First of all, the common core does not come from the federal government. It comes from the governors of each state. They got together and created this. So if you're going to be mad at someone for adopting it in your state, it's the governor,r not the president, you should direct your anger.
Second of all, we've always had a core!! I don't think people realize this. The state has always had a set of standards they would like teachers to cover throughout the course of the school year. In the past, it has been up to each individual state to decide what those standards are. The only thing different with the common core is the word "common". This means that Utah and other states who've adopted it, now cover the same the set of standards for each grade. Why is this important? We live in a mobile society. I have students moving in and out from different states all the time. It's nice when a new student moves in that they are able to see that what they've been learning in their old town is similar and familiar. We also want students to be college and career ready--having a set of standards across the board helps students be college and career ready no matter which institution they choose after completing high school.
Having a common core does not take away teacher creativity or make teachers mindless robots who spoon-feed our students the same information. For example, in the common core it says students will: "demonstrate understanding of figurative language...interpret figures of speech"(language standard 6.5 in the core) In my classroom, this means we are reading a book called Love That Dog by Sharon Creech (a book written in poems) and discussing poetic elements and finding examples to fill out on our graphic organizers. Students are also keeping their own poetry journals (like Jack does in the story) and we are practicing writing different kinds of poems using figurative language.
In the back of the core there is a list of "suggested readings" to use in each grade level. This caused some people some concern. Do you have to use these readings? No. They are "suggested" and if your school chooses not to use those readings then they should be comparable to the suggested readings in relation to text complexity (basically, choose books that are appropriate, yet challenging for your students). Choosing books for students to read is always an issue. Parents have been getting upset about novels read in schools since the beginning of time. A common core didn't start that debate.
Some people feel the common core is not rigorous enough. To that, I would suggest getting on the common core website and reading the core standards in each subject for your child's grade level. I feel that they are incredibly challenging. I am pushing my students more now than I ever did with the old state core. Do you know the difference between a reflexive and intensive pronoun or how to use and punctuate an appositive correctly? My 6th graders do.
Some people feel that the common core is taking away student's creativity. Again, I disagree. It's true that at the middle school level and beyond that the focus starts to shift from narrative (stories) to more expository (informational). Students come to us at the middle able to write a story at the drop of the hat. And that's great. We spend an entire trimester (12 weeks) letting students practice that. Then during second trimester we introduce essay writing and the proper format of that type of writing. Isn't that important too? Unless your child majors in creative writing, they will need to know how to write a report in college and in their job. Even jobs that don't require a degree will still require them to write a report of some kind. Third trimester we focus on argumentative writing. We teach students how to do conduct research using reliable websites and books and how to use their research to back up their opinions (instead of just saying ...because it's the best or ...because I like it.) All three kinds of writing are important and being able to read all three kinds of writing is important too. Students should be well rounded. I don't know about other districts, but at our high school some of the electives offered include classes that focus just on creative writing or reading science fiction or reading memoirs. Students are also welcome to work on their interests outside of school. Nothing says they can't write stories at home. As parents, I hope we don't just leave it to the school to provide creative outlets.
Now the SAGE test. Another tool that is greatly misunderstood. Again, Utah has always had an end of the year test. In the 8 years that I've been teaching, this is the 3rd change in end of level tests I've seen. The other two changes were fine with no complaints. But this new test has gotten people all hot and bothered.
The old testing system (NWEA) was multiple choice test. The SAGE test has part of it that is multiple choice, but other parts that are not. For example, instead of asking students to read a passage and then select the main idea from options A,B,C,D. It will ask students to read a passage and then use their cursor to highlight the main idea. As a teacher, I love this. With multiple choice, a student can have no idea and still get the answer right. It's still possible to guess and get the answer right using the new system, but the chances are slimmer. Why are people freaking out about this? Yes, the questions are linked to the common core. But if your student has been taught the common core all year long, doesn't it make sense that they are tested on it at the end? There is also a writing section to the test which is new. Students are required to write 2 different essays on a different topics. Apparently people against the common core have found so-called "political agendas" in the writing prompts. I think you can read political agendas into almost anything.
Also, the SAGE test is not a federally mandated or created test. The SAGE test was created specifically for Utah by the Utah State Office of Education. Most other states are using a test called "SmarterBalance" for their end of year testing. Utah opted out of this and decided to create its own test. There are rumors going around the during the SAGE test, random personal questions questions pop up and students have to answer them before they can move on to the next section. These are RUMORS! Totally untrue. Do you think Utah, one of the most conservative states in the US, would create a test like that? The Sage test questions were also reviewed and approved by a panel of Utah educators and Utah parents.
Also, the SAGE test is not a federally mandated or created test. The SAGE test was created specifically for Utah by the Utah State Office of Education. Most other states are using a test called "SmarterBalance" for their end of year testing. Utah opted out of this and decided to create its own test. There are rumors going around the during the SAGE test, random personal questions questions pop up and students have to answer them before they can move on to the next section. These are RUMORS! Totally untrue. Do you think Utah, one of the most conservative states in the US, would create a test like that? The Sage test questions were also reviewed and approved by a panel of Utah educators and Utah parents.
In short, I feel like opponents of the common core are basing their information on fear. Fear that government is doing this big brother/1984 type thing and is watching our every move through our children and tracking our political views through testing and I just don't see that. If there's a question on the SAGE that says, "How many guns does your family own" then I'll start to get nervous. Until then, it's just a test and the common core is trying to help our students be college and career ready.
For more information on the common core go to: corestandards.org
For information on the Sage test and to see sample test questions in each subject area: sageportal.org
**Update April 28, 2014: Thank you for being concerned about your child's education. Also, thank you for realizing that I wrote this mostly to get my own feelings/frustrations out. Yes, the information is simplified bc I was not intending to write a scholarly article for the few readers (friends/family) who check my blog.I definitely don't claim to be an expert on the CC or Sage nor will I claim that it is perfect. And as someone pointed out, I know I am a teacher and this post is riddled with spelling/ grammar errors. I am a teacher, but also a wife and a mother--I write quickly when I get a few minutes. I also want to add that although many of you feel like I am just reiterating old points, where I live, these are some of the most common questions I get from friends and parents. Good for you if you know all this already, but many people still don't and have found this information helpful. If this information is not helpful to you, feel free to disregard it and continue with your day.
***Update 2016: Florida was ranked #1 on the Nation's Report Card with a score of a B+, based on how their students performed on end of year testing. Interestingly enough--Florida bought the SAGE questions/program from Utah to use as their own end of level test. Utah was #17 in the nation with a score of a C+ and this score has improved over the last few years since adopting the common core.
For more information on the common core go to: corestandards.org
For information on the Sage test and to see sample test questions in each subject area: sageportal.org
**Update April 28, 2014: Thank you for being concerned about your child's education. Also, thank you for realizing that I wrote this mostly to get my own feelings/frustrations out. Yes, the information is simplified bc I was not intending to write a scholarly article for the few readers (friends/family) who check my blog.I definitely don't claim to be an expert on the CC or Sage nor will I claim that it is perfect. And as someone pointed out, I know I am a teacher and this post is riddled with spelling/ grammar errors. I am a teacher, but also a wife and a mother--I write quickly when I get a few minutes. I also want to add that although many of you feel like I am just reiterating old points, where I live, these are some of the most common questions I get from friends and parents. Good for you if you know all this already, but many people still don't and have found this information helpful. If this information is not helpful to you, feel free to disregard it and continue with your day.
***Update 2016: Florida was ranked #1 on the Nation's Report Card with a score of a B+, based on how their students performed on end of year testing. Interestingly enough--Florida bought the SAGE questions/program from Utah to use as their own end of level test. Utah was #17 in the nation with a score of a C+ and this score has improved over the last few years since adopting the common core.
38 comments:
Thank you for posting this! It's great to have a "teachers" point of view on the subject. There is so much information out there,mostly negative, that I've been struggling with honestly how I feel about it all. I really appreciate your feedback on this! Hope you guys are well!
Great post!
I am so glad you wrote about this. I appreciated reading what you had to say. I went through a "common core scare" earlier in the year for all the reasons you stated, but then decided that I needed to research it myself before I formed an opinion on heresay (one of my greatest pet peeves). Upon my research I discovered that common core isn't all that bad and while there are some things that aren't my favorite, I really like other parts of it. I figured it is like that with any core program. I didn't feel like Kenzi was really being challenged until now. I realized they were prepping her for what she is doing now. I wouldn't call, 4 pages of math, 4 pages of reading comprehension and 10 min. of reading per week easy. I certainly didn't have that load at her age! She is definitely being challenged now and that makes me happy.
This is such a wonderful post. In my 30 years in the education there have always been standards to teach--a direction and purpose for our students. If SOME teachers choose to use questionable resources that is not common core! Certainly, it is not perfect and luckily we have wonderful, caring and educated teachers who can make it right for their individual students. ---Now standardized testing- that need a second look to make it effective.
Love this post. I just don't get what all the fuss is about. Of course there needs to be a set of guidelines. There always has. Sabrina struggled with math for the last few years and as soon as we switched to common core (and a great teacher) she just got it. It is teaching in a way that just makes sense. She is now the top of her class in math. It is challenging to the students. Having moved in the middle of her schooling and changed to a complete new curriculum we experienced lots of problems with stress and anxiety. If the curriculum had been the same we would have avoided that. Love your post.
Thanks, Courtney! I have talked to teachers and read up a little bit and I haven't been terribly worried. Maybe having the controversy is helping parents to stay involved in their child's education and know what they are learning, and that is always going to be a good thing. I think that some of the worry from parents comes from the fact that it was a liberal company in CA that designed the curriculum. People are worried about a too liberal agenda, but again, I haven't seen that in the stuff my kids are doing.
Thank you for enlightening me....All I had ever heard was negative but maybe not too well informed..
It's my understanding from talking to my school principal, that you teachers actually never get to see the actual questions on the SAGE tests. If this is so, how do you know there are no inappropriate questions? It's true that Utah common core isn't adopted from the federal government, but it's also true that they can only say this because Utah hasn't adopted the ENTIRE core from the government, just parts of it for now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts but I'm still skeptical.
http://jonathanpelto.com/2014/04/23/listen-to-the-fools-a-guest-post-by-ann-poicelli-cronin/
Your post is quite the buzz, Courtney! :) I saw it posted by some people here in Richfield and thought that was quite funny!
Thanks for clearing some things up. I honestly hadn't heard a lot of protests around here about it, but I know there have been some questions. So, it is nice to hear it from a teaching standpoint.
I hope you and your family are doing well! I was glad to come across your blog because I lost most of my saved blogs a few years ago when one of my computers crashed... so here I was able to find yours along with a few more of Aggie Village! lol...
Hi! I'm curious what you think about the math portion? My daughter is in kindergarten learning addition and subtraction and they make it soooo confusing for her! I have seen a lot of the other grades math problems and it seems like they are using extremely confusing methods of teaching. Thoughts from a teacher would be great to hear! :)
No mention of the math.
My Son has been taking the new Math Core this Year. He's in 10th Grade. He is a very good Student in Math. Top of his Class. He hates the new Math Core class. He took the ACT Test and got a 31. All the Math that is on the ACT Test is not from this New Math Core. He gives thanks to his old algebra Teacher and The ACT Prep Class he took preparing hm for the ACT Test. He worns that any student learn from the New Math Core will not do well on the ACT Test, preparing for College.
I really appreciate this post and having the viewpoint of a teacher who is far more knowledgeable and familiar with the Common Core and SAGE testing then I am.
Agreed!
I love this. As a teacher, I have the same viewpoints. We've been doing testing for ages - this is just the newest version of the test to meet the demands of today's world. Thank you for posting!
Thank you, B! I appreciate Courtney's point of view, but just because she hasn't personally come across the issues and concerns that a lot of parents have, does not mean they don't exist. It also bothers me that just because teachers like Courtney disagree with the alternative viewpoint they automatically assume parents are paranoid and uninformed or misinformed. I personally have done a lot of research from multiple and diverse sources, including the government. I have had personal experience and involvement at the state level.
You are correct about the SAGE test. There are over 10,000 possible questions in the data base, which parents and teachers do not have access to. No one knows what is in those tests. To say Utah is one of the most conservative states, and would never write a test with invasive or inappropriate questions is absolutely naive. There is money tied to almost every aspect of Common Core. The test was created by a public research company. Why are we employing research companies to write tests for our children? Now that everything is computerized it is as easy as a click of a mouse to collect and use data. What are they doing with all that data? These are important questions everyone should be asking. This is just scratching the surface of the legitimate concerns many well-educated, and well-researched parents have.
If there's one thing I cannot abide, it's teachers who have the attitude that they know more than parents, or that we are ignorant to what is actually going on with public education. I won't deny that some parents are clueless, but there are certainly a lot of teachers who are also clueless about the origins and objectives of Common Core. Please understand that I am not talking about Courtney. I don't know her. She seems like a wonderful, well educated teacher who cares about her students. I would say most teachers fall into that category. I would just implore the teachers out there to dig a little deeper than what your districts and State School Board is telling you. Do some research as your busy schedules permit. It goes so much further than a small group of states. It has nothing to do with the governor of the state (although, Gov. Herbert supports Common Core). Several of the authors and architects of the core have since denounced it, saying the methods and philosophies are unsound, and untested.
Lastly, as a parent, I should be able to have some say as to what my child's education consists of. Any time you give up local control you lose that ability. Even if it's just a small group of states who come up with a standard (which is not where this will remain), community standards vary widely from state to state. Each community is unique, which is why public education was established in districts. Allowing a consortium of states to determine what is appropriate for the children in our community is the same as if there were just a group of individuals running the entire federal government with no representation from the people.
Please, please, please read this article. It sounds like the information you have been given about CC has come from the USOE or your local school district. The information that they give parents as well as teachers is filled with half-truths and misrepresentations. This article is long, but it lays out all of the actual facts about CC. If you go to the CC website corestandards.org they give no sources to back up any information that they give. They tell you "facts" but give no sources to back up their claims. This articles backs up every fact with actual sources so you can go and check them yourself.
http://whatiscommoncore.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/for-utah-school-districts-a-common-core-fact-checking-adventure/
AMEN, Nice post! The facts are in the pudding! We have children from elementary through HS currently taking the sage testing. They are aware of the things that have been alleged to be in the test - they have not encountered anything of the sort. I understand that there are many more questions than they will personally encounter, but until they do - I agree with the post. Every argument against common core seems to come from Utahns againt common core and the Eagle Forum - neither of which I would trust any further than I can throw my house. Just my opinion. Those against common core, save your breathe - I have quietly sat by watching my Facebook timeline being filled up with all of this garbage and respected your opinion enough to keep my mouth shut. Please respect my opinion. Thanks
Sorry Rick, I believe in local control and will express my opinion too. I do respect yours.
While I respect this teacher's opinion and believe him to be entirely sincere, some of his arguments are repeating the same talking points the USOE tells all teachers and parents. As a parent, I see it differently based on my own research. Common Core(CCSS) are more then just standards, its an entire(federal) education reform package, and yes the Federal Government was instrumental in it's creation. He neglected to mention the SLDS, which is the state longitudinal database system that houses all of our children's data that the Feds are able to access. All states that agreed to implement CCSS were required to create one. He also neglected to mention that the SAGE test is adaptive. He did admit that English literature is being diminished and being replaces with informational text.
SAGE is the accountability measure for Common Core and was designed specifically (by our own USOE and contracted partner) for that purpose and to fulfill that Federal Requirement on our Waiver. Technically Arne Duncan's department didn't write the Standards themselves either. This absolutely is part of the same Federally incentivized reform package as CCSS. Parents are not permitted to view the SAGE questions, even after my child takes the test. This is a problem. These measures are designed to assist in eroding away local control. I'm not against teachers, principals or schools. To the contrary, I fully support and love all of my children's teachers. I am, however, against the CCSS and will fight for the restoration of local control until my last dieing breath.
"The “education reform” ad campaign never got two important lessons everyone starting out in the advertising business learns: Never make objective claims about your product that can be easily and demonstrably disproven, and never insult your target audience.
For instance, you can make the claim, “this tastes great” because that can’t be proven one way or the other. But when you claim, “your kids will love how this tastes,” and parents say, “my kids think it tastes like crap,” you’re pretty much toast. And you make matters all the worse if you respond, “Well, if you were a good parent you’d tell your kid to eat it anyway.”
Those two lessons seem to be completely lost on advocates behind the menu of education policies currently being force-fed to classroom teachers, parents, and school children across the country". As my children take a big bite of the education reform sandwich, I will tell them to spit it out. I will be opting them out of SAGE testing.
There are a few teachers in Southern Utah who have looked extensively into Common Core. One is Sinhue Noriega and another is Stuart Harper. Teachers risk losing their job if they refuse any portion of what is being served up, they also are not permitted to request an alternative meal. This is truly sad. Stuart is one of those teachers who desired something more from the menu. Read his story here: http://www.utahnsagainstcommoncore.com/utah-physics-teacher-stuart-harper-resigns-over-common-core/
We absolutely do get to see the questions, why wouldn't we. Unless we don't supervise during the test, which would be stupid.
Thank you for this. People seem to easily swallow misinformation like "created by the governors of the states" and the other nonsense associated with Common Core, while an objective looks shows that it is a disaster. Hmm, reminds me of another big government program, Obamacare. They call it the Affordable Care Act so they can accuse us of being against affordable care. Likewise, Common Core is just standards of education, right? Who could be against that?
I hope Courtney doesn't mind another teacher giving a response. You ask a very good question here, one that comes up a lot. The method of solving problems is a teacher decision, usually lead by the district's chosen curriculum or text book. A teacher has the responsibility to decide which methods to teach. If the district has purchased a text book that instructs and gives examples of a certain method, such as partial sums, the teacher will usually teach that method. But a teacher can add to the curriculum if they see the need. What amazes me is when a parent tells me they hated math, they didn't understand math when they were in school, but they also insist on the teacher teaching the exact same way that didn't work for them! If you didn't understand a 'traditional algorithm", why would you want your child to be taught the same way? I think that is why so many teachers teach different ways to solve a problem, different ways to add or subtract, multiply or divide. We get used to one way, while in other countries they use other methods. We know each child learns in different ways, so teaching different methods can sometimes help a student who is struggling. For instance, I use a number line and/or a hundreds chart when teaching addition and subtraction because students who need a visual tool seem to really get it better than the 'carrying' and 'borrowing'. But that doesn't mean I don't also teach the 'traditional' method as well. Long answer for a short comment.....the method of teaching is up to the teacher.
Wow, I had no idea this post would get such a huge response! I am a secondary language arts teacher, so do I do not know too much about the math core. I would suggest talking directly with your child's math teacher. I also don't claim to be an expert a out the common core or the safe test. I am just writing from my experience with it since I've started teacng it 3 years ago. And just to clarify some questions people have had about the sage, the test bank of questions was reviewed and approved by a panel of educators and Utah parents, and while teachers don't get to see the questions before the test, we do get to see them while the kids test since we are monitoring the students. Nothing questionable or any complaints from my students or parents.
Oh Rick. here are just a few more sources. these should keep you busy for a few days. i could sit here all night and post link after link from independent sources. your suppositions about who is opposing common core and your narrow view on the subject is startling. do your homework. i promise you will be disturbed too.
all the best...
http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/the-pedagogical-agenda-of-common-core-math-standards/#sthash.jwiQK1PY.dpuf
http://www.nas.org/articles/common_complaints
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/10/the-myth-of-common-core-equity/
http://www.uaedreform.org/sandra-stotsky/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ELA--9HbnM&feature=youtu.be
http://www.uaedreform.org/wp-content/uploads/2000/01/Lowering_the_Bar.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLc_hqVoUuc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX78iKhInsc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjxBClx01jc
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5187830?utm_hp_ref=tw
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/17/nyregion/new-york-early-champion-of-common-core-standards-joins-critics.html?_r=0
http://dianeravitch.net/category/common-core/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/01/29/a-tough-critique-of-common-core-on-early-childhood-education/
http://truthinamericaneducation.com/
http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/256789551.html
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar99/vol56/num06/Why-Standardized-Tests-Don't-Measure-Educational-Quality.aspx
Respectfully, I feel like this blog entry is an innocent mischaracterization of the opposition and therefore an easy defense to make. Yes, standards aren't new and neither is state testing. But committing to third-party, copyrighted standards is new, and so is the reporting of these test results in a manner that is so easily disaggregated student by student (the SLDS being a mandated stipulation for applying for 2009 stimulus money and its creation being funded with Federal dollars. Also look into the gutting of FERPA). There are larger and deeper issues of control and privacy here that this does not address. And while many teachers like the new standards, I'm happy they do - because what choice do they have?
Your entire blog post sounds just like the training all teachers received on Common Core, which was followed up by a threat if a teacher were to say anything negative about it. How about researching instead of regurgitating?
I attended a meeting held by my child's middle school principal. He stated that they would be doing SAGE testing throughout the year....not just at the end of the year (starting next year). I remember when end of year testing only happened at the end of the year. Isn't the testing done in classes enough to see how well they are learning throughout the year? I just kind of feel like this new approach is like training the kids to score well on tests....rather than a true education. I admit I don't know a ton about this but this item was brought up in the meeting and just hasn't set well.
I haven't really been bothered by what I have seen with most classes my children take but the math is horrible!
I really was glad to read your post. To the people who are being so negative about this post, you should remember that this is a blog where a person spends time sharing her opinions. No one has more experience with the Common Core State Standards than teachers do. We spend time reading them, "unwrapping" them to identify all of the learning targets related to each standard, designing lessons to ensure that students are taught those standards, and creating assessments to ensure that students have mastered those standards. As a teacher I have spent many hours looking at, studying, and discussing these standards. So an opinion from a teacher who has so much experience related to these standards should definitely not be devalued and demeaned.
As a second grade teacher, I have found the common core standards to be no worse than the previous set of standards we used, and in many ways, they are an improvement. I fully agree that the standards do not dictate to teachers how to teach, and instead merely delineate which content should be taught at which grade level. I also appreciate the consistency this provides from state to state and school to school. I feel that the standards are definitely rigorous and focus on students developing a depth of knowledge that I didn't see in my previous state standards.
Using the Common Core has had a few challenges. First, they cover a very large breadth of knowledge, and my colleagues and I find it difficult to find the time teach so many standards. Also, one major challenge we have faced is that these standards were rolled out before any curriculum materials were created and adopted to assist teachers with instruction. I know that teachers should not rely on programs to teach for them, but when we are having to scramble to create assessments and find resources for many of the new things we need to teach, it has been like building the plane while flying it. A little turbulent. There definitely are some things I would change, but for the most part, using these standards has been a positive experience for me and my students, regardless of their origins and the supposed hidden agendas to which many of you commenters have referred.
Oh, and I never received any threats after trainings about these standards. Maybe I'm just one of "them" regurgitating the party line.
It's so hard to find a pro-Common Core article online. People scour and find a personal blog like this. It's not based in the research of facts, but it will do and this blog entry has become popular.
First of all, let's discuss this section, "my understanding of the common core seems to be very different than the public's opinion So maybe I can answer some questions or clear up some confusion..." For someone who just bragged about the grammar she taught her 6th graders, you should be aware that it is grammatically incorrect to say, "different than," that doesn't even make sense. It should be, "different from." And I isn't it presumptuous of you to offer to clear up confusion, or answer questions about something when you haven't delved into it and studied the historical facts and background? It reminds me of when my school teacher brother-in-law offered to answer our questions about school vouchers, when he hadn't even read the voucher bill (all of 3 pages), but had only read the bulleted point flier from the UEA. Most of the talking points were directly refuted by the bill itself. Maybe it's a good thing the voucher bill didn't pass. Gov't would've gotten involved in private schools and then they'd be as bad as public schools.
"It comes from the governors of each state. They got together and created this." That sounds like a simplistic story you'd tell small children. Obviously the governors of the states were and are concerned that public education is failing despite all the billion$ poured into it. They did not create it, however. And not all governors wanted it for their states. Recently, a few governors have been opting their states out of it.
"Second of all, we've always had a core!! I don't think people realize this. The state has always had a set of standards they would like teachers to cover throughout the course of the school year." Yes, we know this. And it is a talking point from the USOE, just like most of this article is echoing talking points. Yes, we've always had a set of standards, true. But they were traditional standards, not a new experiment that required textbook publishers to change...or actually it allowed the Pearson publishing company to have a monopoly in the Math. Pear$on was actually a driving force behind the implementation of CC.
" parents, I hope we don't just leave it to the school to provide creative outlets. (Good point taken, but how will students find the time?)"
And the talking point of how CC is good for students who move a lot, even to different states, because they'll all be learning the same things, the same way. That seems to be the number one talking point. I would be shocked if you did not include that one.
", the questions are linked to the common core. But if your student has been taught the common core all year long, doesn't it make sense that they are tested on it at the end?". Ask some adults to take the SAGE test, who haven't been taught the Common Core way to do Math with the useless number lines, multi-step subtracting to solve a once simple multiplication problem, and the brain teaser story problems that are too twisted for real life, and see how they do. Past standardized tests were logical and based on the traditional methods, yet they were still challenging. The SAGE test is an experiment.
"I feel like opponents of the common core are basing their information on fear.". Really? I think you're basing this article on feelings and clichéd talking points from the USOE and teachers' unions, after the Gates Foundation donated million$ to them. My opposition to RTTT and CC is based on research and logic,
Regarding ELA Common Core, it's a shame that Science and Social Studies articles have replaced a lit of the fiction. Students are not studying the classics as much as previous generations. USOE claimed that Utah would not have CC Science and Social Studies, only Math and ELA. So adding the Science and Social Studies articles to the ELA reading books is how they snuck it in. My 4th grader is reading a Social Studies article in her reading book which has a one-sided anti-American slant. It's about immigration. America is the bad guy.
In the oast, ELA and other courses required essays as well. I don't see why that's something to tout now.
Thank you for being concerned about your child's education. Also, thank you for realizing that I wrote this mostly to get my own feelings/frustrations out. Yes, the information is simplified bc I was not intending to write a scholarly article for the few readers who check my blog.I definitely don't claim to be an expert on the CC or Sage nor will I claim that it is perfect. And as someone pointed out, I know I am a teacher and this post is riddled with spelling/ grammar errors. I am a teacher, but also a wife and a mother--I write quickly when I get a few minutes. If nothing else, maybe someone who reads this post will go out and do some of their own objective research.
I also want to add that although many of you feel like I am just reiterating old points, where I live, these are some of the most common questions I get from friends and parents. Good for you that you know all this already, but many people still don't.
Thank you Courtney, there is a reason your blog post has been shared many times! I also teach 6th grade in Utah.
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