issues and problems. There seems to be a focus on non fiction texts to the detriment of learning classic literature and fictional works. Not only that, but many critics point out the lack of math preparation in the upper grades. It's all fine and well if your child happens to be in a gifted program, or in certain advanced classes, but if in general most kids won't be taking the proper math courses in general education they will be fully unprepared for careers that require upper level math. It really angers me that my child's math work and tests consist of question after question asking him to explain why he got a certain answer. The process of explaining how he knows something becomes meaningless after the first couple of times he demonstrated the concept, and sucks the joy out of mathematics for him. There is something to be gained from showing students different ways to approach a problem, but not making them do it over and over again if they have already mastered the concept. This is just one example of what has gone wrong with the standard driven curricula,and we all have our own biases. Also, in different grades or at different local schools kids might be doing different things. However, I have heard this particular complaint over and over, and I do think it is valid.

Also, common core has rolled in virtually hand in hand with increased standardized testing. While there has been too much emphasis on standardized testing in the past, it has really gotten out of hand. Students should be learning to enjoy the process of learning, to be developing skills over time and learning a new skill once they have mastered a particular content area. We should be more focused on teaching children, and making sure they learn a great deal, than we should on which method of testing we are going to use to measure their success. Districts keep spending money on all the standardized tests....and changing textbooks(virtual texts that is!) when we never needed new textbooks. We really needed less kids in a class and less teaching to the test.

I'll just share that my child, in second grade hasn't learned anything new in math that he didn't learn the year prior, at home. After experiencing one of the top school districts in the nation, I've decided that the problem isn't the particular school, but the brokenness of the entire system currently. Again, my bias. I will be pulling him out (along with some other parents) to start a private learning cooperative/homeschool hybrid in the Fall. Does that mean that his new classroom won't use any books/curricula that might be aligned to the Common Core? No, it certainly doesn't. But my child will actually be able to learn mathematics algorithms,and move on once he has mastered them. He won't be forced to sit and explain why 12 + 5 is 17 over and over again. That is certain and we will be very careful what books we choose, and how we implement them. And my child won't spend months out of the year learning factoids for a standardized test. He'll actually be learning to love learning. He'll be playing outside several times a day (he's 8, for goodness sakes!) going on numerous educational experiences, and receiving a rigorous education to boot. There is something seriously wrong with the public schools nationwide. A lot of the private schools are starting to implement Common Core, too. I highly recommend that everyone do more research on Common Core. Or, just research in general on the state of public education today. This is not a "political" issue as the media would have you think. The parents who are coming together to start a new learning co-op are diverse in political affiliations.

Anonymous wrote:

I don't get it. I thought that the whole point of schools was to be a major influence on education.

That is why it needs to be at the local level where parents can control it.

Anonymous wrote:Publish the standards. Let each system decide if they want to use them or not, and then let the teachers teach! Drop the rest of the requirements.