Common core not so bad

I have to say my second grader is surprising me with his math...maybe common core is not so bad?... At first I was upset, but he is grasping math better than I ever expected. Anyone else?

Re: Common core not so bad

My son is in first grade and so far the math has been fine. I do think that the writing/language arts needs a lot of work though. In the elementary school I know that the kids have had a tough time with the old math standards that were taught to the current 3-5th grades. They did not learn the math the way my 1st grade son is learning it and it caused them a lot of trouble.

Common core not so bad

I think a lot of the issue was that they changed to common core and these poor kids in the upper grades were told they needed to learn something different than what they did for the last 4 or so years. Completely crazy. For the young ones, mine included, they won't know any different. The only issue I really have is that I can't help her with her homework lol.

Re: Common core not so bad

Re: Common core not so bad

Re: Common core not so bad

I am a kindergarten teacher. I agree. It's much harder for the older kids. Now, my minders are being taught the "common core" math, but they haven't really learned any other way. (what they are learning is crazy). But fir the older kids, they have been taught a certain way fios years. Now, they have to change their way if thinking. That's tough on them.

Re: Common core not so bad

Depending on what it is - it isn't bad. A lot of people think the complaints are because the work is hard. While that is true to a certain extent, some things are just not developmentally appropriate for children. For example, my friends daughter was given the play The importance of being earnest by Oscar Wilde to read and comprehend - in fourth grade. In the past, this was a 12th grade AP play. There is content in that play that is not appropriate for young children. Also, since this was rolled out so fast, there are a lot of things missing. For example, my son's K math curriculum has no time or money in it. In addition, the push for it was from a private company (Pearson) which has too much political ties. Plus the information that is being leaked.

In addition, most of the problem is the incessant testing that the children have to go through. So, while your child maybe learning the math, there are still many other factors that make the implementation of this ridiculous.

Common core not so bad

In my opinion, they should have introduced common core in kindergarten and watched it grow with those students until it reached the h.s. level. I teach 5th grade and many of them struggle with why they have to do the problems in specific ways (like drawing pictures for every single type of problem when asked). I do understand the idea of going into a topic deeper, which is why we do less topics. Certain topics were moved into different grades, so everything is still covered but in different ways/grades.

Common core not so bad

As a teacher, I'm all for a set of common standards for the nation. But like pp stated, how it was rolled out was terrible. Things are lacking. I teach money in 1st DESPITE it not being required. Some of the math strategies are BS. I have kids who can add and subtract (age 6) two digit numbers in their head. But ask them to add or subtract using 10 frames and they can't. I've always taught them different strategies for addition and subtraction and told them to use whatever strategy worked for them. To be required to use one method pains me. The goal is that they can add or subtract. Whether they use pictures, tally marks, column addition, a number line, their fingers, etc should be up to them. Things are not appropriate in many areas. I see more negatives than positives.

Re: Common core not so bad

Re: Common core not so bad

Ladies CC goes so far beyond the test and circulium . If you have not already done so I strongly urge you to attend a local forum on the subject. Our public school system is being decimated and our districts will be bankrupt if we stay on this path.

Re: Common core not so bad

Re: Common core not so bad

Just like many have stated above, do your research regarding common core. It goes well beyond standards. As someone who taught grades k-5, the standards have been pretty intense since NCLB (no child left behind). Kindergarten curriculum definitely promoted inquiry skills, and a lot of problem solving, but it was rich in appropriate math vocabulary etc. It's always been about 'strategies". As teachers, it was our job to model all types of strategies for learners. Now it's completely one size fits all, and it's horrible. The language they are also using in the GO math is ridiculous. Students who have great mathematical skills but struggle in language processing are having a difficult time in math,...

My daughters are in kindergarten, and some of the directions for the homework from the workbook is confusing to me.

The standards are not the issue, it's how districts are being forced to implement them. But if you understand what common core is really all about, the backers of these standards don't care about raising the bar, just about capitalizing on it.

Attend forums that are not given through the district administrators. District administrators and teachers can't speak truthfully. I have yet to meet one teacher in favor of CC,...same was true with NCLB lol In fact, teacher's opinions are never considered with these agendas.

Diane Ravitch is a great person to follow.

Message edited 3/1/2014 4:32:06 PM.

Common core not so bad

ITA with the above poster. You need to follow the money on this. Do you know that in NY districts now have a choice between only 2 Math pulishers? Take a look at who designed it. What is their experience as educators?

To get an idea what this costing your district ask your super or super of business how much the testing and grading is costing the district. The ballpark estimates are 500,000 for a small district to upward of 1,000,000 for a average district. This is per year.

Ask your district if they use these test scores for placement in gifted, honors or AP programs. Also ask if a student will loose any intervention services if they don't take the test. Ask them what they specifically use these test results for.

Look into the data that Inbloom wants to collect about your child without your permission and without telling you what they have collected or who they are sharing it with.

When you dig just a little it's very eye opening. If you dig just a little you will be outraged -

Message edited 3/1/2014 4:58:16 PM.

Re: Common core not so bad

The reason I hate cc so much is, for example, my 3rd grader is doing fractions. He gets it and can compare them BUT the number lines and fraction strips confuse him (when he has to write them) and the answer is 1/2 wrong if he doesn't show them. Is it not enough that he KNOWS the answer??? That is ONE of the reasons I dislike it so much . Don't even get me started on how much time they spend on each topic...or lack thereof .

Re: Common core not so bad

My daughter is in K. The other night she had a word problem to do that was so confusing. I had to re read it like 3X so for her she can't read and is expected to listen to comprehend. Its ridiculous.

Re: Common core not so bad

My son is doing well but to me that does not mean that this is the best curriculum. I have yet to be convinced that this way of learning math provides the correct foundation for later math classes or for college.

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Message edited 3/4/2014 10:51:21 AM.

Re: Common core not so bad

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Re: Common core not so bad

Message edited 3/4/2014 12:16:15 PM.

Re: Common core not so bad

I had typed a whole response and don't know where it went. It was right before the site went down for 3 days, so I guess it was lost with that. So here goes again; I hope I remember everything.

I agree with the PPs that the outrage over CC goes so far beyond the math, which is bad enough, and doesn't teach the basics of the "core" math facts of addition and subtraction. My 2nd grader is coming home with multiplication and division homework already. Some may think that is fantastic, but she does not even know her single digit addition facts by heart yet. How on earth can they justify giving her multiplication and division at this point???

One of the main objections to CC is that many of the "standards" are just not developmentally appropriate. And if you read the standards, which I have, you'll see that they just don't make sense, especially for the ages in which they are trying to assign many of the standards.

I've seen some of the reading passages that have been assigned. To say they are developmentally inappropriate is putting it nicely. There was one I saw that was for third grade (I think). It was a reading comprehension assignment, and it was an essay about a mother who was leaving her children and her home in a divorce. The children were supposed to determine WHY the mother was leaving her children. It described a boy sitting on his bed questioning where his mother was going, and why he wouldn't be seeing her anymore. Now I understand in this day and age we have to be sensitive to the families of divorce in which the mother leaves and the father stays in the home with the children, but is this something that we need to be putting in print for young children to ponder? Even if it were the father leaving in the story, why do we even need to be putting this thought into the heads of children who may not be prepared for it? I would hope that for the families that this does happen in, there are resources made available to those children to help them deal with this separation; but for those families in which this doesn't happen, we are left to explain it to our children out of the clear blue and try to convince them that this will not happen. Another passage I read was explaining to 10th graders about the morning after pill. NOT appropriate without my consent, and NOT in an English comprehension assignment.

The most infuriating piece for me, is Pearson's "Vision". They are saying, that by following their academic approach, children will be guided into their best suited career paths. But it will be what Pearson determines their career paths to be BY FIFTH GRADE!!!!! So children will no longer be taught everything imaginable while still youngsters, and then be allowed to make career choices as they get "older", even as teens in high school. Their lessons will take place on iPad-type devices which will be loaded in by their "teacher", and the classroom will look more like a boardroom than the colorful classrooms that are currently found in elementary schools now. The lessons will be determined by what their test scores have determined to be the right career paths for them. So if the kid is interested in art, but scores well in math & science, math & science it will be for him. It will basically extinguish his desires in lieu of his strengths. That may sound like a good thing, but what about the kid who is willing to live as a starving artist just because he loves it, or the kid who is okay with getting by as a scientist always dreaming of the "big breakthrough"?

Next, the money. The supporters of CC keep touting the money that was given to the states to "fund" CC. Well, the money was divided up amongst all the districts in the state, and it was NEED BASED. So, districts that aren't considered in need got nothing! That's right, the majority of the districts in LI got zero!! But it is costing each district millions to implement the programs. My superintendent told us that it costs the district approximately $1M PER TEST mandated by the CC. In addition, by either this academic year, or next (and I just don't remember which), the districts are required to have one computer per 2 children. Now on the surface that doesn't sound like a bad thing. But do you know how much money that will cost the districts, especially to have to come up with it on such short notice? And what are they going to do with all these computers? Test and report. That's right, the computers will not only administer exams, but will report data from the exams. Data (in addition to the obvious) such as how long it takes the student to answer each question, how agitated the children get with each question, how frustrated the child is by the question, etc (this data will be collected via cameras installed in the computers as well as wristbands worn during the exams to measure thing like heart rate and blood pressure).

Now for the fun part. The districts will be required to report data to a company called InBloom. Data such as test scores and grades (expected, right). But ALSO things such as any diagnoses your child has, any trouble they've gotten into, their bus stop time and location, and other personal date that I have now forgotten. The BEST part of this is that InBloom states publicly that they can not guarantee the security of information submitted via their website. WHAT??? That's right...it is right there on their website as a disclaimer.

Now, I know a lot of this sounds like a lot of Conspiracy Theory nonsense. But it is all written as clear as day in government documents, which I have downloaded and printed. I am just too tired and lazy to go get them right now to quote some of the thing that I state I don't remember. But I can furnish the information for anybody who wishes to read it for themselves.

This is why there are so many people refusing to let their children take part in the tests, and so many people up in arms over all of this. Research it and read about it for yourself.

My school board actually went public with their statement that they disagree with CC and its principles, and that they unanimously oppose it, but because of the State Education Department are forced to abide by it for the time being.

Re: Common core not so bad

Excellent post Pharmcat2000. Thank you for taking the time to spell it all out. I applaud your district for being so clear and forward thinking on this subject.

As parents we need to continue to raise awareness and stop feeding the machines. By refusing to allow our children to be used as test subjects by subjecting them to hours of worthless testing we can stop the data that runs this worthless harmful program.

Common core not so bad

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Common core not so bad

COMMON CORE IS SOO BAD