Anonymous
Post 04/09/2014 16:41     Subject: Why are people so upset about Common Core?
Common Core Guinea Pig? I think expressions like that demonstrate ignorance of history.

Kids have been "guinea pigs" for a whole host of different standards, texts, curricula, teaching methods, et cetera - for decades, long before Common Core. Only difference between then and now is that back then it was even less well thought out or coordinated. That's how kids ended up learning nothing but Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock in middle school every year in History no matter what grade.

And even Common Core is not really all that new. Most of the components in Common Core came from prior standards that have been around for a long time. There's not really that much in it that hasn't already been in use for years in many school districts.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2014 00:12     Subject: Re:Why are people so upset about Common Core?
My child was learning addition, subtraction, telling time & counting money last year as a second grade student in NYS. This year my third grader's math homework started with division problems that also required comprehension to extract all of the facts to answer the questions, then they expect the child to explain the answer, in detail, on a concept they weren't taught! This has been a tough year for my child. I have been told that she hates school & the most heartbreaking part is she feels stupid. I have been working with her on my own to teach her multiplication tables, and this is after an hour of homework. From my perspective, the curriculum bounces around too much and the teachers don't have enough time to focus on one topic before they have to move on to the next. The kids who don't learn as fast are getting steamrolled. The teachers are stressed out & are forced to worry about getting graded and potentially losing their job based on ratings. Most teachers I have spoke with said that all of the fun has been sucked out of teaching. They no longer have time to do the fun activities. Kids need to learn but they also still need to be kids. As a parent, I spend a lot of time on the 'engageny' website educating myself so I can help my child with her homework. It has been a frustrating year for the kids, the parents and the students.

I think they should have had a better implementation strategy, maybe a phased approach would have worked better. Perhaps if they started with the kindergartners and let the kids that were in the other grades continue with the old method this would have had a better outcome. So far, I am not impressed and I am upset that my child is essentially a common core guinea pig.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2014 20:37     Subject: Re:Why are people so upset about Common Core?
Well, WAY back in the day, each school district had its own standards. In fact, when I was growing up (in the 70s) I'm pretty sure there weren't any standards set in my school -- teachers just decided what they wanted to teach, basically )they were given textbooks). Some teachers went faster and covered the whole book, others took side trips because they were interested in Science or really loved poetry. One teacher loved to put on plays so all year long we just did a bunch of plays. The experience from teacher to teacher was very different, depending on who you happened to get.





As long as children are different, teachers will have to teach differently. I taught a long time. Some years you could fly through a lesson. Another year, you might have to teach it many times in many different ways for the kids to "get" it.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2014 20:34     Subject: Re:Why are people so upset about Common Core?
Anonymous wrote:
In addition, the school districts might tell me I have to use a certain junky curriculum, but if I can prove that my methods work better, I should be able to use them -- after all my kids test scores (and my job!) are on the line. I deserve the right to use materials that will work better than whatever junk they provide. (If the argument is the pearson written curriculum is bad)




You mean like teachers did back in the day? I taught primary grades--we always worked together and developed materials. But, now, with standardization it is quite different.


Well, WAY back in the day, each school district had its own standards. In fact, when I was growing up (in the 70s) I'm pretty sure there weren't any standards set in my school -- teachers just decided what they wanted to teach, basically )they were given textbooks). Some teachers went faster and covered the whole book, others took side trips because they were interested in Science or really loved poetry. One teacher loved to put on plays so all year long we just did a bunch of plays. The experience from teacher to teacher was very different, depending on who you happened to get.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2014 18:55     Subject: Re:Why are people so upset about Common Core?
A teacher told me the other day that she did not think the administration would be happy until every grade level teacher was teaching exactly the same thing at exactly the same time.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2014 18:39     Subject: Re:Why are people so upset about Common Core?
In addition, the school districts might tell me I have to use a certain junky curriculum, but if I can prove that my methods work better, I should be able to use them -- after all my kids test scores (and my job!) are on the line. I deserve the right to use materials that will work better than whatever junk they provide. (If the argument is the pearson written curriculum is bad)




You mean like teachers did back in the day? I taught primary grades--we always worked together and developed materials. But, now, with standardization it is quite different.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2014 18:32     Subject: Re:Why are people so upset about Common Core?
In addition, the school districts might tell me I have to use a certain junky curriculum, but if I can prove that my methods work better, I should be able to use them -- after all my kids test scores (and my job!) are on the line. I deserve the right to use materials that will work better than whatever junk they provide. (If the argument is the pearson written curriculum is bad)
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2014 18:31     Subject: Re:Why are people so upset about Common Core?
Anonymous wrote:
If they are upset about corporations getting involved in public education then where have they been for the last 75 years given corporations have driven textbooks and curricula? They have been there all along.



Teachers have been complaining about this for years. The standardized tests developed by publishers will be even more dependent on the texts developed by publishers.


Interestingly, I think something different is going to happen.

Now that the standards are exactly the same in MD, MA, NY, NJ, and many other states, there will be a bigger market for teacher designed workbooks, worksheets, units and so on.

websites like teacherspayteachers will take off.

If I teach in VA and gear my work towards VA SOLs and VA standards, the market is only in VA. But if I gear it towards Common Core - and it is GOOD, and results in kids doing well, I will have a lot more success selling my materials in many more states.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2014 18:20     Subject: Re:Why are people so upset about Common Core?
Oh, that is such bullshit. In this day and age of Wikis and ubiquitous information technology there's absolutely NO REASON why teachers couldn't band together and create collaborative open source textbooks, content and curriculum, put the textbook companies out of business and save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.



That would put the Common Core people out of business.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2014 18:19     Subject: Re:Why are people so upset about Common Core?
Oh, that is such bullshit. In this day and age of Wikis and ubiquitous information technology there's absolutely NO REASON why teachers couldn't band together and create collaborative open source textbooks, content and curriculum, put the textbook companies out of business and save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.



But, then the selection committees and school board members and politicians would not be able to line their pockets.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2014 18:18     Subject: Re:Why are people so upset about Common Core?
You are worried about insulting second-graders on a math test by asking them questions they may consider dumb? That's thoughtful of you.


Believe me, kids know a stupid question when they see it.

Anonymous
Post 04/08/2014 16:59     Subject: Re:Why are people so upset about Common Core?
Anonymous wrote:
If they are upset about corporations getting involved in public education then where have they been for the last 75 years given corporations have driven textbooks and curricula? They have been there all along.



Teachers have been complaining about this for years. The standardized tests developed by publishers will be even more dependent on the texts developed by publishers.


Oh, that is such bullshit. In this day and age of Wikis and ubiquitous information technology there's absolutely NO REASON why teachers couldn't band together and create collaborative open source textbooks, content and curriculum, put the textbook companies out of business and save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.

Anonymous
Post 04/08/2014 14:25     Subject: Re:Why are people so upset about Common Core?
If they are upset about corporations getting involved in public education then where have they been for the last 75 years given corporations have driven textbooks and curricula? They have been there all along.



Teachers have been complaining about this for years. The standardized tests developed by publishers will be even more dependent on the texts developed by publishers.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2014 12:35     Subject: Why are people so upset about Common Core?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don't think that this is an accurate description. The outrage from the left doesn't come specifically from the teachers' unions; it comes from people who oppose corporations getting involved in public education (which includes standardized testing, for-profit charter schools, value-added evaluation systems, and so on), as well as people who believe that there shouldn't be any standards or requirements or homework or testing. And, really, the corporatization of public education preceded the Common Core, and making the Common Core go away won't make the corporatization go away.


If they are upset about corporations getting involved in public education then where have they been for the last 75 years given corporations have driven textbooks and curricula? They have been there all along.

Where have they been all this time when the biggest racket has been in massive expenditures in private sector contracts for school buildings, maintenance contracts, et cetera? I'm not sure I buy this sudden outrage.


I think that's unfair. A lot of this group of opponents has been at this fight since the late 1990s at least. And yes, corporations have always made money on schools, but there hasn't always been so much corporation involvement in school reform, specifically. Somebody's giving Michelle Rhee's organization an awful lot of money. Who?

The lefty opposition is correct that the educational corporations are pushing the Common Core -- and it's reasonable to assume that the educational corporations expect to make money off it, because otherwise why do it? And the Tea Party opposition is correct that the Obama administration is pushing the Common Core. But neither of these facts make the Common Core standards, themselves, bad.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2014 12:27     Subject: Re:Why are people so upset about Common Core?
Anonymous wrote:)Why not addition? Because you're not adding, you're taking away


You don't find that a little insulting? Dumb question.


You are worried about insulting second-graders on a math test by asking them questions they may consider dumb? That's thoughtful of you.